'80s One-Hit Wonders

[Dawn]

These dozen artists of the early-to-mid '80s only managed to place one song in the Billboard Top 40, but what memorable hits they were! Which one is your favorite of these 12?

I'm going with Tainted Love - still one of my all-time '80s faves!

[Railyn]

Tough - I like a lot of those.

I went with Cars.

My dad worked a 7 day swing up until his plant went out of business about 8 years ago. When I was younger, it was a special treat to stay up late and wait for dad on Saturdays. He'd bring me a snack from the machines, or he'd stop somewhere and grab a sandwich for me and him.

We'd watch Saturday Night Live.

It was there that I first saw/heard Gary Newman, and I was totally into the sound he was putting out. A new-wave freak was born.

Two days later, dad came home with the 45 of that song for me. I still have it - it barely plays.

[55dodger]

My fav is "In a Big Country" followed closely by "Cars" & "Come On Eileen."

I was stationed in England when both Cars & Come On Eileen both peaked at number 1 on the UK chart (and stayed there for awhile). Gary Numan also had a hit in 1979 under the guise of Tubeway Army called "Are Friends Electric". It's a very good song & was a multi week #1.

[jpkansas]

Tracey Ullman. Fun song and a neat video. Marshall Crenshaw would be a close second. Great song.

[H2IZCOOL]

I went with Tainted Love by Soft Cell followed closely by They Don't Know by Tracey Ullman

[Cool Hand Logan]

Had to go with "In A Big Country" but I like most of them.

[Laura--I wuv u all :)]

I was gonna say "Der Kommissar" by After the Fire, but that wasn't one of the choices. So Marshall Crenshaw it is, with Big Country and Buckner & Garcia close behind.

[Ken]

I'm going with Marshall Crenshaw - woo hoo!
Tracy Ullman's They Don't Know would be second.

[Pete70s]

I'll vote for Marshall Crenshaw, although I like his follow-up single "Whenever You're On My Mind" much better.

[KittyKat - RIP Luciano]

There are 5 songs on here that I really love and still listen a fair amount today. I went with Haircut 100 because it didn't have any votes yet.

[jbd]

actually, i remember other singles (or at least semi-popular album tracks) by most of the acts on that list, none as popular as their signature hit (meaning not TOP 40, as DAWN said). THOMAS DOLBY's HYPERACTIVE is my favorite song by him, DEXY'S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS covered VAN MORRISON's JACKIE WILSON SAID, HAIRCUT 100 had FAVOURITE SHIRTS, GARY NUMAN did ARE FRIENDS ELECTRIC, etc.

and of course, before he went solo, ADAM & THE ANTS put out some good stuff like ANTMUSIC (their breakthrough) and STAND & DELIVER.

anyway, i voted for SOFT CELL...the only other song i can recall by them now is SEX DWARF, understandably not a huge hit!

[H2IZCOOL]

May 11, 2008 19:15:25 GMT -5 @jbd said:

actually, i remember other singles (or at least semi-popular album tracks) by most of the acts on that list, none as popular as their signature hit (meaning not TOP 40, as DAWN said). THOMAS DOLBY's HYPERACTIVE is my favorite song by him, DEXY'S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS covered VAN MORRISON's JACKIE WILSON SAID, HAIRCUT 100 had FAVOURITE SHIRTS, GARY NUMAN did ARE FRIENDS ELECTRIC, etc.

and of course, before he went solo, ADAM & THE ANTS put out some good stuff like ANTMUSIC (their breakthrough) and STAND & DELIVER.

anyway, i voted for SOFT CELL...the only other song i can recall by them now is SEX DWARF, understandably not a huge hit!

You bring up a very good point, Dave. People have differing opinions as to what constitutes a one hit wonder.

Some people say only one top 10 song. Others say onlly one top 40 song, or (this one seems to be the most widely accepted) one song on the Billboard hot 100. Other people may say, only one song ever recorded. That would be a toughie to research.

There are maybe other criteria people use - like only one song on ANY chart. -- Like if you had only one pop hit, and another on a country chart, you couldn't be a one hit wonder.

So, it's a fun topic to discuss, but difficult to all agree on.

[daniel]

I had to go with Pac Man Fever. I had the cassette of that when it came out, and ended up wearing it out. I found the LP years later at a yard sale, that's the only time I've ever come across that album. (I do have the single on CD from a K-tel comp, I read somewhere that's the only place it has appeared on CD)

[Laura--I wuv u all :)]

May 28, 2008 10:47:45 GMT -5 daniel said:

I had to go with Pac Man Fever. I had the cassette of that when it came out, and ended up wearing it out. I found the LP years later at a yard sale, that's the only time I've ever come across that album. (I do have the single on CD from a K-tel comp, I read somewhere that's the only place it has appeared on CD)

I read somewhere that Buckner & Garcia redid the whole album and released it on CD a few years back. I remember seeing it on amazon.com. I'll have to look again and see if it's still there.

So, Daniel, just wondering, since you like that album--do you like video games? I love them! So does my son. I got Namco Museum for him (on Gamecube), which has Dig Dug, Pac-Man, and lots of other "old" games. It also has "arrangement" versions of Pac-Man, Dig Dug and Galaga in which 2 people can play at the same time. We love those!

[dave910]

I went with Marshall Crenshaw, due to the fact I rarely hear it played on the radio anymore. Crenshaw still records periodically, but "Someday, Someway" remains his only hit to date.