Post your favorite 70s/80's one hit wonders here.

Well, this thread is educational - never heard "Don't You Feel My Leg" before. Interesting....
 
The Hillside Singers - "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing"
The famous Coke commercial jingle that was later released as a single. It was also recorded by The New Seekers.
 
jollystomper said:
This one-hit wonder from the 80s could well be the FIRE theme song. But people either love this song, or hate it with a vengeance:

Click to expand...


Okay, I'll match you on the Love or Hate song of all time:




Johnny Carson was spoofing one night suggesting the song for arsonist "Benny the Torch" should be "You Light Up My Warehouse."
 
Speaking of the 80's, how about the Brian De Palma Movie "Body Double" with it's hit song by Frankie Goes to Hollywood:



I had nightmares about the drill scene in Body Double.
 
This was playing in a recent dream.

I suppose Little River Band had other hits but I don’t remember them:

 
And here's a one-hit wonder from an actress in the porno industry. More cowbell!

 
audreyh1 said:
This was playing in a recent dream.

I suppose Little River Band had other hits but I don’t remember them:
Click to expand...


Lots:
- Lady (*not* the same song as Styx did)
- Lonesome Loser
- Cool Change
- The Night Owls
- Take it Easy On Me


To name a few :).
 
Last edited:
This song became known as "the new black national anthem" as it became came a hit. However, the artists later said the song was actually about getting free from a record label (Philadelphia International), from whom they wrote and produced many hits for other acts, but had royalty disputes:

 
Koolau said:
Okay, I'll match you on the Love or Hate song of all time:
...
Johnny Carson was spoofing one night suggesting the song for arsonist "Benny the Torch" should be "You Light Up My Warehouse."
Click to expand...

Touché, you got me there! Those two songs would definitely battle it out for that title :).
 
So, what makes a hit for a One Hit Wonders list? Anything that ever made the Billboard 200? 100? A top tenner?

My instinct is it needs to be a Top 10 hit, or pretty close. Otherwise, it's a pretty wide open field for choices. I know a lot of music by never successful bands (from a mainstream music POV) that had songs that made it on the charts, but not very, like #89 or something. I'm not sure that should qualify. But those songs that grab the public's attention, even if for a very short time, usually jump up towards the top of the chart. So IMO it should have been a Top 10 hit.

So, with that having been said, here's my favorite One Hit Wonder from a band with only one Top Ten hit.

 
harley said:
So, what makes a hit for a One Hit Wonders list? Anything that ever made the Billboard 200? 100? A top tenner?



My instinct is it needs to be a Top 10 hit, or pretty close. Otherwise, it's a pretty wide open field for choices. I know a lot of music by never successful bands (from a mainstream music POV) that had songs that made it on the charts, but not very, like #89 or something. I'm not sure that should qualify. But those songs that grab the public's attention, even if for a very short time, usually jump up towards the top of the chart. So IMO it should have been a Top 10 hit.



So, with that having been said, here's my favorite One Hit Wonder from a band with only one Top Ten hit.



Click to expand...
For this thread a one hit wonder is just a song that you remember that was popular and heard on the radio or seen on MTV a lot. It was their only song they were known for and a HIT for them compared to anything else they put out.
Those are the only rules for this just for fun thread. No need to be hit on a chart somewhere to share it here.
 
harley said:
So, what makes a hit for a One Hit Wonders list? Anything that ever made the Billboard 200? 100? A top tenner?
Click to expand...

2HOTinPHX said:
For this thread a one hit wonder is just a song that you remember that was popular and heard on the radio or seen on MTV a lot. It was their only song they were known for and a HIT for them compared to anything else they put out.
Those are the only rules for this just for fun thread. No need to be hit on a chart somewhere to share it here.
Click to expand...

In days of yore, when the Billboard charts ruled the music world in terms of what songs were hits, a "One Hit Wonder" was typically defined as an artist who only have one single release make the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. In fact, Billboard published a "Book of One Hit Wonders" that used thus criteria.

You may recall the "American Top 40" weekly broadcast, most notably by Casey Kasem (which I used to listen to religiously back then), which would count down the top 40 songs every week.

Some in the music business then would argue that a song had to make the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart to be considered a hit, as a song that made it that far was likely being played on air/having good sales in most of the major radio markets at the time.

As a college radio DJ back in the late 1970s/early 1980s, we were able to get early releases of many R&B albums, and would get excited when a song that we were among the first to play in the U.S. crossed over to the Billboard pop Top 40. During that time our station received a dozen or so gold record plaques from several records companies, to thank us for "breaking out" that song to the public. Several of those groups would be considered pop one-hit wonders, though they had a strong presence on the Billboard R&B charts.
 
Speaking of the Billboard charts, songs on the Hot 100 chart that were considered to be rapidly growing in sales and airplay were designated with a dot called a "bullet". This song actually achieved its title on the Billboard chart in November 1975. Coincidence, or behind-the-scenes chart manipulation by the Billboard staff? :)

 
DektolMan said:


Great vocals!
Click to expand...


Wow. I love that song. That was peak bell-bottom era. Also, the female back up singer dances about as well as Elaine from Seinfeld. It looks like her feet are glued to the floor and she's putting on her best swim moves.
 
Qs Laptop said:
Wow. I love that song. That was peak bell-bottom era. Also, the female back up singer dances about as well as Elaine from Seinfeld. It looks like her feet are glued to the floor and she's putting on her best swim moves.
Click to expand...


Heh, heh, my first impression of the female back-up singer: Could she be related to Joe Cocker??

Great back up musicians too. Not quite studio ready, perhaps, but quite soulful which added to the overall performance.

I used to love to watch "Midnight Special." Several years back, I bought the full set of DVDs of the show. Not cheap but not an outrageous price, either. So, now I can watch those old performances when ever I like. YMMV

What a great show that was!
 
Here is another great one hit wonder...not sure if it was a chart topper but it was a cool song none the less....:cool:

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
RIP Alan White
Replies
12
Views
1K
finnski1
F
JoeWras
Generation Jones Corner
2 3 4
Replies
85
Views
7K
JoeWras
JoeWras
cbo111
What is your favorite rock music decade?
2 3 4
Replies
91
Views
8K
daylatedollarshort
D
G
Buckle Up and Enjoy the FIRE Journey
2
Replies
38
Views
9K
gl.hf
G
imoldernu
Listening to music
Replies
15
Views
2K
ajs56
A

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom