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Holiday! Celebrate!
Good morning, Solid State! And Happy National One-Hit Wonder Day! Today, September 25, we honor all those artists who have achieved one (and only one!) top 40 record.
The top of my one-hit list includes "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, and "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Riders. And then of course there are the classics; "Rappers Delight" by Sugar Hill Gang, "We're Not Gonna Take it" by Twisted Sister, and Club Nouveau's "Lean on Me". Damn. The campfires that song has seen.
Plus, who could forget this little gem?
Leave your favorites in the comments, and happy celebrating!
Is Twisted Sister really a one-hit wonder? What about "Leader of Pack" and "I Wanna Rock"? God bless Dee Snider.
My favorite one-hit wonder? . . . gosh, there's so many.
How about Snow? If only because he called his album "12 Inches of Snow." I thought that was hysterical when I was 13. (OK, I still think it's pretty funny.)
Or maybe Kriss Kross? Winger? I could go on all day.
Posted by: dan | Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 02:06 PM
I agree that Dee Snider is awesome. Growing up in Hartford he was my favorite morning DJ.
But according to several sources, the only Twisted Sister song to ever make it to top 40 status was "We're Not Gonna Take It".
Of course, with that as the rule, Sinead O'Connor is also technically a one-hit wonder. Having grown up with her, I had a hard time swallowing that one...
Posted by: bridgetb | Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 02:12 PM
Wow, Dan really hit home with the Snow and Kriss Kross shoutouts. Throw in a Heavy D album and you've got my cassette tape rotation during the summer of '92.
I still rock out to Faith No More whenever "Epic" comes on 103.3, and would have sworn to you that New Radicals were going to be HUGE after "You Get What You Give" hit.
Posted by: Darek | Friday, September 26, 2008 at 04:03 AM
But doesn't one hit wonder imply their single was the only thing they're known for and they've since disappeared?
Posted by: Justin Boland | Friday, September 26, 2008 at 01:06 PM
The site with information on the holiday used the top-40 rule, but yeah, I generally use the term like you do, Justin. Here's what wikipedia has to say on the subject:
"Most American music industry insiders consider a song in the top forty positions of the Billboard Hot 100 to be a hit. Thus, any performer who recorded only one song that reached the Top 40 is, technically, a one-hit wonder. However, the term is more generally applied to musicians best known for only one song, meaning that some artists who fit the above criteria are not considered one-hit wonders, while others who do not are considered such."
Posted by: bridgetb | Friday, September 26, 2008 at 01:16 PM
Ah...the '70s--so long before your time, my children--are simply strewn with one-hit wonders! I'll spare you some of my more embarassing faves. But I'll cop in public to "Rock The Boat" by The Hues Corporation. And who doesn't shake it from time to time to "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls? A little "Kung Fu Fighting" perhaps, with Carl Carlton--not necessarily a personal fave, but an iconic one-hit wonder of the decade.
Okay, and here's one ultra-cheesy one: "Heaven on the Seventh Floor" by Alan O'Day.
Now what was that about classing up the joint? ;-)
Posted by: Lisa Crean | Monday, September 29, 2008 at 01:51 AM
I can't believe I'm listening to Tootsie Roll right now!
And I totally agree with Dan — Informer was totally my jam in 8th grade.
Posted by: MistressMaeve | Wednesday, October 01, 2008 at 09:11 PM