Best One-Hit Wonder

She had a second Grammy-winning hit with “Give Me One Reason” in 1995.

OP you're not very bright. See r1, plus this link

Fuck you!

"Barely Breathing", Duncan Shiek

It can only be…

"Don't Disturb this Groove", The System

R1 R2 that only hit #3 on billboard and winning a Grammy make not a hit. She’s a one hit wonder. Sorry.

And Tracy's 2nd album, Crossroads, while not producing any major chart hits, sold quite well. For a folk artist in the late 80s and into the 90s, Tracy did very well for herself.

r7 You're quite challenged, sweetie.

[quote] that only hit #3 on billboard and winning a Grammy make not a hit. She’s a one hit wonder. Sorry.

Are you retarded? How much further did it need to go to be a hit in your mind?

American Pie by Don McLean

Vitamin C ! I wanna be her friend forever

Don McLean had other hits, including Vincent and his cover of Roy Orbison's Cryin.

R13 Vitamin C had "Smile" as a hit too.

Nobody ever went further on one song that Jimmy Buffet,

He turned that one song into a hundred million dollar Margaritaville iindustry

R10 eat your mother’s cunt, you flailing Yasss Kween. I’m sure you fell in line last night and subconsciously declared yourself “a huge Tracy Chapman fan!!!”, so you can go along with all the other muppets. What pisses me off about this resurgence is not the popularity for her or the money, but that a bunch of basic bitch douche bags like you are going to beat her and her into the ground until it loses all meaning or emotion and we never wanna hear her sing again. Think Fleetwood Mac and the Dreams song. Sweetie…

God you sound like an annoying faag!

R16 wins! Hands-down. I stand corrected.

Soft Cell had only one true hit in the U.S. - their version of Tainted Love. They enjoyed additional chart success in other countries, but here in the U.S. that was it!

r17 Seek help. I'm not a Tracy Chapman fan - just pointing out your extreme ignorance (which was made even more fun by your unintelligible spiral - thanks for that bonus). I'm not sure where you got all that other stuff, though. I do hope things improve for you!

Oh cool the 15th time this exact thread topic has been posted in the last year.

"Mickey" - Tony Basil

Where's YOUR Grammy, R7

Jane Child, Don't Wanna Fall in Love

I hate "Mickey." The song, and since the song, every single Mickey in the world.

"My Boy Lollipop" - Millie Small

"You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry" - the Caravelles

"Sally Go Round the Roses" - the Jaynetts

"Popsicles and Icicles" - the Murmaids

[quote] "Sally Go Round the Roses" - the Jaynetts

Look at your choice and then look at the question OP asked.

Sorry, OP. I only read your headline.

- r26 r27 r28 r29

Spirit in the Sky

Elvis Costello is technically a one hit wonder

My Ding A Ling by Laverne Cox ft Chaz Bono

r33 Technically which song was his only hit? Which chart are you using?

WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL

OP/R7 No, it's absolutely a hit, you stupid, fetid sack of shit.

"ACK-SHONE! I wanna LIIIIIIVE...."

I love the unenthused German audience members.

CALL ME!

Jimmy Buffett owns this thread. He parlayed one song into a $600 million-dollar bunch of businesses with the song as a tie-in.

r40 Did you see r16?

Margaritaville.com

Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life”

Yes, R41 dear. I'm adding to it with an example of just how big his empire extended. No need to be the hall monitor.

This is right up on the list.

A club hit (with disco roots) that is beloved and yes, even iconic.....but nothing else made the Top 40 charts after, though some songs were dance hits.

Amii Stewart “Knock on Wood”

Wild Cherry “Play that Funky Music”

R17 What a crime against humanity that some people like a revival of a quite good song from the late 80s! Why so rancorous? What's your problem?

Tracy Chapman isn't a one hit wonder. Wtf? "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You" and "Give me one reason " were all hits. That's like calling Nirvana a one hit wonder because none of their other hits were as big as Smells like teen Spirit.

Nick Gilder “Hot Child In the City”

Lipss Inc. “Funkytown”

R33 Yeah, but Elvis Costello sucks

There were many, many during the disco era and also during the MTV era because the period encouraged it but one of my faves would be The Knack.

