# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/61 "2007-11-29T16:23:42Z")
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something. I have sentimental reasons for liking the song, but nevertheless, I think it’s actually quite solid. Also: Closing Time by Semisonic I Wish by Skee-Lo ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/62 "2007-11-29T16:25:18Z")
Sponge - Plowed. This is simply the best song of the 90s. They might have technically had another top 40 hit with Molly, but I never heard that song on the radio after it was popular, and I still hear Plowed once every year or so. In a similar vein: [QUOTE=Tool of the Conspiracy] **Camper Van Beethoven** “Pictures of Matchstick Men” [/QUOTE] Never heard that on the radio, only “Take the Skinheads Bowling,” although I suppose it might have been their only Top XX hit. (But it is a good song, although I’d hesitate to call it “great”.) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/63 "2007-11-29T16:26:55Z")
“Harden My Heart” by Quarterflash “Heart and Soul” by T’Pau Why, yes, I AM a child of the 80s… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/64 "2007-11-29T16:28:03Z")
[QUOTE=Mahna Mahna] Closing Time by Semisonic [/QUOTE] Wow this thread is just full of things that are questionable in my mind but that I’m not arsed enough to look up 🙂 I HATE “Closing Time”: it doesnt achieve its goals for me, its not poignant like it seems to want to be, nor cynical like one might counter with, nor, and more to the point, does it even have good musicality. In fact I hate Semisonic (as well as Trip Shakespeare.) But I like their other radio song “All About Chemistry”. Just not sure if it charted or not. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/65 "2007-11-29T16:35:29Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] [QUOTE=Tool of the Conspiracy] **Camper Van Beethoven** “Pictures of Matchstick Men” [/QUOTE] Never heard that on the radio, only “Take the Skinheads Bowling,” although I suppose it might have been their only Top XX hit. (But it is a good song, although I’d hesitate to call it “great”.) [/QUOTE] PMM is also a cover, as it happens. I personally think it’s a great cover, but YMMV. (Original song was by Status Quo, and was a true US one hit wonder for them in 1968). ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/66 "2007-11-29T16:36:10Z")
More decent 90s one-hit wonders: Epic - Faith No More Cantaloop - US3 A Girl Like You - Edwyn Collins Naked Eye - Luscious Jackson ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/67 "2007-11-29T16:36:38Z")
I’m going to step out of the corner and admit that I think that _I Believe In A Thing Called Love_ is a wonderful song, and unless something miraculous happens, **The Darkness** will never have another hit. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/68 "2007-11-29T16:48:07Z")
Joel Whitburn’s _The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits_ and Fred Bronson’s _Hottest Hot 100 Hits_ are great for settling arguments over who was a one-hit wonder and who technically wasn’t. I’m not going to go through all the ones mentioned, but at a quick glance I can see that Quarterflash also charted “Find Another Fool” and “Take me to Heart;” Gary Wright charted “Love Is Alive” and “Really Wanna Know You;” Paul Davis had seven other top 40 hits; The Association had six others; and the Dream Academy also had “The Love Parade” squeak in at #36. I think a number of songs never made it to the overall Billboard Hot 100 chart at all, but may have been on one of their zillion other specialized charts. Bronson’s book lits The Top 100 Songs by One-Hit Wonders, defined strictly by chart position and length of stay. “In the Year 2525” is #1 alltime. A couple of songs from that list that haven’t been mentioned (or I missed, sorry): “Sally, Go 'Round the Roses,” The Jaynetts “All for You,” Sister Hazel “99 Luftballones,” Nena “Fire,” The Crazy World of Arthur Brown And I can’t figure out how the gorgeous orchestral instrumental “Love Is Blue” by Paul Mauriat that made it to #1 for five weeks in 1968 failed to make the list. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/69 "2007-11-29T16:52:58Z")
A few off the top of my head that I still love and enjoy whenever I hear them…perfect blends of lyrics, performances, and song structure. “Cuts You Up” by Peter Murphy “Cars” by Gary Newman “99 Luftballon” by Nena “Blinded Me with Science” by Thomas Dolby “Mother Mother” by Tracy Bonham “Mexican Radio” by Wall of Voodoo ---
