The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #500-491

In compiling The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era*, we considered the initial and current popularity of the song and the artist, complexity of the song and the number and quality of future releases. Other factors taken into consideration include how much input the artist had into the One Hit Wonder: songwriting, instrumentation, production, etc. In other words, the more talented the artist, the more complex the song, the more popular the song, then and more importantly now, and the better their subsequent releases were, the higher the ranking.

To be eligible, an artist must have either had only one Top 100 hit or they scored a big hit and either never hit the Top 20 before or after that or never had more than one other Top 40 hit.  Some organizations who construct similar One Hit Wonder lists eliminate an artist if they had two Top 40 or Top 100 hits.  However, these songs are only minor "hits" that the majority of the people do not ever hear.  By setting the bar at Top 20 hits, this list includes artists who scored a mainstream hit then essentially never tasted widespread success after their "One Hit Wonder".  

This does exempt groups like EMF ("Unbelievable"), which is not eligible to be called a "One-Hit Wonder" because "Lies" was a hit in 1991, reaching #18.  Similarly, A-Ha, which has enjoyed great worldwide success, landed the Top 20 hit "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." in addition to their smash "Take on Me".  Michael Murphey ("Wildfire" in 1975) was headed for status as having one of The Top One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era* until he landed at #19 with "What's Forever For" in 1982.  

Then you have an artist such as Berlin, which had the minor hit "No More Words" before their #1 "Take My Breath Away", and then nothing after that.  They are a judgement call.  In Berlin's case, "No More Words" was a big enough hit, in fact one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*, that they are classified as having two hits.  Stephen Bishop never hit the Top 20 after his Top 15 song "On and On".  But he had three other Top 40 hits, enough success to be excluded from One Hit Wonder status. 

Some artists, while perhaps having only one "hit" as defined by the industry, are nonetheless recognized as major stars and contributors to the Rock Era or to music in general, and can hardly be defined as One Hit Wonders.  One example would be Getz & Gilberto, who combined for one of the landmark albums of all-time, Getz/Gilberto.  Stan Getz did hundreds of albums in his career and won multiple Grammys and can i no way be called a "One-Hit Wonder".  Jimi Hendrix, Dave Brubeck, Bobby McFerrin and Joan Baez are others, who may have had only one big hit, but are regarded as significant long-term stars.  The inability of an organization or trade publication to gauge popularity of an artist or their music doesn't make them "One Hit Wonders".  

Artists who were part of a successful group and only had one Top 20 solo hit are also a judgement call.  Essentially, if the artist in question did an album occasionally away from the group, then continued on with the group does not fit the category.  An example here is Ace Frehley of Kiss, who had the Top 20 hit "New York Groove".  Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane and Starship only had one Top 10 hit, "Hearts".  But obviously, his contributions to one of the best groups of the Rock Era are so great that he doesn't fit the category.  

Another judgement call is how serious the group was in staying together.  This might seem silly but there are several instances in which a group of musicians just got together for a "one-off", to do one song or one album.  An example is the Firm ("Radioactive").  Temporary groups are not eligible for inclusion in this special.

An artist who only had one big hit in collaboration with another separate artist isn't eligible as a One Hit Wonder.  Brooklyn Dreams comes to mind.  They scored a Top 5 song with Donna Summer with "Heaven Knows" in 1979 and were never heard from again.  The group reached the Top 5 largely because of Summer, and without her, they couldn't maintain that success.   There are numerous other examples of artists whose only big hit was largely the result of collaboration with and major contributions made by an established star.

If an artist that had only one big hit isn't here, it doesn't mean they're not a One Hit Wonder--just that they don't rank among The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders*.

Starting us off, this Swedish group who enjoyed an unlikely worldwide hit in 1994:

  
#500:  Rednex--"Cotton-Eye Joe"

Swedish producers Janne Ericsson, Örjan "Oban" Öberg and Pat Reiniz created this group that mixes American folk music with Eurodance.  They remade the folk song "Cotton-Eyed Joe" into a dance song in 1994 with huge worldwide success.  The song hit #1 in the U.K., Germany, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland and reached #25 in The United States.

The album Sex & Violins was released following the single's success.  Annika "Mary Joe" Ljungberg sang most of the lead vocals on the album and was joined by Arne "Ken Tacky" Arstrand, Kent "Bobby Sue" Olander, Jonas "Billy Ray" Nilsson and Pat "Mup" Reiniz.  Urban Landgren (BB Stiff) replaced Reiniz shortly afterwards.  A follow-up album Farm Out was released in 2000, which contained "Spirit of the Hawk", a #1 song in Germany.  

Rednex records their songs with studio musicians and have rotated 19 different stage performers that are responsible for the image of the group at live shows.  

The group has achieved near- superstar status in Germany with four Top 5 songs and have spent 25 total weeks at #1 in that country.  Rednex has also been particularly popular in their home country of Sweden and has had hits in other parts of Europe, but "Cotton-Eyed Joe" has been their only worldwide hit.  Rednex has released 17 singles in their career.

Lots of great songs in this special--Here's one from 2004:

#499:  Howie Day--"Collide"

This artist begin playing piano at the age of five and when he was 13, his father bought him a Fender Stratocaster guitar.  Howie performed with the group Route 66 through 1997 and also appeared occasionally for solo gigs in local venues around Maine until agent Shawn Radley discovered him.

Day self-financed his first album, Australia, in 2000.  That's great, but to really make it in the music business, one needs the full force and promotion of a major label, and Howie realized that, finally signing with Epic in 2002.

This single from Howie Day's second album clicked.  Written by Dan and Better Than Ezra lead singer Kevin Griffin, "Collide" landed in the Top 20 in 2004.  

