Are They A One-Hit Wonder?

[jbnv]

@jbnv Here's the complete original list

Definitely not:
a-ha - #1 & #20
Berlin - #1 & #23
Dead Or Alive - #11 & #15
Escape Club - #1 & #8
Falco - #1 & #18
Jesus Jones - #2 & #4 (seriously?)
Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch - #1 & #10
Men Without Hats - #3 & #20
Owl City - #1 & #8
Vanilla Ice - #1 & #4

Not to me:
Alannah Myles - #1 & #36
Chris deBurgh - #3 & #34

To me but maybe not to others:
EMF - #1 & #10

A few I've seen on lists that aren't in my book (sorry, no time to look up the rankings now)
Robbie Nevil (a MAJOR pet peeve of mine)
Will to Power (ditto)
Was (Not Was)
Jermaine Stewart
Del Amitri
Nu Shooz
Thomas Dolby(?)
Dazz Band (OHW in pop only, not in R&B)
Timmy T

Also, I don't count charity acts as OHWs (USA for Africa, Band-Aid, etc) because they specifically came together to make one song.

 

[Channel98]

Kings Of Leon reached #4 in September 2009 with Use Somebody. The song was on the Hot 100 for 57 weeks. The band's only other top-40 hit was Radioactive[/i], which peaked at #37 in October 2010. Kings Of Leon had four top-ten songs on the rock chart – but if we're considering only the Hot 100 chart, then I declare Kings Of Leon to be a one-hit wonder.

Anther one-hit wonder: The Jive Five, a quintet from Brooklyn. My True Story reached #3 in September 1961 and was a staple on oldies radio stations for many years. Their only other top-40 hit was I'm A Happy Man, which got to #36 in September 1965 and today is largely forgotten.

 

[sadchild]

Good question about Kings Of Leon. I didn't realize they've had two top 40 pop hits (so technically not a one-hit wonder). But I have no idea if, to the mainstream US pop audience, if they're still known for both hits. I liked their early song "On Call" but everything since I've ignored.

As for Jive Five, I'd never heard of them, so I don't personally know if they are subjectively a one-hit wonder -- but going with your description, they definitely sound like a one-hit wonder subjectively!

 

[sadchild]

Robbie Nevil (a MAJOR pet peeve of mine)

The guy has FIVE top 40 hits! Whoever is calling him a one-hit wonder is out of their mind!

Will to Power (ditto)

Two top 40s but I only know one of them. To me, subjectively, they're a one-hit wonder.

Was (Not Was)

Two top 40s and they're both still well-known (enough) today. To me, subjectively, they're NOT a one-hit wonder.

Jermaine Stewart

Two top 40s, plus a #41 and a #42 (poor bastard, so close twice!). Aside from the VJ 40s I wouldn't know any of his other music. To me, subjectively, he's a one-hit wonder.

Del Amitri

Three top 40s. Not a one-hit wonder either way.

Nu Shooz

Two top 40s (and a #41). But aside from the VJ 40s, I've only ever known "I-I-I Can't Wait". Subjectively a one-hit wonder to me.

Thomas Dolby(?)

Only one top 40. Technically a one-hit wonder. And subjectively.

Dazz Band (OHW in pop only, not in R&B)

Only one top 40. Technically a one-hit wonder. And subjectively.

Timmy T

His first single hit #40 so he jjjjjust makes not being a one-hit wonder (technically). To me, I don't know any of his other music, so subjectively he's a one-hit wonder in my world.

 

[sadchild]

Here's another act with two top 40s, but are they subjectively a one-hit wonder (in the POP world)?

Ratt
#12 "Round And Round"
#40 "Lay It Down"

I think most people who aren't specifically into 80s/classic rock will only know "Round And Round". So I'd say subjectively they're a one-hit wonder despite technically jjjjjust barely qualifying as having two pop hits.

 

[Channel98]

Starbuck – no relation to the coffeehouse chain – had a #3 hit in July 1976 with Moonlight Feels Right, noted for Bo Wagner's marimba playing. Their only other top-40 hit, Everybody Be Dancin', reached #38 in May 1977 – and I think nobody be remembering it. Starbuck is a one-hit wonder.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Good question about Kings Of Leon. I didn't realize they've had two top 40 pop hits (so technically not a one-hit wonder). But I have no idea if, to the mainstream US pop audience, if they're still known for both hits.

They have 9 top 20s on the rock charts, 12 top 40s. And they're still around, on AC radio every day. They've been on the rock charts for like 15 years. So no, not a OHW.

 

[HecticArt]

They have 9 top 20s on the rock charts, 12 top 40s. And they're still around, on AC radio every day. They've been on the rock charts for like 15 years. So no, not a OHW.

I was reading this thinking that they had more than 2 hits. Sex on Fire popped in my head first. I knew that had to be a chart topper.

 

[sadchild]

There's an article at Village Voice from 2012 discussing this at great length. Here are a few excerpts that seem to echo our conversation (including how in order for something to be a hit, it could be defined as 'would Casey Kasem have had it in his countdown' aka pop chart top 40, no other charts)

I speak from personal experience: my molars take to grinding every time VH1, that list-loving TV channel, compiles a countdown of “Greatest One-Hit Wonders.” They’ve done it several times—most recently, offering countdowns of OHWs of the ’80s and ’90s. You’d expect lists compiled by a major media outlet possessed of at least a few researchers to have a solid definition of OHWdom. You’d be wrong.

Among the acts VH1 calls one-hit wonders are Norwegian pop kings a-ha, famed in America for the 1985 No. 1 “Take on Me” but also behind the No. 20 followup “The Sun Always Shines on TV”; reversible-pants aficionados Kris Kross, huge for 1992’s No. 1 “Jump” but with three (three!) followup Top 20 hits in later years; Men Without Hats, those Teutonic Canucks, beloved for 1983’s No. 3 “Safety Dance” but also beloved for 1987’s No. 20 “Pop Goes the World”; and shirt-challenged Gerardo, who took “Rico Suave” to No. 7 in 1990 but then, three months later, wound up just nine spots lower with “We Want the Funk.” Are any of these dudes’ followup hits memorable? Hardly.

...

All right… so, clearly, allowing any measly Hot 100 hit to count against OHW status is way too low a bar. How about the Top 40—what if we require all artists looking to avoid the OHW fate to score a second hit that could have been counted down by Casey Kasem? This rule makes VH1’s list look a lot less egregious: 74 of the 100 acts would qualify as one-hit wonders.

...

Still, even the Top 40 rule is not entirely satisfying. Sure, Gary Glitter managed to follow his stomping anthem “Rock and Roll Part 2” (No. 7, 1972—and playing at a stadium somewhere on the planet as you read this) with the soundalike “I Didn’t Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock and Roll)” (No. 35, 1972). But does Glitter deserve to escape OHW status on that technicality? Should we let Michael Sembello off the OHW hook just because he managed to follow the Flashdance killer jam “Maniac” with a rushed Top 40-scraping followup, “Automatic Man” (No. 34, 1983)? Surely these guys fit every sensible description of one-hit wonder.

...

There’s one last sticky wicket with the VH1 list—the acts who aren’t on it.

Like Jimi Hendrix. Yes, that Hendrix—were you aware the all-time guitar god appeared within the Top 40 of the Hot 100 exactly once? That would be his 1968 cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” (No. 20, 1968). It wasn’t for lack of trying; Hendrix released five other singles from 1967 to 1971 that made the big chart, but none got higher than the No. 58-ranked “Crosstown Traffic.”

What about the Grateful Dead? The Dead weren’t about the Top 40, maaaaan! Yeah, except over the years, about a half-dozen of their songs were released as vinyl 45s that qualified for the Hot 100 (somebody thought they had hit potential). None got higher (heh) on the chart than “Truckin'” at No. 64 in 1971—until 1987, when “Touch of Grey” reached No. 9, bringing in thousands of new Dead fans and pissing off thousands of old Deadheads.

 

[jbnv]

There's an article at Village Voice from 2012 discussing this at great length. Here are a few excerpts that seem to echo our conversation (including how in order for something to be a hit, it could be defined as 'would Casey Kasem have had it in his countdown' aka pop chart top 40, no other charts)

TL;DR: Top 40 of Billboard Hot 100 is a terrible metric for defining what is and isn't a "hit."

In fact, IMO in the download-streaming era where an entire album can make the Hot 100 the week it drops, Top 40 is an even worse metric now than it was/woud have been decades ago.

 

[sadchild]

I agree that the top 40 isn't the best way to define one-hit wonder, but it's one way to define a OHW with a precise method of classification. Hence this thread's intention: to give a technical definition, then judge if acts that don't qualify under it feel like OHWs.

That's the whole gist of the article, too.

As for the Hot 100, in Feb 2013 it became null and void to me. Useless. That's when they changed how songs are ranked and Bauuer's "Harlem Shake" suddenly shot up to #1 just because people were playing it on YouTube all the time. I don't acknowledge any records that have been "broken" after that date. It's BS.

As for Kings Of Leon, that's how I feel about Faith No More. When I first heard them called a OHW years ago, I was miffed. How could people say that?? Plenty of hits there! "Epic", "Falling To Pieces", "Midlife Crisis", "A Small Victory", "Easy", "Digging The Grave", "Last Cup Of Sorrow". I've heard those all on the radio!

But alas, go up to a 22 year old college student and play snippets of all those songs. How many will they recognize? Unless they are a 90s rock fan, or a music nerd/SMX subscriber that gets the amount of exposure to music that we do, the answer is gonna be one: "Epic". So I recognize that in mainstream culture, they are a one-hit wonder.

