Top 10 Rock One Hit Wonders
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- These one hit wonders rock! For this list, we’ll be looking at the most notable rock bands who achieved significant success with a single track in the United States. Our countdown includes The Knack, Fountains of Wayne, Thin Lizzy, and more! Which of these one-hit wonders is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
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Which of these one-hit wonders is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
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Do a top 10 or 20 wrestling theme entrance music
Absolutely love the song Stacy's Mom!! 😊
However, many bring back some great memories. Some I've never heard of! Showing my age.😬
@@leesashriber5097 thts a good song too but it kinda reminds me from a movie Stacy mom with the young kid
Can you do a list of the same but for the UK next?
Teenage Dirtbag
Calling Thin Lizzy "One Hit Wonders" is the most vile thing I've ever heard
Sad part of life is Jimi Hendrix was a 1 hit wonder 😢😢😢
I absolutely AGREE!
Ridiculous as a one hit wonder!
If anyone calls Thin Lizzie a one hit wonder they know absolutely nothing about rock music .
Thin Lizzy was one of the greats. Hands down!
I wouldn't call Thin Lizzy a one hit wonder. "Jailbreak" gets a ton of air time. They have also been nominated to the Rock Hall.
Thought Whiskey in the Jar would have been a hit too, but being in the UK its all guesswork from the outside, even if these days more people probably know the metallica cover
@@davidbell5528, "Whiskey in a Jar" is a great tune. Thin Lizzy was a terribly underrated band. I liked a number of their tunes, including the epic "Angel of Death". The bass line would get approval from Steve Harris.
Jailbreak was in GTA 4 aswell
Yeah, I raised an eyebrow with this one.
@@davidbell5528
Funnily enough, the 1st time I heard “Whiskey in the Jar” was through Metallica and I went, “That doesn’t sound like Metallica original song.” Found out the composition was a Thin Lizzy cover and ended up liking the Thin Lizzy version more. Go figure!
Thin Lizzy one hit Wonder! Crawl back under your stone
Living Colour was absolute fire and Cult of Personality is a jam for the ages.
One of the best concerts I went in my life, they are amazing live, the albums really don't capture the energy they have on stage.
@@HommerThadeu 100%!!!
CM Punk!
You and I share the same nickname... I am a 76 year-old broad...and no one calls me Corinne... I am Corky to friends and family...❤️
@@corinnepmorrison1854 Glad to meet another Corky. I am ever sooo grateful that my grandfather gave me Corky or I would have had to walk through life being called a monstrous name that I have hated for as long as I could remember.
Uriah Heep was grossly underrated!
I really liked them in the day. I am a Hammond player so they had that sound.
Uriah heep is definitely not a one hit wonder. Just because only one song was popular in America doesn’t make them a one hit wonder. They have almost like 10 albums and other acclaimed songs such as Lady in Black, Sunrise, Free Me, Sweet Loraine, The Wizard, etc. and was one of the defining bands of early 70s metal. Maybe not mainstream but not even close to a one hit wonder
They do mention at the start of the video “one hit wonders in America”. For the context of this video , it is a one hit wonder.
@@michaeldube6361 Even in America, well, I think they mean the US, they had most probably lots of fans.
Forgot there hits, they had two GREAT LP's in '71 which was the GREATEST year for Classic LP releases. Another in '72, '73 & '74. I would think if these guys wanted to put Heep in this, how about "Stealin'". That was is a one hit wonder-ful song!! My favorite is "Live" and "Look at Yourself", circa '1971!!
Their song rain should’ve been #1 hit
@@911meeker Solid "Magician's B-Day song circa '72. I love the title track myself!!!
Ugly Kid Joe had another hit. Their cover of Cat's In The Cradle also charted as well.
Good call. Great song. 👍
i remember that being a bigger hit
I have that on my work Playlist, I love that version
Cat's In The Cradle has nearly double the plays that Everything About You has on Spotify.
Pretty sure it was bigger, but I'm glad they didn't acknowledge it above Everything About You.
There are a couple bands on this list that by calling them one hit wonders because of X song would be like saying Black Sabbath was a one hit wonder because they wrote Iron Man. Thin Lizzy and Uriah Heep don't fall into the group of One hit wonders categorically, they have extensive discographies.
And lots of fans, even in the US!
Truth
I thought Uriah Heap’s biggest hit was “July Morning”. It’s my father in law’s all time favorite song.
This is why I read comments.
