... because no one can ever seem to get it right >:(

I'm flipping channels and I came across this show that was discussing the year 1987, where they just happened to mention, and I quote "Heart and Soul was T'Pau's only charting single in North America".  This is FALSE:  Another single 'China in Your Hand' reached #20 in Canada

On another show I was watching years ago, they cited 'Bette Davis Eyes' by Kim Carnes as a one hit wonder because it was her only #1 song.  By this same logic, would make Aerosmith one hit wonders in America

When discussing one hit wonders, either know what you are talking about, or atleast define them by country, otherwise you're gonna get people like me who will debate


Known one hit wonders that aren't ...

♦ Tom Cochrane - 18 Top 40 hits in Canada.  'Life is A Highway', which came out in 1991, was his 18th chart single in the Canadian Top 100

♦ Big Country - 15 UK Top 40 hits

♦ Men Without Hats - 6 Top 40 hits in Canada

♦ Dead or Alive - 7 UK Top 40 hits

♦ Alannah Myles - 9 Top 40 hits in Canada.  'Black Velvet' wasn't even her biggest hit in Canada either

♦ Frankie Goes to Hollywood - 7 UK Top 40 hits (excluding re-issues and remixes)

♦ Dan Hill - 13 Top 40 hits in Canada

♦ Gary Numan - 21 UK Top 40 hits

♦ Glass Tiger - 14 Top 40 hits in Canada

♦ Spandau Ballet - 17 Top 40 hits in the UK

♦ April Wine - 21 Top 40 hits in Canada.  'Just Between You and Me', which was released in 1981, was their 24th charting single in the Canadian Top 100

;D


1st.... you have more musical knowledge than most people on the planet so remember that while you may know so-so had a second or even a third hit most people can only recall the one "really popular song" and therefore mistakenly think the artist only had the one hit.

2nd... was it an America (US) station you were listening too? Most people forget about Canada as being part of North America.... I know it's really sad but it's true... When they say US they mean US... When they say North America they mean US when they say Canada they mean Canada.  ;D






Known one hit wonders that aren't ...



Let me break this down for you US style...



♦ Tom Cochrane - 18 Top 40 hits in Canada.  'Life is A Highway', which came out in 1991, was his 18th chart single in the Canadian Top 100


Never heard of him... oh is that song Rascal Flats covered?  Yeah I know the song but would have never come with Tom Cochrane on my own.



♦ Big Country - 15 UK Top 40 hits


That's the band that sang about 'themselves' right?  If Big Country hadn't been in the title of the song I wouldn't know them either...by the way I know the song isn't about the band... or is it???  ;)




♦ Men Without Hats - 6 Top 40 hits in Canada


yeah, sorry  Safety Dance.... that's all I got... tho I think you and I covered this before



♦ Dead or Alive - 7 UK Top 40 hits



Right 'round baby right round.... what there was more?  Hey I went to youtube and found a video for "Brand New Lover"  what do ya know I know two Dead or Alive songs..... who knew?

um are you including the cover of the KC & the Sunshine band in that list of yours??? Their version kind of sucks.




♦ Alannah Myles - 9 Top 40 hits in Canada.  'Black Velvet' wasn't even her biggest hit in Canada either


Black Velvet... I bought the cassette and only listened to BV...as far as I am concerned it was the only song on the cassette.  :-\\





♦ Frankie Goes to Hollywood - 7 UK Top 40 hits (excluding re-issues and remixes)




Relax... they had to have more hits because people were going to their concerts but for the life of me I don't recall hearing any other songs... they weren't really my scene tho.





♦ Dan Hill - 13 Top 40 hits in Canada



Yeah he and Paul Davis I always forget about them both but like their music when I hear it.





♦ Gary Numan - 21 UK Top 40 hits



Cars... I checked... I can't say I recognize anything else... that synthesizer kills me....




♦ Glass Tiger - 14 Top 40 hits in Canada


I youtubed them and thought wow I know none of these songs...then I clicked on Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone... I totally forgot about that song ;D  (honest!)   Someday also sounds familiar but not really jogging any particular 80s memories. The other songs take me back to cruising, hanging out with friends or laying on the couch watching MTV.



♦ Spandau Ballet - 17 Top 40 hits in the UK



Sorry my spandau Ballet experience begins and ends with True.




♦ April Wine - 21 Top 40 hits in Canada.  'Just Between You and Me', which was released in 1981, was their 24th charting single in the Canadian Top 100


Who?

