I like “Counting Blue Cars” by Dishwalla, too.
“City of New Orleans”
I remember they covered John Fogerty’s “Rockin’ All Over the World” back in '77.
Damn you for making me go back to the 80s in my head, but I think you’re forgetting “It Must Be Love,” which charted at 33 in the US. Could’ve sworn I heard “House of Fun” a million times back then, but it didn’t blip here in America.
Did Kate Bush ever go anywhere in the top 40 with anything other than “Running Up That Hill”? Because that’s a fantastic song.
Hmm…looking up Samantha Fox on wikipedia I see that she had two hit songs…and is now a lesbian. Hunh.
What else…Dream Academy’s “Life in a Northern Town” I liked a lot…
Oh, Limahl’s “The Neverending Story.” Kajagoogoo songs don’t count!
I heard this on the radio last week for what had to be the first time in 12 years or longer. I still had about half the words memorized, which frankly was a little scary.
Anyway, I also heard “No Rain” by Blind Melon last night. Substances may have been involved, or maybe it was just creeping nostalgia, but I found “No Rain” was a much better song than I’d ever given it credit for being.
You’re right, I was going from memory (my books are at home) and was wrong- “It Must Be Love” definitely made top 40- my bad.
Also going from memory, I’m pretty sure Running up that Hill was her only US hit, peaking at #30 (?)
“Never Ending Story” and “Too Shy” both count- same singer of course, but one solo, one group.
The real question is does “Into the Night” by Benny Mardones count, as it hit twice, first in 1981, second around 1989, not as a recharting like The Twist- the second one is a entirely new recording (although it doesn’t sound that much different).
Unfortunately that song was so overplayed, and the bee girl from the video so annoying, that I can’t call it a good song. It’s definitely one of the defining one-hit wonders of the decade though.
Joel Whitburn states that the two are “the same version” and Bronson lists the 1980 (not 1981) version as #55 on the top one-hit wonder songs.
Whitburn confirms that “Running Up That Hill” was Bush’s only U.S. charting song, hitting #30. And what a great song that was.
Interesting- I would swear I could tell a difference in the two (the original seemd to have more “oomph” and a more passioned vocal)- I’m thinking perhaps he did re-record it in 1989, as a result of the original 1980 version recharting in 1989.
Good info though, and what Whitburn book are you citing? The latest ones I have is singles thru 1990 and albums through 1992 or so.
I’m a bit late to the party, but I’ll offer up “Lovefool” by The Cardigans. They had another one get some airplay (I think it was called “My Favorite Game”), but they could be considered a one-hit wonder. I think they’re still an active band, but come on, Lovefool was a megahit, and the Cardigans have long been forgotten by the public.
In any case, I freaking love that song.
I beg to differ. It’s true that the lyrics are pretty goofy (such as the line about the “strip-ed pair of pants”) but musically, it’s an amazing piece of work.
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.
King Harvest - “Dancing In The Moonlight”
It’s become basically a punchline due to its use on SNL, but I really really enjoy What Is Love by Haddaway. It’s incredibly infectious and fun.
Yeah, that’s how it was for me, too. And I was listening mostly to Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden at the time. But if you forgot about all that, what you’re left with is actually good.
You used “comprised” correctly. I…I think I love you.
Ahem. I think quite a few of the songs mentioned are good, even GREAT. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” is my pick for best thoroughly-pop pop song of its era. “500 Miles” was great fun too.
According to wiki, the CVB cover was #1 on the “alternative music” chart, whatever the hell that is. Which version you are more familiar with probably has more to do with when you were born than anything else 
I would like to nominate “Detachable Penis” by King Missile. Extremely memorable guitar lick. I’m pretty sure that’s their only hit, although “Martin Scorcese” might have made some waves, too.
Can’t believe I forget the quintessential one hit wonder of the 80’s…
Take My Breath Away by Berlin
True. I didn’t see any US chart positions when I looked up Status Quo on Wikipedia, and I didn’t think of going to the actual Billboard site. It seems that they had another small hit, also before I has born: “Ice in the Sun”. (I don’t recall ever hearing it.)
I thought of them too, but even “Detachable Penis” wasn’t much of a hit: #25 on the “Modern Rock” (AKA alternative music) chart.
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.)
A batch from the past decade or so:
“The Way” by Fastball
“The Impression That I Get” by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones
“Jerk” by Kim Stockwood
“I Kissed a Girl” by Jill Sobule
“Brighter than Sunshine” by Aqualung
“Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Part 1” by The Flaming Lips
“Coco Jambo” by Mr. President
“Banditos” by The Refreshments
Kudos to Argent Towers and ForumBot for mentioning “How Bizarre” and “Sex and Candy,” respectively. Fun songs, both.