Yeah Thin Lizzy IS NOT a one hit wonder.
Uriah Heep and Thin Lizzy only had one hit songs here in the US. In the UK they have had multiple hits so that there’s a statue of the late Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott in Dublin, Ireland. It’s a shame here because they are influential bands.
So your list of ONE hit wonders includes bands that have had more than one hit. Nice.
You left out some biggies like - Starland Vocal Band, Shocking Blue, Blue Swede, and on and on and on.
I'd never had guessed from listening to "No Rain's" deceptively calm melody that it's about battling against depression. "Steal My Sunshine" also had a similar theme, with a poppy sound to boot.
That whole album is amazing
Poon? Hook? Od...
I do like songs that do this, sound happy but have deep, dark lyrics. Tears for Fears did this a bit, and Third Eye Blind's Semi-Charmed Life is such a boppy, upbeat rock tune about drug addiction, haha.
"Tones of Home" was a hit. It was released before " No Rain". I already had their album when No Rain was released. "My Galaxie" was the first single from the new album, as well.
Spirit in the sky by norman greenbaum should have been towards the top if not number 1.
No argument from me. One hit for sure. Story I heard was that AMEX used the song in an advert. After paying royalties to Norman they turned him down for their credit card because he couldn't qualify. Maybe an indictment of the music biz more than AMEX.
Living Colour is such an excellent band, but that is their definitive hit. So glad they're ranking it #1.
Damn...I was only up to Black Betty.
Spoiler.
Guess thats what I get for going into comments before the video's over
Open letter to a landlord. Killer track.Glamour Boys was decent.
Really liked love rears it's ugly head.and a bit different but good tune Solace of you
@@murraysnowflurry All of those are excellent! I also love Desperate People and This Is The Life. So many exceptional songs!
Love rears was a bigger hit in Australia im sure, so I was confused.
@@itookallthenames Another incredible song by Living Colour!
Cult of Personaliry came out when I was in my early teens, and we were all obssessed with it. And you can play it today and it still feels so relevant.
I seem to remember Ugly Kid Joe having another hit with a Cats in the Cradle cover
Yes, but that was a cover, not a original song, thus why I Hate Everything About You is here
Still a hit though
@@TheMrtgamer They never said anything about excluding covers..
Cats in The Cradle was their only hit outside US.That is the song they are known for..
@@TheMrtgamer several of these are covers. Just sayin.
They played "Neighbor" a lot back then
Cult of Personality...how to sum it up...
BEST IN THE WORLD! A real STRAIGHT EDGE hit!
Very nice my fine cultured fellow commenter. Might even say a powerhouse of a song that provides a voice to the voiceless
It’s clobbering time!
I swear the narrator is also Chris Van Vliet who does a ton of wrestling interviews/content.
That’s some cringey shit right there
This song makes me wanna fight the youngbucks and have my friend bite kenny omega
Thin Lizzy charted 3 times. Just because people under 30 haven't heard of a song doesn't mean it didn't chart.
The fact that Blind Melon is considered a one hit wonder is criminal. Everything they released with Shannon Hoon was a masterpiece. Really sad they never got further recognition for all of their music.
Well what other mainstream “hit” did they have? I can’t think of any. Just because you are a fan of all their music doesn’t mean a whole lot.
@@frankb.1546 I'm not saying they had another mainstream hit. I acknowledge that they are a "one hit wonder", but am saying it's unfortunate because all of their music is very good. I am a fan because they produced consistently quality music until Hoons death. It's just unfortunate that there wasn't more exposure of their catalog.
@@frankb.1546 tones of home, 3 is a magic number, galaxie
The fact that they had ONE hit tells you the shape of music at the time.
And the poor guy comes to New Orleans only to OD on a street car track
Does anyone realize no rain is the worst song by them the rest of the album is awesome
You obviously don’t know that “black Betty” was not an insignificant tune, for chrissake. That was originally recorded by the black folk artist Leadbelly, and Ram Jam rocked it up. In fact it got banned on many radio stations and Jesse Jackson called for a boycott of it because he considered it racist, not realizing that a black man wrote the song. There’s so much to learn about the songs without making these snide side remarks
Another thing that gets Cult of Personality more exposure is being used as CM Punk's entrance theme.
Was just thinking that when i heard it.
