1 hit wonders..

sarlen · Post by **sarlen** » April 30, 2003, 2:26 am

Wow great list you guys have put together here. To me however the argument that "so-and-so" had 10 hits in "any country other than the US" doesnt count for me, not snobing the Euro music scene, I just didnt grow up listening to it.

Kelgar · Post by **Kelgar** » April 30, 2003, 10:50 am

Styx: Mr. Roboto
LLCoolJ: Mama Said Knock You Out (alright...maybe a 2 hit wonder)

miir · Post by **miir** » April 30, 2003, 11:45 am

Kelgar wrote:Styx: Mr. Roboto
LLCoolJ: Mama Said Knock You Out (alright...maybe a 2 hit wonder)

I'm not even a LL Cool J fan but I can name at least 6 of his songs that were top 10 hits.
Goin Back to Cali
Around the Way Girl
I'm that Type of Guy
Mama Said Knock You Out
Phenomenon
6 Minutes of Pleasure

And Styx, being a progressive rock band never had much impact on the singles charts. Look at most progressive rock bands from the 80s. Many sold heaps of albums but never made an impact on the pop charts. Could you call Led Zeppelin 1 hit wonders because Stairway To Heaven was their only hit single?

To me however the argument that "so-and-so" had 10 hits in "any country other than the US" doesnt count for me, not snobing the Euro music scene, I just didnt grow up listening to it.

The ask yourself what really makes a one hit wonder.
If you are ignorant of a band except for 1 hit single, does it make them a one hit wonder?
If a band sells tens of millions of records worldwide and has TEN number 1 singles, can you completely ignore that if they only have 1 hit single in your country?

sarlen · Post by **sarlen** » April 30, 2003, 12:16 pm

miir wrote:
If a band sells tens of millions of records worldwide and has TEN number 1 singles, can you completely ignore that if they only have 1 hit single in your country?

Yes.

To clarify, this isn’t an attack on what anyone likes or believes about the music they love, it’s simply MY take on it in my own little world. I can ignore the other 10 hits in another country because frankly I don’t care and often have never heard these other songs, or they didn’t do that great in the states. I guess when I originally asked the question about one hit wonders I should have clarified what I meant, honestly I didn’t even consider anything out side the US as "qualified" for entry (yes that’s the arrogant American coming out in me). Now the argument has come up to consider the hits in other country's I would have to retract several from the list as they had great careers in other parts of the world, sadly though I wasnt privy to OMGIAMRETARDEDCAUSEALOTISTWOWORDS of that music.

iandaina · Post by **iandaina** » April 30, 2003, 2:47 pm

Styx had Lady, Renegade, and um...o yeah Come Sail Away or Sail Away..whichever...

Dunno if they actually charted with these, but as much airplay as they get I'm assuming they did.

miir · Post by **miir** » April 30, 2003, 3:29 pm

This gets into definitions again. Blur is still a 1 hit wonder, I don't care if they have 100 albums and are #1 in Iceland for 6 years straight. The average person can only name one Blur sang which happens to be Song 2.

Just noticed that.
Per capita, the british are the largest consumers of music in the world.
A new release by Blur sells 300000 copies in one week in England.
Their past 5 albums have sold on aveage 2-2.5 million copies worldwide.
Blur have sold enough albums in the past 6 years for every resident of Iceland to have almost 50 Blur records.

I think quite a few people could name more than 1 song by Blur.
Other than in the US and Canada, Song 2 wasn't even a huge hit... It didn't even reach #1 in the UK and was only in the top 40 for 3 weeks.
Of all Blur's charted singles in Europe, here are the top 10 in chart position and chart longevity.

Country House
Tender
There's No Other Way
Girls & Boys
The Universal
Charmless Man
Parklife
Beetlebum
Song 2
Coffee & TV

Xyphir · Post by **Xyphir** » April 30, 2003, 4:11 pm

Kelgar wrote:Styx: Mr. Roboto
LLCoolJ: Mama Said Knock You Out (alright...maybe a 2 hit wonder)

I'm not sure why you think that either one of these are one hit wonders. Did you forget about Come Sail Away? Or Babe? And 'Don't call it a come back...' cuz L.L. has been kickin' it for over a decade.

miir · Post by **miir** » April 30, 2003, 5:04 pm

cuz L.L. has been kickin' it for over a decade.

Just did a little search and his first album, Radio was released in 1985.

Who woulda thought at the time a rapper could have a thriving carreer for 18+ years?

Spangaloid_PE · Post by **Spangaloid_PE** » May 5, 2003, 12:35 am

3 little pigs - green jelly

Taly · Post by **Taly** » May 5, 2003, 9:36 pm

Burke wrote:Tainted Love- Soft Cell
Melt With You- Modern English
Always Something There to Remind Me-Naked Eyes
Take My Breath Away-Berlin

Berlin isnt a 1 hit wonder

Nick · Post by **Nick** » September 7, 2005, 2:01 am

BLUR ARE NOT FUCKING ONE HIT WONDERS.

They along with Oasis, defined a genre of music commonly known as Britpop, a genre you can still see in the very fabric of British Society today.

What the fuck are you on about?

*(Holy Bump I know but ffs)

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » September 7, 2005, 2:19 am

Fear the Reaper... Needs more cowbell.

Tyek · Post by **Tyek** » September 7, 2005, 3:26 am

Stereo MC's - Connected

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » September 7, 2005, 6:22 am

Ignorance of a band doesn't make them one hit wonders Fairweather. Just because you didn't listen to them doesn't mean they weren't being extremely successful. Blur? Flaming Lips? Fatboy Slim? Good grief man, all three very successful with huge bodies of work and very large fan bases. Hell, I hated Blur when they first got big and I can still name 3 hit songs (Song 2, Boys & Girls, Charmless Man).

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, which I believe is The Flaming Lips latest album, is also arguably their best, and you'd probably even recognize a song or two off of it just from mainstream culture that you didn't even know was them (Do You Realize springs to mind, it's gotten a lot of commercial use).

And Fatboy Slim... Praise You wasn't even his first hit. Rockafella Skank was the breakthrough hit, then came Praise You. And Weapon of Choice... I think if most people were asked to name one Fatboy Slim song, it would be Weapon of Choice. The video made that song music legend I'd say.