VinnyM27 said:

They sang the background for the Meli'sa Morgan/Kashif cover hit "Love Changes".

EskomoKisses said:

Expose had a song with that title as well.

Harlepolis said:

Joyce was not a one hit wonder, she had another song called "All N All". This was a big hit in the clubs

shorttrini said:

Actually, they had another hit two years later called "Should I Say Yes".

EskomoKisses said:

Actually, "Lean On Me" was Club Nouveau's second hit single after "Jealousy". They had the follow-up single "Why You Treat Me So Bad?"

As for The System, "Don't Disturb This Groove" was their biggest hit, but they had two prior hits with "You Are In My System" and "The Pleasure Seekers".

i love t'pau's "heart and soul", and they are a one-hit wonder in the US.

Although "china in your hand" was a huge hit in Europe.

shorttrini said:

That entire album ("Come Into My Life") is really amazing if you love 80s dance music. It was a mix of easy storm type stuff like "Come Into My Life" and "All And All". Every track is great (although I didn't put the remix of "All And All" on my Ipod cause it doesn't add much....it's kind of busy). It's production and her singing are very unique. The guy who did it was a rap producer (Manotrix or something?). I think she did really well in the UK with her singles (they seemed to all hit at least the Top 40).

"All I Need" By Jack Wagner is my absolute favorite. Some others:

"Don't want to fall in love" - Jane Child
"Party 2Nite"- LaDae
"Anything" - 3T (if you only count the U.S., because I think they had some other hits in Europe)
"Baby Got Back"- Sir Mix-a-Lot
"Come on Eileen"- Dexy's Midnight Runners
"Genius of Love"- Tom Tom Club
"Tell Me" - Grove Theory
"The Rain"- Oran "Juice" Jones

MissEmeraldCity said:

Okay, the following on your list are NOT "One Hit Wonders".

1. 3T. They had many hits after that, including, "Why".
2. Tom Tom Club - had MANY hits after "Genius of Love" "Wordy Rappinghood" and "Under The Boardwalk".

3. Groove Theory- The also had "Keep Tryin" and BabyLuv".

shorttrini said:

I agree with MissEmeraldCity on all of these (with 1 caveat).

1. If you only consider the US (like she said), "Anything" is 3T's only hit. It peaked at #15 in 1995 and is still the group's only single to chart on the Hot 100.

2. Tom Tom Club is trickier. Again, you'd have to say US only. While "Wordy Rappinghood" certainly got a lot of play, "Genius of Love" is indeed the group's only single to chart on the Hot 100 and only R&B hit (#2).

3. Groove Theory is easy. "Tell Me" reached the top 5 on both charts while the follow-ups couldn't break into the R&B top 20 or the top 60 of the Hot 100.

A one-hit wonder will usually have other singles, but that one song was the only one that really resonated with the public or it was so huge it overshadowed the other minor hits. a-ha is a perfect example (again, in the US only). "The Sun Always Shines on TV" peaked at #20 on the Hot 100, but the massive success of their #1 smash "Take on Me" would certainly qualify them for 1-hit wonder status here.

I define a one hit wonder as an artist who only has one Top 40 hit i.e. Regina - "Baby Love". Other Top 40 singles would disqualify an artist from being a one hit wonder.

AlexdeParis said:

Regarding the Tom Tom Club, "Wordy Rappinghood", peaked the hot 100 chart, at No. 24. So, it was not their only hit. As for the others, you right.

Meredith Brooks - I'm a bitch, I'm a lover Lyrics


Biz Markie - Just A Friend


Alicia Bridges- I love the nighlife


New Radicals - You Get What You Give

shorttrini said:

Are you sure? That doesn't sound right, because that is a higher peak than "Genius of Love" reached. Everything I can find has "Genius of Love" as the only Hot 100 entry (peaked at #31). I see they both charted on the Hot Mainstream Rock chart (then known as Top Tracks) with "Wordy Rappinghood" peaking at #65 and "Genius of Love" at #24.

EskomoKisses said:

"...The group's most successful album, 1985's Cupid & Psyche 85, spawned three UK Top 20 hits with "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)", "Absolute", and "The Word Girl", as well as a U.S. Top 20 hit with "Perfect Way". The personnel for this album differed from that of their first album, and featured keyboardist David Gamson and ex-Material drummer Fred Maher, both of whom would collaborate with Gartside on songwriting and production duties. Arif Mardin would also produce three songs for the album.
This new line-up remained for the band's next album, 1988's Provision. This album was a Top 10 success, though it only produced one Top 20 hit ("Oh Patti")..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...ti_Politti
[Edited 8/29/09 8:53am]

Chic35 said:

I love that one.

I'm always hesitant to call an artist like Biz Markie a 1-hit wonder. Sure, it's technically true when you consider the pop or R&B charts, but he's a hip-hop artist who crossed over to those markets. In his original genre, you'd have to consider "Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz" and "Vapors," which both pre-date the Billboard Rap chart.

AlexdeParis said:

I was gonna say the same thing about Biz.

Frankie Smith - Double dutch bus


House Of pain - Jump Around

I love all her albums, but I know she's not gonna have another hit

there only song to hit the top 40 and it was an atheist anthemn. LOVE IT

[Edited 8/29/09 11:41am]

Sinead O'Connor- Nothing compares to you


69 Boyz - Tootsee Roll


MC Luscious "Boom I Got Your Boyfriend"


Bobby Caldwell-What you won't do for love

Countthedays said:

Does Bobby Caldwell, count? He has had more than one song that charted. He is not like that guy who sang, "Rico Suave'....His only song and hit.

