# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/41 "2007-11-29T14:10:28Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] _Judy In Disguise_ by John Fred and the Playboy Band (which featured the line “Canteloupe eyes, come to me tonight”). [/QUOTE] I was going to mention this one. A really great song on all levels. Same with “Spirit in the Sky.” I’m fond of Napoleon XIV’s “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha Ha” And “In the Year 2525” is just terrible and deserves to be mocked. ---
**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, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/42 "2007-11-29T14:12:18Z")
Madness had only the one US hit, so they are a one hit wonder in the US, like Suzi Quatro is huge in the UK but had only one US top 40 hit. Groove is in the Heart is their only pop, not dance, hit. Survivor had a few top ten hits besides Eye of the Tiger. The most irksome faux one hit wonder though, has to be Ice Ice Baby- no matter how unmemorable the followup was, “Play That Funky Music” was still a Top 5 song, therefore, Vanilla Ice is no where close to a one hit wonder, yet radio stations and even VH1 cite him as such- surely they have access to chart compiliations? And you _have_ to go by the charts for one hit wonders, because if you go by memory, whose meory do you use? Left Banke is not a one hit wonder because most people remember Walk Away Renee but not Pretty Ballerina! Hell, my nan only knows one Beatles song, that doesn’t make them a one hit wonder. Another great legit one, “All Right Now” Free. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/43 "2007-11-29T14:17:26Z")
**In a Big Country** by Big Country. Great song, one of the best pop hits of the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/44 "2007-11-29T14:19:21Z")
**Love Is Like Oxygen** - _Sweet_ ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/45 "2007-11-29T14:20:16Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] 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. [/QUOTE] agreed on Danny Wilson, I was kinda pissed when I specal ordered the cassette only to have the rest of it suck. My contribution: life in a northern town by The Dream Academy ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_No\_Saint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/977dab/32.png) [@I\_m\_No\_Saint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_No_Saint)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/46 "2007-11-29T14:20:53Z")
**The Final Countdown** by Europe. Seriously. Stop laughing, it’s good. ---
**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, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/47 "2007-11-29T14:22:39Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] **Love Is Like Oxygen** - _Sweet_ [/QUOTE] You’re forgetting their glam years- Ballroom Blitz, Action, Little Willy, Fox on the Run, Etc. **I’m No Saint** - you’re forgetting Carrie, a Top 5 hit. **PunditLisa** - you’re forgetting “Love Is Alive” by Gary Wright, and “Do Right”, “65 Love Affair”, etc from Paul Davis ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/48 "2007-11-29T14:23:28Z")
I’m a sucker for schmaltzy love songs: “If I could Fly” by Benny Mardones “Dream Weaver” by Gary Wright (okay not a love song but pretty) “I Go Crazy” by Paul Davis ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/49 "2007-11-29T14:31:23Z")
[QUOTE=The Them] Childhood memories or course have a part here, but “Lunatic Fringe” by **Red Ryder.** Catchy, great climactic screaming/guitar riff, and seriously, an aura of paranoia- reminds me of “Run Like Hell” by **Pink Floyd.** [/QUOTE] Yes!!! I absolutely love that song. Every time it comes on the radio in the car I have to crank it up and roll the windows down. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/50 "2007-11-29T14:32:41Z")
[QUOTE=I’m No Saint] **The Final Countdown** by Europe. Seriously. Stop laughing, it’s good. [/QUOTE] Actually, that song along with \*\*Get Ready for This \*\* by Two Unlimited are still commonly played in sports stadiums. Rock and Roll, Part 2 was also commonly played, but the anti Gary Glitter crowd has all but eliminated that song from the playlist. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/51 "2007-11-29T14:50:58Z")
[QUOTE=I’m No Saint] **The Final Countdown** by Europe. Seriously. Stop laughing, it’s good. [/QUOTE] As the song was the exact amount of time to get from my house to high school I listened to it every morning at full blast to get pumped. I’m with yah bro. ---
**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, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/52 "2007-11-29T14:59:01Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] Another great legit one, “All Right Now” Free. [/QUOTE] _My Brother Jake_ (#4), _Wishing Well_ (#7), _Free EP_ (#11) and _Little Bit of Love_ (#13) also charted for them in the UK. ---
**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, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/53 "2007-11-29T15:25:25Z")
The best TWO hit wonder in the entire universe has to be Murray Head: “Superstar” and “One Night in Bangkok.” And kudos to Tim Rice’s lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/54 "2007-11-29T15:49:17Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] **Love Is Like Oxygen** - _Sweet_ [/QUOTE] I’m not going to look up the chart position, but I’m sure “Ballroom Blitz” was a bigger and more famous hit for them. I know the OP is asking for “quality” one hit wonders, but The Sweet weren’t exactly OHW’s. They also had a couple of other radio hits, such as “Fox on the Run” and “Little Willy.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/55 "2007-11-29T15:49:39Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] 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_ [/QUOTE] No, those are the _actual_ lyrics (or at least very close). I love that song. 😃 ---
**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, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/56 "2007-11-29T16:03:36Z")
[QUOTE=Starving Artist] A few one-hitters that spring to my mind, and which may or may not be considered great are: _Year of the Cat_ - Al Stewart [/QUOTE] Word. Great song to play bass along with. I really love the intro, with the piano starting out softly and getting louder, and then the rest of the band coming in. Great opening guitar chord too. But most notably, the song has like 4 damn solos all in a row - strings, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and saxophone. As I’ve said in a previous thread, I think that’s a record for consecutive solos in a mainstream pop song. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/57 "2007-11-29T16:09:00Z")
I think what ruins “In the Year 2525” for many listeners is the singing and the lyrics. If you listen to a version sung in French by the French/Egyptian singer Dalida, the beauty of the melody & flow of the song are more easily appreciated. It’s actually pretty breathtaking. ---
**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, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/58 "2007-11-29T16:10:09Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] No, those are the _actual_ (Zager and Evans) lyrics (or at least very close). [/QUOTE] Cripes, you’re right, very close. The song is worse than I thought. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/59 "2007-11-29T16:11:59Z")
Oh, the Dalida version mentioned above is retitled “L’an 2005,” which means all the prophesies in it have come to pass. ---
**Author:** ![Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tool_of_the_Conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/60 "2007-11-29T16:14:24Z")
**Camper Van Beethoven** “Pictures of Matchstick Men” **Toadies** “Possum Kingdom” **Transplants** “Diamonds and Guns” Do **The Tragically Hip** count, or did they have a second single chart in the US? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148.md?page=4)