# What one-hit-wonder songs were actually really good, even GREAT, songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2007, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148 "2007-11-29T05:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/21 "2007-11-29T07:33:41Z")
Why the hate for “In the Year 2525”? It’s just a folk song. Worst song ever? Come on. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/22 "2007-11-29T07:44:39Z")
[QUOTE=ChattyChattyBingBing] Baker Street by _Gerry Rafferty_? If he had another hit, I never heard it. Great song, thought. [/QUOTE] He did, actually, a couple of them. Perhaps you recall _Right Down the Line_, a hit he had circa 1978, and before that when he was the lead singer of Stealer’s Wheel and had a hit with _Stuck in the Middle With You_? And **cochrane** , you’re right of course. I forgot all about _Time Passages_. However, I don’t recall ever having heard _Midnight Rocks_. And you know, it’s funny…I almost mentioned _2525_ myself but chickened out so as to avoid the cacophony of scorn I felt sure would follow. 😛 Good song though. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/23 "2007-11-29T07:49:55Z")
Not sure if can be considered a ‘hit’ but " _A Million Miles Away_" by \*\*the Plimsouls \*\* is a dandy. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/24 "2007-11-29T08:02:59Z")
Older: _Along Comes Mary_ by The Association (1966.) Badass horn lines and instrumentation, weird rhythms and run-on lyrical structure that almost sounds like a precursor to rap. I love the line “When we met I was sure out to lunch/now the empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch.” I think it’s a wonderfully poetic line. According to Wikipedia, "Leonard Bernstein admired the song, and included a short analysis of it in the “What is a Mode?” episode of his Young People’s Concerts series. " I think this speaks for itself. More recent (late 90s) _Summertime_ by The Sundays. Great poppy song with wonderfully jangly guitars and a singer with a beautiful voice (and a beautiful face.) _Your Woman_ by White Town. Kick ass rolling electronic bass beat, and surreal gender-bending lyrics. The song also samples a trumpet part from a old and obscure British jazz song, “My Woman” by Al Bowlly. _How Bizarre_ - OMC. Very upbeat and fun song to listen to - was this band Australian? I always thought they were, based on the singer’s voice. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/25 "2007-11-29T09:38:25Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] _How Bizarre_ - OMC. Very upbeat and fun song to listen to - was this band Australian? I always thought they were, based on the singer’s voice. [/QUOTE] For no reason, I was just thinking about this song yesterday. I think they’re New Zealanders…IIRC, the singer is Maori. I could be misremembering. But yeah, a good song. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/26 "2007-11-29T09:45:43Z")
I still really like The Knickerbockers _Lies_, so good that people thought it was the Beatles incognito. And _Mary’s Prayer_ by Danny Wilson was a piece of art - fantastic arrangement of a great song. ---
**Author:** ![Galanthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Galanthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galanthus)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/27 "2007-11-29T11:43:40Z")
_Whiter shade of pale_ by Procal Harum … I saw them on stage a while ago at a folk festival and a few people, inculding my wife, had no idea who they where untill they played that song 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/28 "2007-11-29T12:14:47Z")
[QUOTE=Starving Artist] What the hell, I’m in a generous and borderline playful mood tonight, so if you like Robert Cray…or the blues…or you just like to watch talent at work, please [click here](http://youtube.com/watch?v=mTxIgyqT4z4). [/QUOTE] thanks SA, I saw Robert Cray open for Muddy at the Sac blues festival in 1980. And then he played guitar during Muddy’s set. Both were amazing…that’s a great link. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/29 "2007-11-29T13:07:41Z")
To answer the OP, \*\*Lipps, Inc’s \*\* **Funky Town** can rock the house as strong today as it did upon its first release. **Katrina and the Waves’ Walking on Sunshine** and **Our House** by **Madness** , love them or hate them should be acknowledged for the strong melodic vibe they give off. But I submit the most influential (maybe not the greatest and I’m not even sure it charted which would make it a One Non-Hit Wonder) is **Rock and Roll, Part Two**. The fact that for a considerable length of time, this song was played at every single sporting event in the United States and managed to work the crowd into a frenzy every time means Gary Glitter deserves the top spot. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/30 "2007-11-29T13:07:54Z")