Nahh its because of san andreas
@@arkansasstorm Me 2
it didn't need cm punk! it was big before that
It was huge back in 88' when CM Punk was 10 years old
Flagpole Sitta is the theme tune for the excellent sitcom Peep Show, which most people reading this haven't heard of, let alone watched.
The El Dude Brothers!! 🛻 📯
The first season's theme song fit the show better.
Seems like you started watching this (indeed great) show at series 2, since that's when the started using this song as the opening theme.
Now Aja is legit. 👍🏻
Amazing show!
Never heard of the song either
I love Cult of Personality, and there's no doubt it's Living Colour's signature song, but Glamour Boys was a pretty big hit.
That song is now associated with CM Punk. It was used as his entrance theme.
Or New Jack Theme, that exploded with the crack explosion consumption in the 80's
@@paulmatthews6154 I got introduced to it through him
Open letter to a landlord is great too
I always thought the Cats in the Cradle was Ugly Kid Joe's most well known song. Also, Thin Lizzy had a really good version of Whiskey in the Jar.
Yeah, I was surprised they listed Ugly Kid Joe since their Cat's Cradle cover was a pretty big hit too.
Ugly Kid Joe also had “I hate every thing about you”. So not exactly one hit wonder, they had a Greatest Hits too lol
I like Ugly Kid Joe's cover of "Cats In The Cradle"
Thin Lizzy had a lot of hits.
Metallica did Whiskey in the Jar better though
Never get tired of listening to "Stacy's mom" I rock to that shit everytime
lame song.
@@williampennjr.4448 To each their own. You don't like it that's your opinion
Stiflers mom hehe
@@williampennjr.4448 ur so quirky 🤪
Cult of Personality is one of my favorite rock songs of all time! I can’t believe they weren’t bigger cause they were so good.
they're an awesome band. I'm guessing maybe the subject matter of some of their songs ("Bi", "Open Letter To A Landlord") may be a bit too raw for some people's tastes even though that same subject matter worked for Tracy Chapman.
I still have Glamour Boys on my music list, those guys ARE Amazing...
Open Letter to a Landlord. Living Colour. The solo riff is probably one of the most recognizable ever for my generation.
In A Gadda Da Vida by Iron Butterfly should be number one.
In the summer time by Mongo Jerry sold 30 million singles and is the number 5 song ALL TIME from 1970 , Why is it not on this list ?
Wasn't even the best song on it's album.
Which is scary, I love that song.
I love everything about that Ugly Kid Joe record, 'America's Least Wanted'. Every song on it sounds completely different from the others. They've really got range, and the whole band was underrated. Listen and you will love it.
Unless you suck
Stacy's Mom from Fountains of Wayne is my favorite one hit wonder I remember seeing the music video on Muchmusic Canada back in 2003
Uriah Heep and Thin Lizzy are in this list by mistake: both bands are really great… both have many wonderful and very well known hits!
Thin Lizzy isn't even a 1 hit wonder: they had 3 songs chart.
Who the hell is Wheatus? 😂
Stacey‘s mom, so iconic. Wish I would know a Stacey, just to say „guess you‘re mom has got it going on“😂🙃
It gets old. 😂
@@staceysturgill846 I see what you did there.
I saw Living Colour open for The Rolling Stones’ “Steel Wheels” tour in Detroit. What a show!!!
Hahaha! Yep. I rennet seeing Otis Day And The Knights at the Pontiac Silverdome after a Pistons game. That was fun.
Same tour, but in Cleveland's old Municipal Stadium fall of 1989! Great concert!
96 Tears is the best of the bunch IMO.
Good songs on your list, Easy Living is the one.
I’m an old broad, but “My Sharona” is my all time favorite skating song... Yep... An old lady loved roller-skating to this beat!! ❤️🥁🎶
And that is exactly what I did too! I skated to My Sharona almost every Friday night when the song came out. Its like the entire rink waited for that song to come on! I know that I am really dating myself but it was so funny to see the same exact comment from someone else about that song!
Number 1 speed skating song is 'Are you Jimmy Ray?', the long version!
The disrespect to thin lizzy saying they are one hit wonder band..
Agreed, they're pure legends.
I'm surprised that "You Get What You Give" by The New Radicals didn't make it on this list
After the "Wheatus" entry, it was decided that only one of those hats would be permitted on the countdown.
Wheatus covered A Little Respect...
Fountains of Wayne had Radiation Vibe...
Ugly Kid Joe covered Cats in the Cradle...
Thin Lizzy covered Whiskey in the Jar (Before Metallica) and had Waiting for an Alibi...