The way I define a "hit" is if most people recognize it, or at least casual fans of the band do. Just because a song made the Top 40 or was a single doesn't mean the general population knows about it. Like with Spandau Ballet, tons of people know "True, but mention them to anyone on the street and I bet that's all they'll come up with. I don't know anything else Tom Cochrane does either.

I do see what you're saying though, and I admit there's some artists who get unfairly tagged as one-hit wonders. Like it bugs me when it's applied to really big name artists who are huge in their main style (i.e. hard rock, dance, R&B, country) but only had one big crossover hit.

  A song charting in Canada is comparable to David Hasselhoff's continued popularity in Japan...

  People don't take it seriously...

  Sucks, but what can ya do..?

   

I agree with all of you on all your "MULTI-hit wonders."  It always irks me when I see one of my favorite bands - Aha - described as a one-hit wonder.  Yes, in America, they are known only for "Take On Me," but they had MANY hits in Europe and most of their music is really good.

I'm not saying everyone will remember the artists and their songs, I'm just going by what I see in the charts

'Just Between You and Me' by April Wine hit US #21 in 1981, but that doesn't mean it's a song to be known by all in the USA.  There are many songs in the Top 40 that I don't remember.  Most of these shows about one hit wonders are either US or Canadian based, so they pretty much just stick with the standards, those everyday songs that got overplayed.  They don't bother to look at the International music scene. 

A song like 'In A Big Country' by Big Country was good, but in their collective of hits, it wasnt even their best IMO.  They even had some album tracks that I place above it

It all comes down to the charts.  Just cause you only remember 1 song by an artist doesn't make them a one hit wonder.  Remember Kim Carnes and her lone hit Bette Davis Eyes?  In actual fact, she had 10 US Top 40 hits;  11 if you include her uncredited duet with ex-Eagle Randy Meisner (Deep Inside My Heart, 1980) and 12 if you also include 'We Are the World' by USA For Africa

I agree with all of you on all your "MULTI-hit wonders."  It always irks me when I see one of my favorite bands - Aha - described as a one-hit wonder.  Yes, in America, they are known only for "Take On Me," but they had MANY hits in Europe and most of their music is really good.


And what's funny is 'The Sun Always Shines on TV' which also hit the US Top 20 (and was their final US Top 40) was equally as popular at the time, but it didn't reach #1 like 'Take on Me', so it's pretty much overlooked :(

What alot of people don't know is that A-ha are still going strong today.  They have tons of hits the world over especially in their native Norway as well as 18 UK Top 40s, 5 Top 40s in Canada, and more hits in too many countries to mention lol

And what's funny is 'The Sun Always Shines on TV' which also hit the US Top 20 (and was their final US Top 40) was equally as popular at the time, but it didn't reach #1 like 'Take on Me', so it's pretty much overlooked :(

What alot of people don't know is that A-ha are still going strong today.  They have tons of hits the world over especially in their native Norway as well as 18 UK Top 40s, 5 Top 40s in Canada, and more hits in too many countries to mention lol


   It's a shame but that's show business, man.  Today, the top of the pops.  Tomorrow, playing Harrah's in Podunk, Idaho.  Second billing to Wayne Newton...

   That's another reason why the music business sucks...

  Wanted to add that if you're a band and you're still finding sucess outside Jesusland and it's fickle public, then more power to ya...

It all comes down to the charts.  Just cause you only remember 1 song by an artist doesn't make them a one hit wonder.  Remember Kim Carnes and her lone hit Bette Davis Eyes?  In actual fact, she had 10 US Top 40 hits;  11 if you include her uncredited duet with ex-Eagle Randy Meisner (Deep Inside My Heart, 1980) and 12 if you also include 'We Are the World' by USA For Africa


Interesting - 10 US Top 40 Hits??  I know two or three.  Good stuff.

Interesting - 10 US Top 40 Hits??  I know two or three.  Good stuff.


http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=25600.0

And what's funny is 'The Sun Always Shines on TV' which also hit the US Top 20 (and was their final US Top 40) was equally as popular at the time, but it didn't reach #1 like 'Take on Me', so it's pretty much overlooked :(

What alot of people don't know is that A-ha are still going strong today.  They have tons of hits the world over especially in their native Norway as well as 18 UK Top 40s, 5 Top 40s in Canada, and more hits in too many countries to mention lol


I always forget about that Sun Always Shines on Tv song and I like it better than Take on Me.

I always forget about that Sun Always Shines on Tv song and I like it better than Take on Me.