[QUOTE=Derleth] Jimi Hendrix was a one-hit wonder\*, so whichever song of his charted (“All Along The Watchtowers”, I think) would qualify here. \*(By the strict definition. By the definition that usually applies, no, he wasn’t.) [/QUOTE] That’s in the US of course. In the UK he chalked up 5 top six chart entries, including a posthumous #1 with _Voodoo Chile_, so it would never have occurred to me to categorise Hendrix as a one-hit wonder, even by a strict definition. . . . > [@Galanthus](#): > > Whiter shade of pale by Procal Harum… Ah yes. _A Whiter Shade of Pale_ (by Procol Harum) is IMO a great song (and a UK #1) but the band followed up with _Homburg_ which reached #6 in the same year. They also had a couple of minor successes with _Conquistador_ (#22) and _Pandora’s Box_ (#16). In 1982 Pickwick Records released the cheekily titled _Procol Harum’s Greatest Hits Vol.1_ which comprised _A Whiter Shade of Pale_, _Conquistador_, _Quite Rightly So_ (#50) plus five other tracks which failed to trouble the Chart Compiler. Mysteriously, _Procol Harum’s Greatest Hits Vol.2_ failed to make it into the shops. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/31 "2007-11-29T13:12:04Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] _Along Comes Mary_ by The Association (1966.) Badass horn lines and instrumentation, weird rhythms and run-on lyrical structure that almost sounds like a precursor to rap. I love the line “When we met I was sure out to lunch/now the empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch.” I think it’s a wonderfully poetic line. According to Wikipedia, "Leonard Bernstein admired the song, and included a short analysis of it in the “What is a Mode?” episode of his Young People’s Concerts series. " I think this speaks for itself. [/QUOTE] How does a band with two #1 hits (‘Cherish’ in '66 and ‘Windy’ in 67) qualify as a one-hit wonder? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/32 "2007-11-29T13:18:16Z")
I’ve always considered “Friday On MY Mind”, by the Easybeats, to be one of the great songs of the 60s. They probably had other hits in Australia and the UK, but “Friday” is the only US hit I remember. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/33 "2007-11-29T13:19:12Z")
A trio from musical theatre: Memory by Betty Buckley Don’t Cry For Me Argentina by Julie Covington I Know Him So Well–Elaine Paige & Barbra Dickeson duet ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/34 "2007-11-29T13:27:38Z")
Assuming we are going on the “real” definition of “one Top 20/40/100 hit”, not “one hit I like”, or “only song I remember” 😉 Suavecito- Malo Tighter, Tighter- Alive & Kicking Vehicle- Ides of March Wildflower- Skylark Painted Ladies- Ian Thomas Spring Rain- Silvetti Falling- Leblanc & Carr Shake It- Ian Matthews Morning Girl- Neopn Philharmonic Ooh Child- Five Stairsteps UK charts: Stretch- Why Did You Do It Goldie- Making up Again ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/35 "2007-11-29T13:35:13Z")
“Telstar” by the Tornadoes “Pipeline” by the Chantays “Psychotic Reaction” by the Count Five all count as GREAT songs in my book. Recently I saw some hate for it on this board, but “96 Tears” by ? and the Mysterians is one of the greatest songs ever, IMHO. And not only is “Something in the Air” by Thunderclap Newman one of the greatest songs ever, “Hollywood Dream”, the album it appears on, is one of the greatest albums ever! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/36 "2007-11-29T13:36:56Z")
I will probably be rhetorically flogged for this, but I liked _Gimme Dat Ding_ by the Pipkins\*, and _Judy In Disguise_ by John Fred and the Playboy Band (which featured the line “Canteloupe eyes, come to me tonight”). I don’t have any visceral hatred for _In The Year 2525_, though I don’t look forward to hearing it on the radio (come to think of it, I haven’t heard it for a long time). Dave Barry mocked it in his book of bad songs, citing imaginary verse that went something like _In the year 4545 Won’t have no teeth, won’t have no eyes There won’t be anything to do No one’s gonna look at you_ \*What good’s a metronome, without a bell for ringing? ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/37 "2007-11-29T13:40:59Z")
“Come on Eileen” – Dexie’s Midnight Runners “Escalator of Life” – Robert Hazard and the Heroes “Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor Suck, suck and suck. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/38 "2007-11-29T13:43:02Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] I will probably be rhetorically flogged for this, but I liked _Judy In Disguise_ by John Fred and the Playboy Band (which featured the line “Canteloupe eyes, come to me tonight”). [/QUOTE] You won’t get any argument from me! I actually had that 45 when I was a junior in high school. You know, I’ll bet it took 30 years before it finally dawned on me that “Judy in Disguise with Glasses” was a play on “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/39 "2007-11-29T13:47:43Z")
**"Surfin’ Bird"** - The Trashmen _…well now everybody’s heard about the bird…_ (That song is irresistibly fun.) **"96 Tears"** - ? and the Mysterians ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/40 "2007-11-29T14:02:59Z")
I can’t see how Madness could be considered a one-hit wonder, what with 33 UK-charting songs, but oh well. Same with Siouxsie & the Banshees (“Peekaboo” and “Kiss Them For Me” in the US, 29 singles in the UK) And Peter Schilling, don’t forget “A Different Story.” And, uh, he’s big in Germany… I confess to enjoying “Steal My Sunshine,” but that’s another case of the hook being from another song. I was gonna say “Groove is in the Heart” but I see that Dee-LIte had half a dozen #1 dance hits…I guess I was done with clubbing by that time. OMC (Otara Millionaires Club) is from New Zealand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148.md?page=3)