# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/101 "2007-11-29T22:01:06Z")
Mason Williams is a one-hit wonder (as far as I know), with _Classical Gas_. But I’m not sure if it meets the OP’s standard of being a “song”, as it was an instrumental. IMNSHO, it _does_ meet the OP’s standard of being a really good piece of music. ---
**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, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/102 "2007-11-29T22:12:17Z")
[QUOTE=joechip236] Actually, that’s my big complaint with Dave Barry’s bad-songs list. Barry focuses almost exclusively on the lyrics and ignores the music; for him, if the lyrics are bad, the song is bad. Many of the songs he hates are musically quite good. [/QUOTE] While I agree with you regarding _Macarthur Park_, little else on his list is musically compelling. _Nor-man Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo Nor-man Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo Nor-man Nor-man my love!_ Complex. Schoenberg could hardly have done better. T. Rex probably fits the U.S. definition of a one-hit wonder. I can’t recall anything else approaching _Get It On_, which was a classic. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/103 "2007-11-29T22:20:56Z")
Did I totally miss it or is Del Shannon’s “Runaway” not mentioned at all. I would score it as “pretty good”. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/104 "2007-11-29T22:38:18Z")
Alls I have to say is: it’s a good thing I don’t share the hate for “In the Year 2525,” because it’s been stuck in my head ever since I read the OP this morning. Seriously, what’s so all-fired unappealing about it? This one song is somehow worse than any of Olivia Newton-John’s hits? Such apparently widespread dislike seems strangely arbitrary. I suspect an internet meme. On the other hand, I personally have an unrelenting antipathy for “Spirit in the Sky.” So it’s a good thing that I have this Zager and Evans number lodged in my skull to keep it at bay, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/105 "2007-11-29T22:41:16Z")
Some seem to hate it with a fiery passion but as far as I know Joan Osbourne qualifies as a one hit wonder with “One of Us”. I’ve always liked that song, and I’m not religious, noither. How about Suzanne Vega. Not really a one hit wonder, looking at her Wikipedia entry she’s had a number of international hits in the top 40 but only one in the top 40 “Luka.” However the remix of “Tom’s Diner” hit #5 in the US, but it was an unauthorized remix and therefore does not count. ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/106 "2007-11-29T22:49:04Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Part 1” by The Flaming Lips [/QUOTE] Yoshimi charted? I never heard it on the radio or anything. I thought “She Don’t Use Jelly” was their most commercially successful track. I was totally obsessed with “The Way” when it came out. I was in 7th or 8th grade. Sadly, it just doesn’t stand up today. I hate when that happens. ---
**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, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/107 "2007-11-29T22:51:11Z")
[QUOTE=Tool of the Conspiracy] Not a one-hit wonder. They had already had “Sex”, “No More Words”, and a few smaller hits. (Now that I’ve discovered that Billboard has all their old charts searchable, I can be a jerk and contradict everybody.) [/QUOTE] Sorry, but if I’ve never heard of it, it ain’t a hit. That’s a little know rule in the Hoyle Rules of determining One Hit Wonders. ---
**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, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/108 "2007-11-29T22:55:25Z")
[QUOTE=Greg Charles] Did I totally miss it or is Del Shannon’s “Runaway” not mentioned at all. I would score it as “pretty good”. [/QUOTE] You didn’t miss it - it’s just that [Del Shannon](http://wm10.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=DEL%7CSHANNON&sql=11:0ifpxqr5ld0e~T51) had 17 songs in the top 100 and 3 in the top 10. So hardly a one-hit wonder. ---
**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, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/109 "2007-11-29T23:05:55Z")
[QUOTE=DJ Motorbike] How about Suzanne Vega. Not really a one hit wonder, looking at her Wikipedia entry she’s had a number of international hits in the top 40 but only one in the top 40 “Luka.” However the remix of “Tom’s Diner” hit #5 in the US, but it was an unauthorized remix and therefore does not count. [/QUOTE] It was authorized when it was released as a commercial single. After DNA released an unauthorized limited edition remix for club use, A&M Records, Vega’s record company of the time, decided to buy the remix and release it themselves as a single. And that’s the single that charted — with Vega’s and A&M’s approval. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/110 "2007-11-29T23:14:54Z")
Surpirsed no one has mentioned [My Sharona](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sharona) by [The Knack](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knack). ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/111 "2007-11-29T23:30:30Z")