Samantha Sang

Rick Dees “Disco Duck”

McFadden and Whitehead “Ain’t no Stoppin us Now”

Joni Mitchell herself never had a real hit song, beyond Judy Collins's cover of "Both Sides Now."

R17, that was quite the reaction. Get a grip, sweetie.

I love Rickie Lee Jones and Chuck E's in Love but she might not be considered a one hit wonder since an obscure song she wrote became the unofficial national anthem of Australia.

“Take Your Time (Do it Right)” SOS Band

Wrong, R57. Free Man in Paris and Help Me were both hits.

R57, Help Me was actually #7 on the charts and since it was 1974, it meant something.

R62 And it also went to No. 1 on the "Easy Listening" charts, which also was big thing back in the 70s.

Joni isn't quite a one hit wonder as You Turn Me On I'm A Radio also made the charts. But she was definitely more of an album artist.

R45, how about Give Me Tonight? Also a hit.

I think Court and Spark was the record that really sort of introduced her to the masses. Raised on Robbery is one of the most accessible and radio friendly songs she did (except for that sob reference).

R65 If we're talking pop charts, it only went to #46.

Huh ok. I just remember hearing Give Me Tonight and Let the Music Play incessantly on the radion in the 80's.

Taste of Honey with Boogie Oogie Oogie. Very representative of the time and they even got a Grammy for Best New Artist (which was really controversial). They had a minor hit with the remake of Sukiyaki but not only does BOO live on, the concept that two black women were fronting a band playing guitar and bass is still finding fans.

I think the Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye kind of one hit joyous feat is what I would prefer to a solemn Grammy staple. It’s chanted at stadiums worldwide.

Sinead only had Nothing Compares 2 U in America. None of her other songs were hits.

Sukiyaki was a huge hit in 1981 hitting #3 on the hot 100 and #1 on the R&B and adult contemporary charts.

Kyu Sakamoto who sang the original version was a one hit wonder.

Janis Joplin - technically a one hit wonder

Anita Ward “Ring my Bell”. The knack had two more top 40 hits.

Alan O’Day “Undercover Angel “

Most people here are just randomly yelling out one hit wonders, not one hit wonders that made the artist into an enduring household name. Jimmy Buffett still remains the contribution to beat.

r76 "Who reached the pinnacle of success as best as you can from just one hit single?"

People are answering the question. No one is yelling, except the freak OP herself.

Technically Buffett isn’t a one hit wonder he had 5 singles make it into the top 40 from 1974-79.

Stars on 45 “Stars on 45”

M “Pop Muzik”

r79 Damnit, now that song will be stuck in my head.

I'm gonna throw Seal into the mix. Though technically nesting with Heidi Klum was his comeback hit.

R38 She had another massive hit, "Self Applause."

Minnie Riperton “Lovin You”

[quote]Nobody ever went further on one song that Jimmy Buffet

Oh, dear.

He's not a Golden Corral.

This guy refuses to perform this anymore

r85 Since when? They performed it at the Biden inauguration

Always loved this song, by Johnny and June’s daughter.

R83, Minnie Ripperton is hardly a one-hit wonder. Just because they only had 1 number one song, doesn't imply the rest of their catalog went unnoticed. Think Toni Basil, Taco, and Men Without Hats.

One of my favorite tunes

Minnie Riperton only had one other song that made the hot 100 and it peaked at #76.

Seal has had 3 top 10 hits and a few that made the top 40.

Van McCoy “The Hustle”

This was the biggest one-hit wonder ever. There was no way anyone in the world could escape this in 1996. I don't think there was ever a single song that had as big an impact as this one.

r89 see r47

Vangelis “Chariots of Fire Theme”

News flash r7

A #3 song on the Billboard Hot 100 is a hit. You are a moron who doesn’t know jack

Walter Murphy “A Fifth of Beethoven”

A bop for the ages.

Jan Hammer “Miami Vice Theme”

Bill Conti “Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)”

R9 Someone we all despise deserves that song on loop while being water tortured. I won’t make it another thread on that topic.

If this band had other hits, I don’t remember them.

The lead singer became a very talented painter, and also a handsome guy as he aged.

It’s a really cool old song. Reminds me of being a young kid listening to the radio in the backseat of a car.

Chinchita

R91, that soung was inescapable for a few years.

By Billboard Top 100 standards for rock or pop, some of these were one-hit wonders, but in the black community (black radio, r&b charts) several of these artists had many hits.

T'Pau Heart and Soul

Berlin, Take My Breath Away. Giorgio Moroder considered it his greatest achievement at the time.

That he said shut up chick

Patti Smith

Because the Night

As perfect as a song gets. Everything else she does is shit

THREAD CLOSED

R108 IS A CLOWN. SEND HIM IN.

Sylvia did pretty good with that Nobody song.

Torn Between Two Lovers

Afternoon Delight

I'm not Lisa

Whatever happened to Alicia Bridges?

Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

Asia - Heat of the Moment

R112 She became a raging bull dyke and occasionally DJs in her Southern backwoods time from whence she came.

They featured on a VH1 "where are they now" show way back when, and she had packed on about 50 pounds and was all decked out in leather and studs.

I was going to say.—Tracy Chapman isn’t a one hit wonder. Things were different during that era when indie type artists could have one huge crossover single from the album while selling a ton of records based off the acclaim and touring. The album era was a a different time. A number one song was cool but it was always used as a means to propel album sells. For example Alanis Morisette’s huge selling album produced not one number one single even though the songs are very well known.

Spirit in the Sky

Molly Hatchet

[quote] Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

No. She had a second number one hit as well as a song that went to number 18.

Dexy’s Midnight Runner’s “Come On Eileen”

A-ha – ‘Take on Me’

Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way"

Natalie Imbruglia, Torn. It wasn't even an original song, it was a cover.

Patrick Hernandez - "Born to Be Alive"

I don't know what the big deal about Traci Chapman's song, Fast Car. It's boring and annoying.

Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know

Magic! — Rude

So needless to say

I'm odds and ends

But I'll be stumblin' away

Slowly learnin' that life is okay

Say after me

It's no better to be safe than sorry

Subcategory: "One Hit Wonder in USA, but Big in _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "

[quote] Patrick Hernandez - "Born to Be Alive"

Patrick Hernandez has been living a life of quiet luxury in the south of France since the 80’s purely on the proceeds of that single song. It was the biggest song in the world for a while when released. Lucky bastard.

Oh, and he fucked a young nobody called Madonna who’s singing the chorus in the background.

OP's right. I'm a HUGE Chapman fan who owns ALL of her records BUT she would be considered a one-hit wonder.

R68 To US, she would technically be a two-hit wonder but to THEM, they only know of "Let The Music Play."

You have to make that kind of distinction with one-hit wonders.

r130 You ARE incorrect

Love Tracy Chapman.

Lest we forget

R132 Nahh. If your entire career is ONLY defined by one song, you're a one-hit wonder. The ONLY song tied to Chapman by CASUAL listeners is "Fast Car." That is the first--and probably only--song that pops into ANYBODY's head when you mention her name. How can you argue that?

Is Britney Spears' "catalog" only defined by "Hit Me Baby One More Time"? What about Cyndi Lauper? Despite "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" being her most recognizable song, people can also list MANY others. Do you think they could tell you any other Tracy Chapman songs off the top? O'Connor, who I'm ALSO a big fan of, is also a one-hit wonder. Neneh Cherry? One-hit wonder even though I can name at least three other songs that were played on MTV. But what is the ONLY song she's known for?

Come on

R134 That was never a hit.

R135, that's not what a one-hit wonder is. A one-hit wonder is someone who literally had only one hit song!

Sly Fox Let's go akk rhe way

5 billion views

[quote]T'Pau - Heart and Soul

China In Your Hand wasn't a hit in North America?

R135, Chapman is also known for Baby Can I Hold You. It was nearly as big as Fast Car in some countries. Nikki Minaj even tried to sample it but Chapman shut her down (yet another reason to love Chapman).

Tracy Chapman “Give Me One Reason”

Hot Chelle Rae - Tonight Tonight

Metro Station - Shake It

r135 Nah, you're trying super hard for some weird reason, which does sort of make me chuckle. You're quite passionate, strangely - proven incorrect, but passionate. Kudos for your determination!

Tracy Chapman is NOT a one-hit wonder, darling. End of story.

And if she was, she wouldn't be the best, anyway.

You can’t fix STUPID.

[quote]Chapman is also known for Baby Can I Hold You. It was nearly as big as Fast Car in some countries.

It was blandly covered by Irish boyband Boyzone in 1997