Kings Of Leon has two top 40 pop hits. I only know one of them. "Use Somebody" is their "Epic". I don't know if I've heard the other one. If I have, I've forgotten it.

 

[HecticArt]

The thing is, is that OHW shifted from being a metric to being slang for any band that people associate with one popular song. People have a short attention span and can't be bothered to remember the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th songs that they used to listen to on the radio a lot.

 

[Channel98]

As for the Hot 100, in Feb 2013 it became null and void to me. Useless. That's when they changed how songs are ranked.

Null and Void. Did you know they just took on a new partner? It's now Null, Void and Berkowitz. But I digress. I began questioning the Hot 100's methodology in April 2007 when Beautiful Liar by Beyoncé and Shakira jumped from #94 to #3. Then in October 2008, Britney Spears' Womanizer jumped from #96 to number one. Four months later, Kelly Clarkson's My Life Would Suck Without You jumped from #97 to number one. In June 2018, Girls Like You by Maroon 5 and Cardi B jumped from #94 to #4. In May 2019, Me! by Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie climbed from #100 to #2. In November 2020, Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish climbed from #94 to #2. The huge jumps were largely due to digital downloads.

 

[sadchild]

I began questioning the Hot 100's methodology in April 2007 when Beautiful Liar by Beyoncé and Shakira jumped from #94 to #3. Then in October 2008, Britney Spears' Womanizer jumped from #96 to number one. Four months later, Kelly Clarkson's My Life Would Suck Without You jumped from #97 to number one.

So the chart has been Berkowitz'ed for even longer than I suspected!

The two things that piss me off most about the chart over the last decade or so are:

1.



2.

where an entire album can make the Hot 100 the week it drops

 

[jbnv]

The thing is, is that OHW shifted from being a metric to being slang for any band that people associate with one popular song. People have a short attention span and can't be bothered to remember the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th songs that they used to listen to on the radio a lot.

As an autistic, the arbitrary making/changing of cultural/social rules is the bane of my existence. Especially in a field as diverse and subjective as popular music. And given how much of our popular culture is shaped or driven or outright selected by media providers (including SXM), defining a OHW based on shallow radio playlistts strikes me as grossly unfair.

A OHW definition that I can get behind is the one offered by Phineas and Ferb: Have __one__ big hit and disappear.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

As an autistic, the arbitrary making/changing of cultural/social rules is the bane of my existence. Especially in a field as diverse and subjective as popular music. And given how much of our popular culture is shaped or driven or outright selected by media providers (including SXM), defining a OHW based on shallow radio playlistts strikes me as grossly unfair.

The definition of having one hit that you play on your playlist (regardless how shallow) is a consistent definition.

A OHW definition that I can get behind is the one offered by Phineas and Ferb: Have __one__ big hit and disappear.

Most artists don't just have one hit then disappear. They try multiple times to regain past glory. And some of those tries will show up on some chart somewhere or somebody's memory. There would almost never be a true one hit wonder by that definition.

 

[jbnv]

The definition of having one hit that you play on your playlist (regardless how shallow) is a consistent definition.

You haven't seen my playlists, or my SXM Favorites list for that matter. Also, you let the media decide what a "hit" is and who has only one of them?

Most artists don't just have one hit then disappear. They try multiple times to regain past glory. And some of those tries will show up on some chart somewhere or somebody's memory. There would almost never be a true one hit wonder by that definition.

Well, obviously they keep working, and "disappear" is a very subjective term. And yes, many artists deemed "OHWs" actually have resumes full of work that the public knows little or nothing about. And I say that the public _should_ know about those bodies of work, but the trends of shallow playlists and short attention spans conspires against that.

 

[jbnv]

Another thought: People who make OHW playlists and channels have an incentive to ignore minor hits _because_ they need OHWs for their lists.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

You haven't seen my playlists, or my SXM Favorites list for that matter. Also, you let the media decide what a "hit" is and who has only one of them?


Well, obviously they keep working, and "disappear" is a very subjective term. And yes, many artists deemed "OHWs" actually have resumes full of work that the public knows little or nothing about. And I say that the public _should_ know about those bodies of work, but the trends of shallow playlists and short attention spans conspires against that.

I am not saying they decide but I think everybody comes up with their own interpretation of who is a one hit wonder. The only thing they would decide if they are doing a show on one-hit-wonders in which case you get the producer's definition.

If the work is no good, why should the public know about them? If they were good, the public would know because they would have been played somewhere.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Another thought: People who make OHW playlists and channels have an incentive to ignore minor hits _because_ they need OHWs for their lists.

I think there may be a total of 3 hits which are true one hit wonders. That same 3 song playlist would get pretty boring after a while.