# Your favorite one hit wonder **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117 "2011-08-18T04:36:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/141 "2011-10-12T20:14:29Z")
So many from the 80’s - I loved Der Kommissar by After The Fire, and The Politics of Dancing by Reflexx. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/142 "2011-10-12T20:50:34Z")
[Major Tom, by Peter Schilling.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEG7OzvSMBA) ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/143 "2011-10-12T22:04:22Z")
“The Rain” - Oran “Juice” Jones ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/144 "2011-10-12T23:10:41Z")
[_So Afraid of the Russians_ by **Made for TV**](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVf7m_YZ2zY) ---
**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:** [October 12, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/145 "2011-10-12T23:32:51Z")
The Night Chicago Died by Paper Lace. Yes, I know they also charted with Billy Don’t Be A Hero in the UK, so technically not a one hit wonder there. But Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods charted with “Billy” in the US and prevented Paper Lace from charting with it here. And that was the Heywoods’ only hit song. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/146 "2011-10-12T23:56:48Z")
> [@Bri2k](#): > > [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](#): > > Dancing in the moonlight by King Harvest. > [@tracy1963](#): > > I like that one…and Brandy by Looking Glass:cool: I’ve heard the lead singer on both of these is the same guy. Don’t have time to wiki it up, though. A quick one of my own: “Thunder and Lightning” by Chi Coltrane. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/147 "2011-10-13T03:24:52Z")
“Untouched” by the Veronicas (not counting other hits in Australia and New Zealand) They are also notable for having sung “This Love,” written by Kesha before she became famous in her own right. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/148 "2011-10-13T22:32:29Z")
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by a country mile. ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/149 "2011-10-14T03:09:57Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > Don’t think I saw “Spirit In The Sky” by Norman Greenbaum. Jeez, am I the only one who heard their follow-up, “Canned Ham?” If it played in the podunk town I lived in at the time, it must have been national. I’ll cast my vote for “Hot Smoke and Sassafras,” by Bubble Puppy. Great guitar solo midway through. ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/150 "2011-10-14T09:03:50Z")
Popcorn by Hot Butter. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gB-sV4mDuw) Music Box Dancer by Frank Mills [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9LRsYn9ufY0/hqdefault.jpg "Music Box Dancer - Frank Mills") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LRsYn9ufY0) ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/151 "2011-10-14T09:15:59Z")
Disco Duck by Rick Dees and his cast of idiots. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/irgJPqkuakM/hqdefault.jpg "rick dees and his cast of idiots - disco duck") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irgJPqkuakM) Dominique by Soeur Sourire [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j67CRvHEVvs) ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/152 "2011-10-14T15:09:55Z")
> [@brocks](#): > > I’ll cast my vote for “Hot Smoke and Sassafras,” by Bubble Puppy. Great guitar solo midway through. Funny, I never realized that that song even charted, but I see it made it to #14. I don’t remember ever once hearing it on the radio back in the day (I was just starting to really tune in to Top 40 around then), or ever since on “oldies” or “classic rock” stations. And it’s such an excellent song! ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/153 "2011-10-14T15:19:14Z")