[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man] Surpirsed no one has mentioned [My Sharona](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sharona) by [The Knack](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knack). [/QUOTE] That’s 'cause, in the U.S., Good Girls Don’t got to #11 and Baby Talks Dirty reached #38. ---
**Author:** ![Sanity\_Challenged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Sanity\_Challenged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sanity_Challenged)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/112 "2007-11-29T23:43:39Z")
**Young MC** - Bust a Move **House of Pain** - Jump Around Both great, fun songs. ---
**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, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/113 "2007-11-29T23:46:22Z")
[QUOTE=ShadowFacts] Which version you are more familiar with probably has more to do with when you were born than anything else 🙂 [/QUOTE] Well … at iTunes, the Status Quo original of “Pictures of Matchstick Men” has outsold the CVB version by about 3-to-1. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/114 "2007-11-29T23:57:05Z")
**I’m No Saint** , I’m with you on the Final Countdown. I love that trumpet intro - my wife and I walked in to that at our wedding (by my choice). Chief Scott: > [@](#): > > “Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor Survivor is not a one-hit wonder. High on You, The Search is Over…a few others as well. Isn’t Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) a one-hit wonder song? I always felt that had a sad beauty to it. ---
**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 30, 2007, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/115 "2007-11-30T00:00:54Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] Well … at iTunes, the Status Quo original of “Pictures of Matchstick Men” has outsold the CVB version by about 3-to-1. [/QUOTE] Which could mean that it’s 3 times more popular. Or it could mean that so many people already own the CVB version they have no need to download it. 😛 I have no dog here, I like both versions 🙂 ---
**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 30, 2007, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/116 "2007-11-30T00:03:13Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] **I’m No Saint** , I’m with you on the Final Countdown. I love that trumpet intro - my wife and I walked in to that at our wedding (by my choice). [/QUOTE] There are trumpets in _The Final Countdown_?? I always thought those were cheesy 80s synth keyboards. (No disrespect intended to your wedding, I’m sure it was lovely). ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/117 "2007-11-30T00:16:50Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] It was authorized when it was released as a commercial single. After DNA released an unauthorized limited edition remix for club use, A&M Records, Vega’s record company of the time, decided to buy the remix and release it themselves as a single. And that’s the single that charted — with Vega’s and A&M’s approval. [/QUOTE] I don’t approve. I can’t stand that song. She still gets an asterisk in my book. I thought of another I don’t recall anyone else mentioning Eddie Brickell & The New Bohemians with “What I Am” which is a song I do not hate from a certified one hit wonder. Others I was going to mention that just squeaked by after I did a little prying. Tori Amos charted with “Silent All These Years” ironically 5 years after it had been released, and again in 2002 with “A Sorta Fairytale” which looks like it peaked at #38 for two weeks. You got lucky there, Tori. Also, 10,000 Maniacs charted at #11 with their cover of “Because the Night” and then again after Natalie Merchant left the band with “More Than This” at #25 at its peak. Practically two different bands without Ms. Merchant. She wrote most of the songs for the band. So, in conclusion. I got nothing. Except Eddie Brickell. ---
**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 30, 2007, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/118 "2007-11-30T00:17:23Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] Isn’t Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) a one-hit wonder song? I always felt that had a sad beauty to it. [/QUOTE] That was Looking Glass. I do believe they had another Top 40, “Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne” but it only hit #33. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/119 "2007-11-30T00:32:29Z")
Somebody mentioned Frank Sinatra, but he had a long trail of top 40 hits. Remarkably, in the mid-60s, when the top was all rock ‘n’ roll, he hit the charts with _That’s Life, My Way, Summer Wind_, and _Somethin’ Stupid_. _The Stripper_, as far as I know, was the only hit for the David Rose band. Even today, tv and movies will quote a few bars to evoke that feeling. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/120 "2007-11-30T00:37:45Z")
ShadowFacts: > [@](#): > > There are trumpets in The Final Countdown?? I always thought those were cheesy 80s synth keyboards. Maybe it’s just a synth, but that intro always put in my mind a majestic image of a row of trumpeters lowing a fanfare in front of a castle just as the king is about to emerge. I love that bit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148.md?page=7)