AlexdeParis said:[quote]

shorttrini said:

I agree with MissEmeraldCity on all of these (with 1 caveat).

1. If you only consider the US (like she said), "Anything" is 3T's only hit. It peaked at #15 in 1995 and is still the group's only single to chart on the Hot 100.

2. Tom Tom Club is trickier. Again, you'd have to say US only. While "Wordy Rappinghood" certainly got a lot of play, "Genius of Love" is indeed the group's only single to chart on the Hot 100 and only R&B hit (#2).

3. Groove Theory is easy. "Tell Me" reached the top 5 on both charts while the follow-ups couldn't break into the R&B top 20 or the top 60 of the Hot 100.

A one-hit wonder will usually have other singles, but that one song was the only one that really resonated with the public or it was so huge it overshadowed the other minor hits. a-ha is a perfect example (again, in the US only). "The Sun Always Shines on TV" peaked at #20 on the Hot 100, but the massive success of their #1 smash "Take on Me" would certainly qualify them for 1-hit wonder status here.[/quote]

That's what I thought the criteria was. I considered each entry carefully because, I knew if I was wrong, somebody was going to call me on it. But, like you said usually the group has ONE massive hit and other minor hits that don't chart as high. In the end, it's all subjective, but here, on the org, I know it pays to be as accurate as possible.

Funny thing about XTC is that I hadn't heard that song but heard others. I really like them but I need a greatest hits that covers their early stuff into their "Oranges and Lemons" album (which I should just buy, really). There is one called "Upsy Diasy Assortment" but it's out of print and for some reason I haven't had the yearning to buy any used music online for a while. I figure when I do, I'll buy a bunch at once.

VinnyM27 said:

It's not funny, because "Dear God" isn't the group's biggest hit on any chart anywhere.

AlexdeParis said:

I just looked it up and I guess that's a myth! Never hit the pop Top 40! It hit 37 on the Rock charts (according to Allmusic.com) but other singles did better or nearly as well. It was on the Vh1 list of 100 80s one hit wonders (although it had flaws by including Dead Or Alive, which certainly had a hit just as big as "You Spin Me" with "Brand New Lover" as well as a few other debunked ones).

AlexdeParis said:

I actually first heard it on VH1's 101 one hit wonders, I thought they said that it was there only top 40.

RKJCNE said:

Yeah, they makes shit up all the time.

MissEmeraldCity said:

I sort of agree with this, but I look at it differently in some aspects. A lot of huge classic rock artists technically had only one hit or a handful of hit singles because most of the tracks which appeared on their albums and got huge radio airplay on rock stations were not actually released as singles. It was only at the beginning of this decade that the Billboard Hot 100 began charting unreleased radio-only singles. So even though "Stairway To Heaven" is considered to be one of the greatest rock tracks of all time, it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 because it was never released as a single. Also, The Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix would also be considered one hit wonders since they each only released one single.

Here's my criteria for chart success:

One Hit Wonder: An act releases one single which blows up huge on the chart but never has another hit which reaches the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and doesn't chart in the top 30 of any of the specialty charts (country, R&B, dance, modern rock, etc.)

One Album Wonder: An act releases one single which blows up huge on the chart and has one or a few minor hit singles on the Hot 100 or top 30 in the specialty charts from the same album but the subsequent albums produce no hit singles.

Flash in the Pan: Sort of the same as the one album wonder except they may actually have another hit single on a subsequent album or soundtrack but quickly disappear into obscurity. E.g., Corey Hart's biggest single was "Sunglasses At Night" but he had another huge single on his next album called "Never Surrender". One Republic's only actual hit on their own album was "Stop and Stare", but of course, they're much better known for the single "Apologize", but it's listed as a single for Timbaland that just features them.

Cult Act: This classifies all of the artists who are huge in a specific genre but rarely of ever cross over onto the pop charts.

Ok, this may not be accurate because I'm basing it on VH1's One Hit Wonder Countdown and somebody's random website, so please be gentle. I thought a one-hit wonder would be songs that reached #1 or the very least top 10 and maybe in Vh1's case top 40. I'm not sure where these fall, and I'm not researching to find out, but I'm basing it on my radio listening memories.


Toni Basil ~ "Mickey"
Kajagoogoo ~ "Too Shy"
Frankie Goes to Hollywood ~ "Relax"
Animotion ~ "Obsesssion"
Devo ~ "Whip It"
Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock ~ "It Takes Two"
Musical Youth ~ "Pass the Dutchie"
Tom Tom Club ~ "Genius of Love"(I don't remember ever hearing Wordy Rappinghood on the radio, so as far as I'm concerned this was their only hit)
Lipps, Inc. ~ "Funkytown"
Robbie Nevil ~ "C’est La Vie"
Pretty Poison ~ "Catch Me I’m Falling"
After the Fire ~ "Der Kommissar"
Taco ~ "Puttin’ On the Ritz"
T’Pau ~ "Heart And Soul"
William DeVaughn ~ Be Thankful For What You Got
Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band ~ A Fifth of Beethoven
Odyssey ~ Native New Yorker
Floaters ~ Float On
Samantha Sang ~ Emotion
Buffalo Springfield ~ For What It's Worth
Spiral Staircase ~ More Today Than Yesterday
Frida ~ I Know There's Something Going On
Patrick Swayze ~ She's Like the Wind
Deon Estus ~ Heaven Help Me