**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, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/70 "2007-11-29T16:55:23Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] I’m going to step out of the corner and admit that I think that _I Believe In A Thing Called Love_ is a wonderful song, and unless something miraculous happens, **The Darkness** will never have another hit. [/QUOTE] Oh please, dear Og, let that never happen. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/71 "2007-11-29T16:57:13Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] I’m going to step out of the corner and admit that I think that _I Believe In A Thing Called Love_ is a wonderful song, and unless something miraculous happens, **The Darkness** will never have another hit. [/QUOTE] Considering the fact that the lead singer left the band after a huge cocaine binge and the rest of the band has decided to rename themselves Stone Gods, I think you’re right. Right on both counts actually, “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” is the best song Queen never wrote. ---
**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, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/72 "2007-11-29T17:05:21Z")
[QUOTE=ShadowFacts] PMM is also a cover, as it happens. I personally think it’s a great cover, but YMMV. (Original song was by Status Quo, and was a true US one hit wonder for them in 1968). [/QUOTE] Did Status Quo have _any_ hits in the US? I think of "PoMM"as an example of a cover that has so completely overshadowed the obscure original that most people don’t know that it’s a cover, like **They Might Be Giants** ’ “Istanbul”. I knew it was a cover, and was considering starting a thread about bands that are huge elsewhere but had two or fewer hits in the US, such as Status Quo and The Tragically Hip. ---
**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, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/73 "2007-11-29T17:29:18Z")
[QUOTE=Tool of the Conspiracy] Did Status Quo have _any_ hits in the US? I think of "PoMM"as an example of a cover that has so completely overshadowed the obscure original that most people don’t know that it’s a cover [/QUOTE] Really? The Status Quo original peaked at #12 on the _Billboard_ singles chart, and currently appears on over 80 CDs; the Camper Van Beethoven version never charted and currently appears on 7 CDs. [The Status Quo performing the song on television in 1968.](http://youtube.com/watch?v=DRZpFAMAXgU&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/74 "2007-11-29T17:32:23Z")
In the original spirit of the thread, “You Get What You Give” is a catchy-as-hell song. I think The Edge and Joni Mitchell both praised it years after the fact–kinda weird for a song by a band that doesn’t even exist anymore (New Radicals). ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/75 "2007-11-29T17:35:42Z")
[QUOTE=GargoyleWB] A few off the top of my head that I still love and enjoy whenever I hear them…perfect blends of lyrics, performances, and song structure. “Cuts You Up” by Peter Murphy “Cars” by Gary Newman “99 Luftballon” by Nena “Blinded Me with Science” by Thomas Dolby “Mother Mother” by Tracy Bonham “Mexican Radio” by Wall of Voodoo [/QUOTE] Freaking mind reader! ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/76 "2007-11-29T17:47:19Z")
I didn’t see these mentioned, so I’ll mention them. “Walking on Sunshine” - Katrina and the Waves “Taking Care of Business” - Bachman Turner Overdrive “The Sound of Philadelphia” - MFSB & The 3 Degrees “Do the Hustle” - I have no idea ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/77 "2007-11-29T17:55:49Z")
I suspect Don McLean might have charted more than once (maybe with Vincent), but American Pie is certainly what he’s going to be remembered for. Same with Arlo Guthrie and “Alice’s Restaurant”. ---
**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, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/78 "2007-11-29T17:56:20Z")
“Walking on Sunshine” was mentioned in post #29 above. Katrina and the Waves actually had three singles in the Billboard Top 40: the others were “Do You Want Crying” and “That’s the Way”. “Do the Hustle” was actually titled simply “The Hustle”, and was a hit for Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony in 1975. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/79 "2007-11-29T17:57:07Z")
[QUOTE=GargoyleWB] “Blinded Me with Science” by Thomas Dolby [/QUOTE] I was so surprised at this that I had to go look it up. It’s true. Dolby got such endless airplay on the early MTV for songs like “One of Our Submarines” plus the half dozen songs that charted in Britain that I don’t understand why nothing else ever charted here. “Blinded Me with Science” is a favorite, no question, but nobody seems to remember that he tried a comeback with a brilliant album, Astronauts and Heretics, and that album contained one of the all time great songs in the history of rock, “I Love You, Goodbye.” Never released as a U.S. single to my knowledge. Sigh. What could have been. P.S. Bachman Turner had seven charting songs. ---
**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, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/80 "2007-11-29T17:59:09Z")
[QUOTE=Knowed Out] I didn’t see these mentioned, so I’ll mention them. “Walking on Sunshine” - Katrina and the Waves “Taking Care of Business” - Bachman Turner Overdrive “The Sound of Philadelphia” - MFSB & The 3 Degrees “Do the Hustle” - I have no idea [/QUOTE] BTO had a few other hits, including the #1 You Aint Seen Nothin Yet. (which \*\*Exapno Mapcase \*\* added before me) I also think Thomas Dolby’s “Hyperactive” should have been a huge hit, but I think peaked at only #62 or so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148.md?page=5)