# One Hit Wonders



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

They say all you ever need is one hit song. I heard Tiny Tim's "Tip Toe Through The Tulips" in some ad on TV and remembered all those TV appearances he used to make. He must have sung that song 5000 times. But he managed to make it a career.


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

GuitarsCanada said:


> They say all you ever need is one hit song. I heard Tiny Tim's "Tip Toe Through The Tulips" in some ad on TV and remembered all those TV appearances he used to make. He must have sung that song 5000 times. But he managed to make it a career.


Look at the 80's alot of bands rode very high and still do the nostalgia tours of one (sometime very lame album) Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, ect, ect.


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

Starbuck said:


> Look at the 80's alot of bands rode very high and still do the nostalgia tours of one (sometime very lame album) Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, ect, ect.


sometimes 1 very lame song alone


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

lbrown1 said:


> sometimes 1 very lame song alone


Yes indeed. Autograph anyone??? Although I have to admit I didn't mine that song Turn Up the Radio.. What about Warrant??? "Cherry Pie" janey Lane regrets that one!! The video is gone from Youtube now, but he's said he could shoot himself for writing that song...


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

I may be in the minority here - but if Wang Chung's Dance Hall Days or To Live or Die in LA came on the radio somewhere, I'd smirk a chuckle to myself and give 'em a listen.

If I heard Tiny Tim doin' Tip Toe somewhere I wouldn't be pleased.

The one tune that strikes me as the ultimate "one hitter" has to be some Echo Beach tune by Martha & the Muffins. I grew up where all the radio stations were from the States and I'd never heard that tune. We spent a couple weeks one summer in and around Toronto and I'm sure I heard that tune 3 times an hour regardless of where we were.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Starbuck said:


> Look at the 80's alot of bands rode very high and still do the nostalgia tours of one (sometime very lame album) Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, ect, ect.


So very true and the reality is that they can make a very good living on it.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

GuitarsCanada said:


> So very true and the reality is that they can make a very good living on it.


Kinda like their own tribute band ?


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

I'll bet that "Walking On Sunshine" has to be one of the most profitable in recent memory - there always seems to be at least one ad featuring it somewhere.


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## Jeff Flowerday (Jan 23, 2006)

Diesel - Sausalito Summer Nights

Comes to mind.


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## Beatles (Feb 7, 2006)

Driver's Seat....Sniff n the Tears


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Any of these bands is "local" *somewhere*, so when WE say "one hit wonder" we usually mean an act that we only know remotely by one song. meanwhile, locally, they may have had multiple minor Top 40 tunes that never broke out of the local market.

F'rinstance "Green Tambourine" by the Lemon Pipers, "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night" by the Electric Prunes, "Take On Me" by A-Ha. Perhaps these acts had only one notable *international* hit, but they had more local/regional hits.


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

http://www.onehitwondercentral.com/

Edit: I just went through the 80's and now I feel old. I still think the same thing now as I did then for a lot of them. "How the hell is that popular?"


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Frank and Moon Unit Zappa - Valley Girls


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

I have a little theory about pop hits. Let me preface this by saying I love women, but the ladies have an infinite capacity for dancy/whiney/fluffy pop music. There's nothing you, me or anybody else can do about it. lol

Shawn :smile:


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

mhammer said:


> Any of these bands is "local" *somewhere*, so when WE say "one hit wonder" we usually mean an act that we only know remotely by one song. meanwhile, locally, they may have had multiple minor Top 40 tunes that never broke out of the local market.
> 
> F'rinstance "Green Tambourine" by the Lemon Pipers, "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night" by the Electric Prunes, "Take On Me" by A-Ha. Perhaps these acts had only one notable *international* hit, but they had more local/regional hits.


Good point, never thought of it that way.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

GuitarsCanada said:


> Good point, never thought of it that way.


People around the world call Kim Mitchell, Allannah Myles, Chilliwack and Saga all One Hit Wonders, but most Canadians know a few songs by each that got radio play. 

One of my favourite One Hit Wonder songs is the one Jeff mentioned - Sausalito Nights.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

NB_Terry said:


> People around the world call Kim Mitchell, Allannah Myles, Chilliwack and Saga all One Hit Wonders, but most Canadians know a few songs by each that got radio play.
> 
> One of my favourite One Hit Wonder songs is the one Jeff mentioned - Sausalito Nights.


I was always a big fan of Saga and also wondered why they could never break out internationally. I thought they had some very good tunes.


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

Rugburn said:


> I have a little theory about pop hits. Let me preface this by saying I love women, but the ladies have an infinite capacity for dancy/whiney/fluffy pop music. There's nothing you, me or anybody else can do about it. lol
> 
> Shawn :smile:


:sport-smiley-002: Count me out of THAT one! You'll find no, dance, whiney, fluffy music in MY collecttion... Oh wait, does Depeche Mode count? :smile:

I will also cop to Duran Duran


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

NB_Terry said:


> People around the world call Kim Mitchell, Allannah Myles, Chilliwack and Saga all One Hit Wonders, but most Canadians know a few songs by each that got radio play.
> 
> One of my favourite One Hit Wonder songs is the one Jeff mentioned - Sausalito Nights.


Yeah I was just checking out that website that J S Moore mentioned and they have Bruce Cockburn listed as a "one hit wonder" for "Wondering Where The Lions Are." To be fair though, I guess that was his biggest international hit but he had quite a few hits in this country.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Kenmac said:


> Yeah I was just checking out that website that J S Moore mentioned and they have Bruce Cockburn listed as a "one hit wonder" for "Wondering Where The Lions Are." To be fair though, I guess that was his biggest international hit but he had quite a few hits in this country.


Because most stations don't have the balls to play "If I Had A Rocket Launcher".

Peace, Mooh.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

My Sharona - great band and players, The Knack should have been bigger stars. Check out the utube of Good Girls Don't.

Ah, Leah - good riff, Donnie uhhh was it Hathaway?

Hamilton, Joe, Frank & Reynolds I think did Baby Come Back, a tune I always liked and which is now featured in the Swiffer commercials.


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

"Ah Leah" was Donnie Iris. In my books, he also scored a hit with "Love is Like A Rock".

Since I've got nothing to compete with a Swiffer commercial, I'll just toss out the Romantics and leave it at that.


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## Jeff Flowerday (Jan 23, 2006)

keto said:


> Ah, Leah - good riff, Donnie uhhh was it Hathaway?


Donnie Iris.

Edit: fretboard beat me to the punch.


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## Jeff Flowerday (Jan 23, 2006)

[youtube=object]i19DrZUr7u0[/youtube]


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

Donnie Iris also was involved with the songs The Rapper for the Jaggerz (later covered by Santers :smilie_flagge17 and Play that Funky Music; other one hit wonders.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Spiritinthesky said:


> I've always loved Spirit In The Sky by Norman Greenbourne.


Baum. Norman Green*baum*.

Personally, I've always thought that Santana was a one hit wonder.....just the same song over and over and over again. (Ooooooooohhhhhhh SNAP!!)


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