I came across this interesting rumination on what truly makes a “one hit wonder”, which pointed me to this list of the Top 100 One Hit Wonders Of All Time, according to VH1. I encourage you to read the story to understand why the author too issue with that list and with the generally accepted definition of that term, but first here’s Part One of my collection of songs from that list:
1. I Want Candy – Bow Wow Wow
2. Heart And Soul – T’Pau
3. The Safety Dance – Men Without Hats
4. Puttin’ On The Ritz – Taco
5. The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades – Timbuk3
6. It’s Raining Men – The Weather Girls
7. I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
8. I Touch Myself – The Divinyls
9. Turn The Beat Around – Vickie Sue Robinson
10. Don’t Worry, Be Happy – The Blenders (orig. Bobby McFerrin)
I have enough for two lists, so I’ll return to this next week. I had my own rather subjective definition of a “one hit wonder” when I explored the topic two years ago. There is some overlap, as you can see. What’s your view of the term “one hit wonder”, and do you think “flash in the pan” is a better phrase to use?
I wouldn’t consider someone a “flash in the pan” just because they only had one single reach the charts. Who knows? Some of these musicians could have been toiling for years under the public radar…
A few of those listed had other, albeit lesser, “hits” too (unless you meant songs that went to #1, which all of them did not accomplish).