Funny. I heard “Hot Smoke and Sassafras” on satellite radio just the other day. First time I’d heard it in decades! It was played in heavy rotation on Atlanta’s “underground” radio station my senior year in high school, along with “I Got a Line on You” by Spirit, and “Sabre Dance” by Love Sculpture. For some reason, I always group those three songs together in my memory, probably because I heard them played in a row one day back in 1969! ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/154 "2011-10-14T16:09:17Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Stacks o’ wax from the backs of the racks: > > _Walkin’ On Sunshine_ - Katrina and the Waves You’re probably coming from an American perspective, but I may as well say that they actually represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest with “Love Shine a Light” in 1997. It won. > [@Wheelz](#): > > _Wild Thing_ - The Troggs “Love is all Around”? Seriously? Number 7 in the US in 1968 and Wet Wet Wet’s cover was everywhere in 1994 due to the involvement with “Four Weddings and a Funeral”. “With a Girl Like You” hit number 29 is 1966. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/155 "2011-10-14T17:59:25Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Stacks o’ wax from the backs of the racks: > > _Do You Know What I Mean_ - Lee Michaels > _Sweet Soul Music_ - Arthur Conley > _Shout, Shout, Knock Yourself Out_ - Ernie Maresca > _Keep Your Hands To Yourself_ - Georgia Satellites > _Chantilly Lace_ - The Big Bopper > _Hippy Hippy Shake_ - Swingin’ Blue Jeans > _Bristol Stomp_ - The Dovells > _Expressway To Your Heart_ - Soul Survivors > _Tighten Up_ - Archie Bell and the Drells > _Soul Finger_ - The Bar-Kays > _Polk Salad Annie_ - Tony Joe White > _Ain’t Got No Home_ - Clarence “Frogman” Henry > _Walkin’ On Sunshine_ - Katrina and the Waves > _Little Bit O’ Soul_ - Music Explosion > _Black Betty_ - Ram Jam > _Surfin’ Bird_ - The Trashmen > _Wild Thing_ - The Troggs > _Mexican Radio_ - Wall Of Voodoo > _Kansas City_ - Wilbert Harrison Just nit-picking here, but didn’t Wilbert Harrison get on the charts again with “Let’s Work Together”? Got to see him doing that live, playing guitar, bass drum & hi-hat. ‘Mon, c’mon, les woik t’getha’ - cool dude. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/156 "2011-10-14T18:40:51Z")
**Nena**. Known in the US only for _99 Luftballons_, she’s been putting out albums regularly for nearly 30 years now. She has some truly magnificent stuff in her catalog. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/157 "2011-10-14T20:43:58Z")
For me, it’s a tossup between _Safety Dance_ and\* Come On Eileen\*, much to the chagrin of both wife and son… ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/158 "2011-10-14T23:23:10Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Was the '80s the Golden Age for 1 hit wonders? Yes. Because if you had a quirky video, the song itself didn’t have to be that great, but you could get on MTV, and MTV dictated radio airplay in the 80’s. Radio programmers were on autopilot all through the 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/159 "2011-10-15T00:52:44Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > [Canon in D](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdRNTXaweoo&feature=related), Pachelbel. Are you a fan of the[Pachelbel Rant](http://10.32.3.11:81/cgi/block.cgi?URL=http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DJdxkVQy7QLM&sa=U&ei=D9iYTr79DoLJiQLyy8TGDQ&ved=0CBoQFjAD&sig2=zMyuSxiQ3chift8mIVJVcQ&usg=AFQjCNEwbDtSXPW1lG6QzeoIxBK-jzd76A&IP=10.27.1.110&CAT=RRATED&USER=IPGROUP&CE=0)? (I’m hoping that’s the right link. We can’t connect to Youtube at work.) Let’s try \*\*Monster Mash \*\*by Bobby “Boris” Pickett. And **The Purple People Eater** by Sheb Wooley, even though his song, \*\*That’s My Pa \*\* was #1 on the Country & Western charts for one week. Unfortunately, **Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini** does not count because Brian Hyland hit #3 twice, with **Sealed with a Kiss** and with **Gypsy Woman**. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117/160 "2011-10-15T19:14:16Z")
Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the middle [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OMAIsqvTh7g/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHAA4AC6AKKAgwIABABGFEgZShfMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDh14_5Cxe--2eWHxFSKVbBeJA1jg "Stuck in the Middle with you - Stealers Wheel") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMAIsqvTh7g) Ozark mountain daredevils - Jackie Blue, can’t recall anything else by them. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrbNeOEG0GY) Ram Jam - Black betty, based on a very old negro song, again, can’t think of anything else by them [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R044sleOW6I/hqdefault.jpg "Ram Jam - Black Betty 1977") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R044sleOW6I) Midnight Oil - Beds are burning, don’t remember anything else by them [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ejorQVy3m8E/maxresdefault.jpg "Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-one-hit-wonder/593117.md?page=9)