One-hit Wonders

Parent Cafe
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<p>I must have missed that one :)</p>

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<p>99 Red Balloons-Nena (or 99 Luftballoons in the original German) </p>

<p>I can’t vouch for whether Nena had any other hits in Germany</p>

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<p>One Hit Wonder Police here:</p>

<p>Human League had “Keep Feeling Fascination” which was ubiquitous on early MTV.</p>

<p>Joan Baez’s biggest hit might be “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and I’m thinking there were probably others.</p>

<p>I’ll nominate:</p>

<p>Big Country–Big Country
Life in a Northern Town --Dream Academy
And we Danced–The Hooters</p>

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<p>Some ‘hits’ bigger than others:</p>

<ol>
<li> 96 Tears–? and the Mysterians</li>
<li> Bang a Gong–T. Rex</li>
<li> Israelites—Desmond Dekker</li>
<li> Ghost Town—The Specials</li>
<li> Save it for Later—The English Beat</li>
<li> Bittersweet Symphony–The Verve</li>
<li> What is Love–Haddaway (it’s more of a ‘bit’ than a song)</li>
<li> Cantaloop–US3 (Acid Jazz’ biggest hit, I think)</li>
<li> The future’s so Bright I gotta wear shades–Timbuk3</li>
<li>I’ll Melt with You–Modern English</li>
<li>Video Killed the Radio Star–The Buggles (pop song as prophecy)</li>
</ol>

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<p>Well, you can certainly tell who are the “youngsters” around here :smiley: Hint: I’m not one of them!!</p>

<p>Absolute-favorite-no-question-about-it-- “Third Rate Romance (Low Rent Rendezvous)” by The Amazing Rhythm Aces</p>

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<p>Fun fact: “Video Killed the Radio STar” was the first ever video played on MTV.</p>

<p>“She blinded me with Science” Thomas Dolby
“Cars” Gary Numan</p>

<p>I could be a charter member of an I Love the Eighties club.</p>

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<p>And one of my all-time favs:</p>

<p>“Take On Me” A-Ha</p>

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<p>“Those Were the Days” Mary Hopkins</p>

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<p>Good ones, good ones! I’m going to be humming “Third Rate Romance” all day now! Speaking of not being youngsters, how about The Cyrkle with “Red Rubber Ball.”</p>

<p>Woodwork: It was Jay and the Mysterians. “Bang a Gong” and “Video” were exactly what I had in mind for this thread. I really liked The Specials, The English Beat, and The Verve, but I can’t think of those songs you named for the life of me, even though I owned their albums. Wonder if I still have them in the attic somewhere. Wonder if I might still have a record player in the attic somewhere.</p>

<p>Sgt. Barry Sadler: He always struck me as a most unlikely commando–Burl Ives in a green beret–but he’s aged very well, and at about 60 now looks like a total stud. I’ve seen him in TV commercials for someone else’s K-Tel collection.</p>

<p>The Hooters: It’s hard for me to think of them as one-hit wonders, since I’m from the neighborhood, but “And We Danced” may qualify, from a nation-wide perspective. But what about “All You Zombies,” and their version of “500 Miles” featuring Peter Paul and Mary on backing vocals. Were they just local hits?</p>

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<p>What about Diamonds and Rust!!! It’s my favorite song by her :)</p>

<p>oh yeah, and Garland, I’m all about the 80s too ;)</p>

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<p>“C-mon Eileen” Dexies Midnight Runners</p>

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<p>Nope, nope, nope, sorry. Joan Baez was not a one-hit wonder.</p>

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<p>Driver: The Verve’s song was mid-nineties, and was unfortunately turned into a Nike commercial.</p>

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<p>Garland, OK, I’ve got it now. Definitely a one-hit wonder, which reminded me of another from the period: “One of Us,” by Joan Osborne (What if God was one of us). Did you know that it was written by Eric Bazilian, of The Hooters?</p>

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<p>Driver, I think you may have combined two band names. 96 Tears was indeed done by ? and the Mysterians. Jay and the Americans had numerous hits with songs like This Magic Moment, Come Little Bit Closer, Only in America, etc.</p>

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<p>Joan Baez, yeah, I figured she had more, “Diamonds and Rust”, of course!</p>

<p>I think Human League probably had several more than “Don’t you want me”, but “Fascination” was the only other one I could think of.</p>

<p>And T. Rex also had “Jeepster”. "As in “Girl, I’m just a jeepster for your love”–whatever that means. LOL</p>

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<p>Aaarrgh!!! Now I have an earworm! I can’t stop singing Jay and the Americans" “Let’s Lock the Door and Throw away the Key”. My 13 year old is giving me some very strange looks.</p>

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<p>Even more important, you’ve just reminded me that the band Woodwork mentioned was in fact “? and the Mysterians” and the question mark wasn’t a question. :slight_smile: As for the earworm–imagine Bill Murray singing that song. It may not make it go away, but it will be more fun.</p>

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<p>“The Singing Nun” Dominique</p>

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<p>A Little Bit of Soap- The Jarmels
Eve of Destruction- Barry McGuire
Touch of Grey- Grateful Dead
Classical Gas- Mason Williams
You Get What You Give- New Radicals
Black Is Black- Los Bravos
Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me) Blessed Union of Souls
Abraham, Martin And John- Moms Mabley
Do You Love Me- The Contours
Mother-in-Law- Ernie K-Doe</p>

<p>(Did Janis Ian really have more than one hit, or was “At 17” the only one? was “At 17” really even a hit?)</p>

<p>Amelia, thanks so much, now I have “Come a Little Bit Closer” stuck in my head. Stupid Jay & the Americans.</p>