Despite the promise shown on this record, Howie was never able to enjoy another hit.  He toured for five years before releasing his next album, far too long to keep him in the public eye.

 

#498:  Corrs--"Breathless"

This Irish group includes siblings Andrea (lead vocals, mandolin, ukulele, tin whistle), Sharon (on violin, keyboards and vocals), Caroline (playing drums, percussion, piano and on vocals), and Jim (guitar, piano, keyboards and vocals).  

"Breathless" rolled all the way to #1 in several countries, including the U.K.  Although it stalled at #34 in the U.S., the Grammys proved radio stations wrong when the song was nominated for the prestigious award of Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

The Corrs released seven studio albums but were never able to come up with another hit.

Up next, an artist doomed by the number of years between album releases:

  
#497:  Billie Myers--"Kiss The Rain"

Myers was born in Coventry, England and after school, worked as a nurse and an insurance agent.  She soon turned to music and was discovered in a club by producer Peter Harris.  Encouraged by Harris, Myers began writing songs for a debut album.

Myers inked a recording contract with Universal Records in 1997.  The album Growing, Pains was produced by Desmond Child and contained the single "Kiss The Rain", which hit #4 in the U.K. and #15 in the United States.  "Kiss The Rain" helped the album go Gold and the song and other singles appeared in television commercials and in the television series Dawson's Creek.   "Tell Me" was released as the next single and reached #28 in the U.K. but only charted on the Adult chart in the U.S.  Two other singles from Growing, Pains went nowhere.

Myers then went three years before another album, a cardinal sin in the music business.  Myers wrote the score for the movie Down to You, but when she finally released Vertigo in 2000, the public had largely forgotten about her.  Both singles from Myers' second album failed to chart. 

In 2005, Myers released the single "Just Sex", and although it was a Dance hit, the song didn't get played beyond that.

Myers released her third album nine years after Vertigo.  By that time, she had been dropped from Universal, and she started her own record company, Fruit Loop Records.  Of course, she didn't have the capacity to promote the album that major labels do, and although "Wonderful" received airplay in clubs, radio ignored it.

Myers has released three albums and nine singles in her career.

This group launched their career when they convinced a department store in San Diego, California to play their music through the listening booths in the store's record department:

  
#496: Rosie & the Originals--"Angel Baby"

This group at #496* received exposure in a most unique way.  The group recorded the song, then took the master to a department store and convince a manager to play it in the listening booth of the store's music department.  Listeners responded in such a way that Highland Records signed the band and promoted "Angel Baby". The song hit #5 in 1960.

Rosie & the Originals wrote their own music and released four other singles after their One Hit Wonder.  But lengthy legal battles with their record label over royalties and credits doomed them.

The Golden Sixties give us this great song:

 

 #495:  Friend and Lover--"Reach Out Of The Darkness"

Folk duo Friend and Lover (the husband and wife team of Jim and Cathy Post) met at a fair in Alberta, Canada in 1964.  They married soon after and began performing together, gaining recognition in some clubs in Chicago, Illinois.  The duo signed with Verve Forecast Records and recorded this song co-produced by Joe South (he of the "Games People Play" and "Walk A Mile In My Shoes" fame).  Ray Stevens played piano and arranged the strings and he and South were among the backing singers.

Friend and Lover began receiving airplay in Northern California and soon, their song was being played nationwide.  They reached #6 in Canada and #10 in the United States with "Reach Out Of The Darkness".  

Friend and Lover did not record any other albums, and the best they did besides "Reach Out Of The Darkness" was  #86. 

This One-Hit Wonder* is so 1985: 

 #494:  Bowling for Soup--"1985"

This group from Wichita Falls, Texas formed in 1994 with lead singer and guitarist Jaret Reddict, drummer Gary Wiseman and bassist Rob Felicetti.

The group SR-71 wrote this song, and to the great fortune of Bowling for Soup, gave it to them to record.  "1985" made it, with the single hitting #8 in Canada and #23 in the United States.

The group has released 11 career albums and released over three dozen singles, with only "1985" reaching the Top 40.

A song from this group's second album made the big time:

 

#493:  the Wanted--"Glad You Came"

Over 1,000 singers auditioned for a spot in the British group the Wanted.  The boy band recorded their debut album in 2010, which was a big success in the U.K.  "Glad You Came", from their second album, reached #2 in Canada and #3 in the U.S.

The Wanted released another album and enjoyed several hits in the U.K., but "Glad You Came" was their one and only worldwide hit.

This next artist proved that optimism pays!

#492:  Timbuk3--"The Future's So Bright (I Gotta' Wear Shades)"

Timbuk 3 was formed by the husband and wife team of Pat (acoustic, electric, bass and MIDI guitars, harmonica, vocals and drum programming) and Barbara MacDonald (electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin, rhythm programming and vocals).

Timbuk3 signed with I.R.S. Records in 1986 and released their debut album, Greetings from Timbuk 3.  The duo was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards and appeared as the house band in a bar in the 1988 movie D.O.A.  "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta' Wear Shades" reached #19 in the United States and #21 in the U.K.

Despite releasing seven more albums, the group could not follow up their success  and broke up in 1995.  Pat moved to Barcelona and has released several albums on Ulftone, an independent label in Germany.  Barbara has released three albums, including a set of acoustic covers of Timbuk3 songs.

 

#491:  Marshall Crenshaw--"Someday, Someway"

This talented singer-songwriter should have been a big star. His 1982 release "Someday, Someway" made the Top 40, a place he would never get to again.

And there you have the first 10.  Join us tomorrow for the next edition!