Alas, Yorick Looks at the One Hit Wonders

One hit wonders - they've been around a while. Oddee says they are generally "novelty songs that are, to an extent, deliberately short-lived, recorded for humor or to cash in on a fad." But even in the Oddee list below there are clearly songs that were not recorded for humor or to cash in on a fad, so their definition is needlessly limited. And there are even some that I would argue really weren't one-hit wonders anyway.

But have a look at them, and see what the chief music critic at Alas, Yorick has to say about these tunes.

(Band - song)
1. Los Del Rio - Macarena (1996) Painful, a true national nightmare. Please think of the children before playing this one. And get your damn hands off my hips.

2. Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby (1990) Lots of rap is self-referential. Most rap isn't this bad. Be thankful this was only one hit.

3. Baha Men - Who Let the Dogs Out? (2000) A travesty. Put the dogs back in, please.

4. Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy (1991) OK, this was a novelty act. But dammit, it was really catchy. "I'm too sexy for this song." Genius.

5. Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen (1982) I don't think they meant to be a novelty act. DMR were a big thing in Britain, definitely NOT a one-hit wonder. And this song, admittedly overexposed on MTV, wasn't bad.

6. Joan Osbourne - One Of Us (1995) This was an odd tune, with its imagining God spending a life riding the bus like the rest of us. But I liked it. And Osbourne is still performing.

7. Nena - 99 Luftballons (1984) Okay, this song definitely hit a chord with the American public in the cold war days of the mid-1980s, with nuclear freeze movements all over Europe and the US and real concerns about nuclear war. But it was a good song, and Nena was big in her native Germany.

8. The Knack - My Sharona (1979) Great great song. And much more decorous than "Good Girls Don't".

9. Meredith Brooks - Bitch (1997) Never heard of it. Didn't get much airplay in Mongolia, apparently.

10. Survivor - Eye of the Tiger (1982) Truly awful, it was a relief that Survivor were in fact a one-hit wonder.

11. New Radicals - You Get What You Give (1999) Huh?

12. 4 Non Blondes - What's Up (1993) Sorry, don't know it.

13. Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares to you (1990) Painful. Like all of her music.

14. Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy (1988) You know, if you don't hear it every 30 seconds, this is a catchy little tune.

15. Minnie Riperton - Lovin' You (1975) She had a great voice. She died young, of cancer aged only 31. Maybe she wouldn't have had just one hit. Seems a bit cruel to include her.

16. The Cardigans - Lovefool (1996) I've heard some Cardigans' songs, but not this one. That's OK with me.

17. Soft Cell - Tainted Love (1982) A great song.

18. The Archies - Sugar, Sugar (1969) This definitely fits Oddee's idea of one-hit wonder. But what a great, sweet one hit this was! I used to sing this song in bed when I was a kid.

19. Europe - The Final Countdown (1986) I WISH this had been the only Europe song I'd ever heard, but unfortunately I was exposed to many. The best thing about Europe is they made Asia seem not so bad.

20. Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5 (1999) Apart from the fact that his last name is the same as a prominent cheese-making center in Australia, I have nothing to say. Oh, except that mambo snakes are highly poisonous, even though they are not found in Australia.

21. Aqua - Barbie Girl (1997) This song got Aqua into some trouble when Mattel sued over its rather sexual depiction of Barbie the doll. But hey - it was accurate, wasn't it? I mean, what are you supposed to think about a doll with 46-22-36 measurements? Exactly.

22. EMF - Unbelievable (1991) Unbelievable that I have never heard of this song. Probably just as well.

23. Eifel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee) (1999) Looks like a wonderful song judging from the title. Too bad I never heard of it.

24. The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony (1997) One of the bittersweet episodes in rock history. Great song, interesting video. Song features a short sample - repeated many many times - from the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time." The band (or their management) failed to get permission. Big lawsuits, and the label that owned the Rolling Stones' back catalogue won 100% of the royalties from this, the Verve's first big hit after years in the biz. Band breaks up. A sad story.

25. Falco - Rock me Amadeus (1985) This was just fun. That's OK.

26. Spandau Ballet - True (1983) True ... ly awful. Sorry. I don't like real ballet, either.

27. Chumbawamba - Tubthumping (1997) This was a great song, but anarchist rock bands and corporate record labels don't mix well...

28. Haddaway - What is love (1993) And what is this song?

29. Des'ree - You gotta be (1994) You gotta be kidding me. Never heard it. I probably would have hated it.

30. Blind Melon - No Rain (1992) Blind Melon may have had more hits if their lead singer hadn't died of a drug overdose.

31. Ziggy Marley - Tomorrow People (1988) Not to be confused with Bob Marley, who was a one-hundred hit wonder.

32. Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star (1979) The answer to a trivia question, "What was the first song played on MTV?" It was a fun bit of new wave.

33. OMC - How Bizarre (1996) How bizarre that I never heard of this song.

34. Lipps, Inc. - Funkytown (1980) Truly funky. Part of the disco section on the otherwise rock-and-roll soundtrack to my high school life.

35. Semisonic - Closing Time (1998) NOOOO!!! NOOO!!!! MAKE IT STOP!!! Lame tune and truly inane lyrics. I have spent thousands of dollars in therapy trying to get this song out of my head. And now it's back. Thanks, Oddee. Be sure to check carefully before stomping out that burning bag on your porch tonight.

36. A-ha - Take on me (1985) Interesting animation for its video. Otherwise, I could forget it happily.

37. Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax (1984) ZZZZZZZZZ... huh, what's that?

38. Church - Under the Milky Way (1988) Hmm, missed that one.

39. Deee-Lite - Groove is in the heart (1990) My local rock station must not have played this one.

40. Wild Cherry - Play that funky music (1976) OK, THIS one is NOT a one-hit wonder. Sure, this is the only thing we heard by Wild Cherry - and it was a GREAT song. But lead singer Donnie Iris was at least a FOUR-hit wonder. Before Wild Cherry, Iris was with a band called the Jaggerz (hi, Mick!) and they had a great song called "The Rapper." You'd know it if you heard it. After Wild Cherry, Iris went solo. And he had at least two more moderate hits, with "Ah Leah" and "Do You Compute", both GREAT songs. Iris was no one-hit wonder. In fact, I think I need a greatest-hits compilation by him.

41. Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians - What I Am (1989) Slightly repetitive... but not bad!

42. Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting (1974) Definitely in the novelty category - but WHAT a song. Every boy in the sixth grade was high-kicking to this tune!

43. Gary Numan - Cars (1979) Electronica... slightly sterile. I've heard worse.

44. Gerardo - Rico Suave (1991) Que?

45. Toni Basil - Mickey (1982) The biggest problem with this wasn't the song (which at the very least gets credit for inspiring Weird Al's "Rickey"). It was the beefy cheerleaders in the video! Little known fact - they filmed this video on the cheap, and used some East German track athletes who had defected to America.

46. The Weather Girls - It's Raining Men (1979) I managed to miss this one. Good thing too, it would hurt to be hit by such big raindrops. (On second thought, I think I might vaguely remember this. Maybe.)

47. Afroman - Because I Got High (2001) Missed it.

48. Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag (2000) This is a GREAT SONG. And the Iron Maiden geek teenage dirtbag gets the cute metal-head girl! What's not to like?

49. L. A. Guns - The Ballad of Jayne (1989) It is a wise policy to avoid hair metal bands.

50. Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (1998) This title doesn't even make sense to me unless it refers somehow to say an Indian singer like Asha Bhosle. Guess I missed it. Oh well.

Now, Oddee also missed some other one-hit wonders. Such as:

Flash and the Pan - Hey St Peter

Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin (wait, there may have been one other song...)

Satellite - The Hooters

Tell Me Why (I Don't Like Mondays) - The Boomtown Rats

The Monster Mash - Boris Karloff