Favorite 90's Ont Hit Wonder?

[Guest evenflowDDT]

On the flipside, my least favorite one hit wonder of the 90s is director Baz Luhrman's godawful song about sunscreen. The selling point of this particular single always eluded me, but that's usually the case with novelty hits.

Yea, I didn't get that song either, but he jacked the hook (or rather, the closest thing to it, where those chicks sing "Everybody's freeee....") from some song off the soundtrack to his version of Romeo & Juliet.

[Guest Bricks]

"Whoomp! There it is!" - Tag Team

 

That song was one of the few things I remember about Grade 7. Everybody kept listening to it that it grew on me.

[Guest Kinetic]

We really need to work on a concrete definition for "one hit wonder." Is it a band or solo artist that has one ginormous single but is never seen or heard from again? Or can it be any band or solo artist that has a big hit but doesn't have that good fortune again, despite being around for a considerable length of time and having a large fanbase?

 

It's hard to pin anyone down with the first definition, I'd say. I actually knew a girl in my senior year of high school (2000-2001) whose interest in music seemed to begin and end with the band Europe. That's right, "The Final Countdown" and all that. Does this one girl being obsessed with them exclude them from "one hit wonder" consideration? What if there were 100 people like her?

[Guest Vern Gagne]

The 80's kicks the 90's ass for one hit wonders. The songs were better and alot more memorable.

 

The Proclaimers: I would walk 10,000 Miles.

[Guest red_file]

We really need to work on a concrete definition for "one hit wonder." Is it a band or solo artist that has one ginormous single but is never seen or heard from again? Or can it be any band or solo artist that has a big hit but doesn't have that good fortune again, despite being around for a considerable length of time and having a large fanbase?

I'd say that the definition is pretty clear: a band that has only one "hit." A "hit" being defined as a song that stayed in the top 40 (top 20? top 10? how selective are we going here?) for a number of weeks. It doesn't matter how long they've been around, how much material they produce pre/post-"hit," or even the size of their fanbase. Iron Butterfly could be considered a one hit wonder even though they had a sizeable fanbase; had the Grateful Dead not released American Beauty, they'd have been a one hit wonder with "Touch of Grey."

 

I'd go with "The Freshmen" by The Verve Pipe. Decent song, was popular for about six weeks, and then the band disappeared, though it appears they've released five albums.

[Guest spiny norman]

The Proclaimers had two hits.

 

There was I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles), but there was also I'm On My Way.

 

Anyway, one-hit wonder of the 90s???

 

Maybe Hanging By A Moment by Lifehouse. I really love that song, though most I know thinks it's a little bleh.

[Guest redbaron51]

Closing Time by Semisonic

[Guest treble charged]

I'll admit, I liked Tubthumpin by Chumbawamba (sp?) when it came out, although I cringe whenever I hear it on the radio, today (however infrequently that may be).

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

the 90's had a ton of one hit wonders...

 

I personally mark out for

 

Hum - Stars

Tripping Daisy - I Got a Girl

Charlatans UK - The Only One

Screaming Trees - Nearly Lost You

BUTT Trumpet - You're Ugly

Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye

 

I know i'm missing some...

dude, i don't know what your definition is, but screaming trees and hum are not one-hit wonders. both those bands still have sizable fan bases. i have many friends that still listen to hum, and they make good albums. you might as well say liz phair was a one-hit wonder cause her only single that got significant attention was 'supernova'.

 

and saying jeff buckley is a one-hit wonder is akin to saying the velvet underground was a two-hit wonder for 'sweet jane' and 'rock & roll' or the pixies were a one-hit wonder for 'monkey gone to heaven'. jeff buckley's got a pretty big and VERY loyal fanbase, and he's already grown into a kind of quasi-legend.

Yeah I know Screaming Trees had minor hits like "Dollar Bill" and "Shadows of the Season" but everyone associates them with that one big hit. But, ok, I'll agree with you on Screaming Trees. But what other hit did Hum and Jeff Buckley have? This is not to take away from their talent, or their fanbase, but I only know of one song by each artist that received significant airplay on mainstream media.