Agreed! Actually I probably like Take on Me better, but that song is almost as good. Actually the entire album is almost as good as Take on Me. People also forget in some countries a-ha had a Coldplay-like popularity, and there's fans of them even in America - it's really America-centric and Top 40-centric to call them a one-hit wonder.

A true one-hit wonder is like a band that's equal to one song in almost everyone's minds, like Dexy's Midnight Runners, or even better, a band whose song is more famous than them! (The Sylvers - Boogie Fever and many other disco artists).

With that said, if you had say, a #99 hit in Japan after a #1 hit in 50 countries, and were never heard of again, you're still a one-hit wonder.

"One hit wonder" presumes an artist is expected to have more than one hit.

999+ out of a thousand never have any hits at all!
::)

The problem is the people in the business that put together these "One Hit Wonder" presentations have no clue how to define one!  :D

The problem is the people in the business that put together these "One Hit Wonder" presentations have no clue how to define one!  :D


A certain amount of 'doctoring' has to be concocted in programming this sort of thing, otherwise the lists would be pretty short!

A OHW tag can be applied to an act with one major hit, then four or five (or more) minor hits which are out of most of the public's collective memory...

Even then, as some of the above shows, territorial differences also add to the confusion!  :-\\

♦ Gary Numan - 21 UK Top 40 hits


Heh! You'd be hard pressed to find an average Brit who could name more than a couple of these 21 hits... :D

I define A one hit wonder as an act who only had one song place higher than 40 on the Hot 100 or Pop charts. Using this logic, Derek and The Domineos, Jimi Hendrix, System of A Down, and Iggy Pop are all One Hit Wonders.

I define A one hit wonder as an act who only had one song place higher than 40 on the Hot 100 or Pop charts. Using this logic, Derek and The Domineos, Jimi Hendrix, System of A Down, and Iggy Pop are all One Hit Wonders.


Which is why that definition is unfair to alot of artists

I was just watching a promo for a show about "One hit wonder" Vanilla Ice.  The voice over on the promo cited him as the first rapper to score a #1 hit

This is infactual in two ways:  Vanilla Ice wasn't a one hit wonder (he had other Top 40 hits, doesn't matter if you remember them or not), and in Canada (to which this show was a promo for) he wasn't the first rapper to hit #1.  Before Vanilla Ice came along, a Canadian rapper by the name of Maestro Fresh Wes topped the Canadian chart in 1990 with the song 'Let Your Backbone Slide', a song still beloved by even those who don't like rap (which includes myself)

Realistically though, way back in 1980, The Sugarhill Gang topped the Canadian chart with 'Rapper's Delight'

Realistically though, way back in 1980, The Sugarhill Gang topped the Canadian chart with 'Rapper's Delight'


Er...but they also had another hit in Britain, so that doesn't make them a OHW here (see what I mean with regard to territorial differences?)

Mind you, it'd be a tad churlish not to call 'em a OHW, as hardly anyone would remember their 'other hit' ('The Lover In You', if anyone's interested!)

Er...but they also had another hit in Britain, so that doesn't make them a OHW here (see what I mean with regard to territorial differences?)

Mind you, it'd be a tad churlish not to call 'em a OHW, as hardly anyone would remember their 'other hit' ('The Lover In You', if anyone's interested!)


I like their song "8th Wonder" and I'm guessing that wasn't a hit  :D

I was watching a Canadian produced series last night called "Revival 89" where they actually cited 'When I'm With You' by Sheriff and 'I Beg Your Pardon' by Kon Kan one hit wonders.  I can understand if it was from an American perspective, then yes, but these people that produce these shows should know their facts before they go and blurt stuff out like that

Kon Kan did have other hits in Canada, and though none of them preceeded higher in the charts than 'I Beg Your Pardon' did, I can tell you first hand that 'Harry Houdini' and 'Puss N Boots' were both popular


Er...but they also had another hit in Britain, so that doesn't make them a OHW here (see what I mean with regard to territorial differences?)

Mind you, it'd be a tad churlish not to call 'em a OHW, as hardly anyone would remember their 'other hit' ('The Lover In You', if anyone's interested!)


I know that song, buyt only because I seeked out the Sugarhill Gang's album long ago.  Being that they are largely considered to be the first mainstream hip hop group, 'The Lover in You' would be widely known in the rap world

I know that song, buyt only because I seeked out the Sugarhill Gang's album long ago.  Being that they are largely considered to be the first mainstream hip hop group, 'The Lover in You' would be widely known in the rap world


The rap world (is there one?  :D) would probably be more familiar with '8th Wonder' (as Midas noted), as it was sampled in quite a few other songs...