Are They A One-Hit Wonder?
- Thread starter sadchild
- Start date
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
I never realized he sang "Superstar". Was he credited at the time as artist?
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scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
I was floored when I recently discovered this (and I posted about it somewhere). He was actually a cast member of the play in London, and then many years later, in NYC, he wrote Bangkok for a Broadway play. Again, I'm not going to look it up, because I already did somewhere.
If you're going to quote me then quote me in context. Here's what I actually wrote:
"TL;DR: Top 40 of Billboard Hot 100 is a terrible metric for defining what is and isn't a "hit.""
Notice the second punctuation mark. It's a colon, not a period. That means that I did in fact read it and am summarizing it for people who do not want to read it because it is too long.
In short, I have argued and continue to argue that the Top 40 of Billboard Hot 100 is a terrible metric for defining what is and isn't a "hit."
What part of all of this aren't we clear about?
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
It sounds like we're all in agreement then.
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
We are in agreement what not to use as a metric.
sadchild
Dude
Ok cool, wasn't sure which way to read it.
Yes, we are all, as far as I can tell, in agreement that one vs two-or-more top 40 hits is not a great method. As evidenced by how many two-top40ers we've called OHWs.
But among the ways that have been considered a measuring stick, the top 40 route seems to be a popular one out there. I like how we are testing it in this thread - and maybe by analyzing our choices on who the one-hit wonders really are (despite having had 2 top 40s) we'll accidentally devise a better method that's more accurate, patent it, share in the wealth, and retire on an island together in luxury where we can debate it further!
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
I think in most cases the number of top 40s is deceptive. 2 top 40s does not always define a OHW. Nor does a single top 40 guarantee a OHW. The 3 examples I have are Michael Sembelo, Madness and Grateful Dead. By chart logic the later is a OHW the first 2 are not. But I think common sense dictates the opposite. And its not because of program directors today. I never heard those second songs in the 1980s either.
Jon
Well-Known Member
I remember both, I recall Superstar charting before One Night in Bangkok. So, technically he's a two hit wonder.
Like the Rembrandts who had "That's just the way It is Baby", and then later on had the Friends theme song, "I'll be there for you" which wasn't even supposed to BE a single as the 30-second or so snippet you heard at the beginning of the show was the entirety of the song for a while, until people started asking about it. Then it was released, and did pretty well as it was all over radio, and VH1 (another one that played videos at one time) had it all over their playlist.
sadchild
Dude
Rembrandts
#14 "Just The Way It Is Baby"
#17 "I'll Be There For You"
Credit Jon (see above)
I say definitely not a OHW subjectively. I remember both songs very well when they came out and still hear them both these days (though I'd like to hear JTWIIB more and IBTFY less).
This reminds me of another one....
#14 "Just The Way It Is Baby"
#17 "I'll Be There For You"
Credit Jon (see above)
I say definitely not a OHW subjectively. I remember both songs very well when they came out and still hear them both these days (though I'd like to hear JTWIIB more and IBTFY less).
This reminds me of another one....
sadchild
Dude
Jude Cole
#16 "Baby It's Tonight"
#32 "Time For Letting Go"
I say definitely is a OHW subjectively. Don't think I've ever heard TFLG? And even if I did back then, I haven't heard it in the last 30 years.
I was expecting his smaller hit to be "Start The Car", which I did hear on the radio back then and still like now. But alas it only peaked at #71, and he actually has two more songs that peaked higher than it: "Tell The Truth" and "House Full Of Reasons".....?
#16 "Baby It's Tonight"
#32 "Time For Letting Go"
I say definitely is a OHW subjectively. Don't think I've ever heard TFLG? And even if I did back then, I haven't heard it in the last 30 years.
I was expecting his smaller hit to be "Start The Car", which I did hear on the radio back then and still like now. But alas it only peaked at #71, and he actually has two more songs that peaked higher than it: "Tell The Truth" and "House Full Of Reasons".....?
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
...or objectively. Is there a question about this?
Not sure what year these made the airwaves, but I was clearly not listening to pussy-whipped radio at the time. Baby It's Tonight sounds a little familiar, but that may just be from 1st Wave. Never heard the others.
sadchild
Dude
I lol'd
Channel98
Don't yell or hit.
How about Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark? If You Leave was a #4 hit in 1986 and continues to be played on "classic hits" stations. Their three other top-30 hits – So In Love, Forever (Live & Die) and Dreaming – are pretty much forgotten now.
But wait – there's more! OMD placed four songs on the top 30 of the mainstream rock chart – but their four top-30 pop hits are not among them. Their rock hits were Telegraph, Genetic Engineering, Pandora's Box and Stand Above Me.
But wait – there's more! OMD placed four songs on the top 30 of the mainstream rock chart – but their four top-30 pop hits are not among them. Their rock hits were Telegraph, Genetic Engineering, Pandora's Box and Stand Above Me.
Channel98
Don't yell or hit.
So you never heard this beautiful sentimental ballad from David Allan Coe's 1978 album Nothing Scared.
HecticArt
Administrator
I liked that album.
We used to play Baby it's Tonight back in 1980whatever.
I think I listed him in the forgotten albums thread.