[Guest Kinetic]

I'd go with "The Freshmen" by The Verve Pipe. Decent song, was popular for about six weeks, and then the band disappeared, though it appears they've released five albums.

In my area (Washington D.C., at the time) they had another considerable hit with a song called "Photograph" shortly before that. I don't think it had the major crossover success that "The Freshmen" had, but it definitely got airplay on the two mainstream rock stations in that area, which I would assume would translate into across-the-board airplay on rock stations. So I don't know if I'd consider them a one hit wonder or not.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I heard that "Freshmen" track as well, I'm pretty sure it was on the charts, although I'm not sure.

 

Either way, it sucked.

[Guest Kinetic]

That's not what we were debating, foo'. "The Freshmen" is totally established. It's the single that came shortly before it--"Photograph"--that's in question.

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Verve Pipe's "Villians" also got somewhat semi-airplay, but

I dunno if I'd call them hits...

 

What About Eagle eye Cherry - "Save tonight"

or Local H, I forget the song, but I just don't get it, I keep it copastetic, and I learn to for get it?

 

AND Primitive Radio Gods- Standing Outside a Phonebooth with change in one hand while the other hand is in my pocket massaging my root while i think about that circle jerk i had with my mom and some of her friends...

 

great stuff

[Guest Sandman9000]

Verve- Bittersweet Symphony

 

Verve Pipe- Freshmen

 

Y'alls gettin the two confused.

 

And I could say 3 Doors Down for Kryptonite, since I don't think any of their other stuff will make it, or did. I really wasn't paying attention.

 

How about Sir Mix-A-Lot, Baby Got Back?

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Ok, so let me get this straight.

 

Verve-Bittersweet Symphony

 

Verve Pipe-Freshmen.

 

This much we know. Now, does Photograph belong to just regular Verve, or Verve PIPE?

 

From what I understand, it's Verve Pipe.

 

And, not to beat a dead horse or anything, but all three songs suck.

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Photograph = Verve Pipe. That was a good song. It had that

cool synth intro and then the bass and the drums kicked in. Definitely

overlooked in the wake of the power ballad.

[Guest Kinetic]

Yeah, the Verve-Verve Pipe confusion never came up. They were totally different bands with different styles.

 

The Local H song in question is "Bound for the Floor," if I'm not mistaken. Whether or not "The Kids Are Right" was a hit is up for debate, in my opinion. It got some airplay; it wasn't a crossover smash, but then "Bound for the Floor" wasn't either.

 

And, for the record, "Bittersweet Symphony" is a good song. Oh...I can't believe we're this far into the thread without anyone mentioning Skee-Lo. "I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller, I wish I had a girl who looked good, I would call her." It's the stuff that one hit wonder legends are made of.

 

EDIT: Local H also had a minor hit with "Eddie Vedder." Just saying.

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Eddie Vedder is a great song, as is All the Kids, but neither

received the exposure that Bound to the Floor did

 

What about K's Choice? Addict, or Not an Addict

something like that...

[Guest Kinetic]

Here's a good example of one hit wonder-dom negating the other accomplishments of a band: The Meat Puppets. They had one hit--I forget what it was called--off of Too High To Die at the peak of the grunge era and that was that. Never mind the fact that they released several seminal cowpunk albums in the 80s...as far as Billboard is concerned, they had one hit and were never heard from again.

 

See also: Surfers, Butthole.

[Guest goodhelmet]

We really need to work on a concrete definition for "one hit wonder." Is it a band or solo artist that has one ginormous single but is never seen or heard from again? Or can it be any band or solo artist that has a big hit but doesn't have that good fortune again, despite being around for a considerable length of time and having a large fanbase?

 

It's hard to pin anyone down with the first definition, I'd say. I actually knew a girl in my senior year of high school (2000-2001) whose interest in music seemed to begin and end with the band Europe. That's right, "The Final Countdown" and all that. Does this one girl being obsessed with them exclude them from "one hit wonder" consideration? What if there were 100 people like her?

actually europe had three hits... 'the final countdown', 'rock the night', and 'carrie' but that is neither here nor there.

 

the most popular definition of one hit wonder is an artist or band who has only acheived top 40 status once in their career. a good example would be jimi hendrix, who despite being one of the most popular artists ever had only one top 40 hit with 'all along the watchtower'. you could include kermit the frog and ernie on this list as well.

[Guest goodhelmet]

Here's a good example of one hit wonder-dom negating the other accomplishments of a band: The Meat Puppets. They had one hit--I forget what it was called--off of Too High To Die at the peak of the grunge era and that was that. Never mind the fact that they released several seminal cowpunk albums in the 80s...as far as Billboard is concerned, they had one hit and were never heard from again.

 

See also: Surfers, Butthole.

that song from the meat puppets was 'backwater' but i don't know if it made the top 40

[Guest JAxlMorrison]

I'd have to say Candlebox "Far Behind".....I always loved that song.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

The Local H song in question is "Bound for the Floor," if I'm not mistaken. Whether or not "The Kids Are Right" was a hit is up for debate, in my opinion. It got some airplay; it wasn't a crossover smash, but then "Bound for the Floor" wasn't either.

I can't speak for anywhere else, but in my area (San Francisco Bay Area), "The Kids Are Right" was pretty big, they'd play it all the time on Live 105, and it was actually the reason I bought their album Pack Up the Cats (or was that just what one of the songs on it was called? I actually detested the album except for "The Kids Are Right" when I first heard it, but now that I listen to it its actually pretty good). I actually never even knew they did "Bound for the Floor" until now. Hell, I didn't even know "Bound for the Floor" was the name of the song.

 

Semisonic's actually not too terrible either, but was "Fascinating New Thing" from way back in 1996 popular enough to qualify for another hit? What about "Singing in my Sleep" (which got play on S.F. radio almost as much as "Closing Time")? "Secret Smile"?

 

How about the Gin Blossoms? Elysian Fields? Or the most obvious of all... Los Del Rios?

[Guest godthedog]

^gin blossoms had a good number of hits. 'till i hear it from you', 'follow you down', allison road'...

 

well if we're working from this new definition, i guess i'll add:

 

'feel the pain', dinosaur jr

'sour times', portishead

'universal heartbeat', julianna hatfield

'fade into you', mazzy star

'sweet jane', cowboy junkies

'supernova', liz phair

'cannonball', the breeders

'cold beverage', g love and special sauce

'here and now', letters to cleo

[Guest evenflowDDT]

^gin blossoms had a good number of hits.  'till i hear it from you', 'follow you down', allison road'...

Ahh, OK. My mistake. I always heard Gin Blossoms mentioned as being really popular but they NEVER played ANY of their songs in my area. Are they any good, or just a Goo Goo Dolls clone as I always assumed?

 

Oh yea, might as well contribute to the thread too:

 

Zebrahead - "Get Back"

 

I dunno, I like 'em. Never bothered to pick up Playmate of the Year though.

[Guest Kinetic]

I believe Candlebox had two hits: "Far Behind" and "You."

 

Gin Blossoms actually had the jangle-pop style down prior to the Goo Goo Dolls, so far as I know. Both bands are pretty mediocre, so it's irrelevant.

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

LETTERS TO CLEO RULE!!!!!! But they were OHW's... HOWEVER, Juliana Hatfield had a bigger hit than "Heartbeat"... she had "My Sister"...

Tracy Bonham - Mother Mother

Lemonheads - Into Your Arms

Imperial Teen - You're One

[Guest Kinetic]

I could swear that the Lemonheads had a decent-sized hit with their cover of "Mrs. Robinson." That could be poor hindsight on my part, though.

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Damn, you're right Kinetic- that was even bigger than "Arms"

 

sorry

[Guest evenflowDDT]

Imperial Teen - You're One

I've never heard of this song, but "Yoo Hoo" got a TON of play in the Bay Area and I know it got a decent amount nationally because of the video and its appearance on the Jawbreaker soundtrack.