EMF had I Believe and covered I'm a Believer...
L7 had Monster, Andres and Everglade...
Living Colour had Love Rears Its Ugly Head...
and Blind Melon had Change and Galaxie.
Look out for these other memorable ones!
Yeah but this is an American page and they don’t know/care what happens in other countries
@@oisquidyx true
@@brandongill2577 Actually not true. Watchmojo is a Canadian company. Although their primary market is the U.S.
That will debunk them being one hit wonders. I don't believe that Fountains of Wayne, Ugly Kid Joe, Thin Lizzy and Living Colour are one hit wonders.
the USA charts are a funny thing . Cliff Richard has many hits and is a major superstar in England and Great Britain, but he has had minimal chart success in the USA. There are lots of good or great artists who for reasons including language are major charters in other countries but don't have much success outside them. Also doing the research to check multiple countries to determine who has had success in maybe one countries would be more time consuming than it is worth. too much research time and little product to show.
@@oisquidyx
Maybe coming from Ireland makes me more likely to know Thin Lizzy, but at the very least Whisky In The Jar was very well known alongside some other songs.
No everyone knows they had more songs lol
Whiskey In The Jar is a classic one as well as Jailbreak 🤌
Thin Lizzy is not a one hit wonder
Gotta witness, Whiskey in the Jar
No, however the band is synonymous with one song
King Harvest's Dancing In The Moonlight plays at the end of the film The Hitman's Bodyguard.
My Sharona was the #1 song of 1979. Dancing in the Moonlight is such a light, happy tune you really can't not dance to it.
Mongo Jerrys In the summer time sold 30 million singles and is the number 5 song of all time ,, Why is it not n this list ? Other than that ,The 70s kicked ASS on this list with 5 songs ,, NOT TO SHABBY
You musnt have seen the movie where Wynonna Ryder and her friends danced to it in a shop. Reality Bites!
@@catherinehogan8628 Danced to what?
my Sharona!
L7 Pretend was my jam in GTA SA. Good times.
I actually like Andre better! It fricking rocks!!!!
Thin Lizzy was great. Phil Lamott was a great front man singer.
Cult of personality is one of the greatest rock songs ever written!!!
Thin Lizzy the boys are back in town
Uriah Heep's Lady In Black was a hit too.
To say nothing about The Wizard
For those that don’t know Cory Glover is the son of famous actor Danny Glover. Also I’d like to say that I’m surprised that 4 Non Blondes “What’s Up” didn’t at least get an honorable mention.
I found your statement intriguing so I did some research and despite the shared last name, Danny Glover and Corey Glover are not related. But thank you for sending me on this interesting journey. Corey has also acted. He was in Platoon.
well The reason people do not know that is because Cory is NOT the son of Danny.
Absolutely on 4 Non Blondes! The song has over a BILLION YT views! I love that song!
@@jeffk2526 Could we call that a "rock" song?
i did NOT know that!
Stacy's Mom is still one of my favorite songs, but only because of Bowling for Soup.
The 70s KICKED ASS on this list
I Touch Myself by Divinyls.
The Knack had another in "Good Girls Don't". I was just a toddler when that song was a hit, but my father has always told me the Knack were just as reviled for "My Sharona" as they were loved for it. Dad has a button that says "Knuke the Knack".
He mentioned in this video that “Good Girls don’t” peaked at #71, but they also I had other chart song of “Oh Tara”
My Sharona was so iconic, nothing was going to top period.. Every radio station regardless of genre played it constantly
There are two GREAT ones coming from the same year and maybe my two favorites: "More Today Than Yesterday" by Spiral Starecase and let us not forget "Smile a Little Smile for Me" by Flying Machine!! Classic rock at it's BEST!!
These lists are always subjective to a point, with a lot of personal preference factored in. Some picks I would have left off the list with one that DEFINITELY needs to be on the list. Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky
I wouldn't call either Ugly Kid Joe nor Living Colour "one-hit wonders". UGK's cover of "Cat's in the Cradle" charted even higher than "Everything About You", and LC's "Glamour Boys" and "Open Letter (To a Landlord)" did pretty well too.
How did you get UGK from Ugly Kid Joe? (Incidentally, UGK is a rap group.)
@@COMPFUNK2 🤣🤣🤣🤣 because I was listening to "One Day" by UGK, for real. Great song, by the way. Yes, you are right, its UKJ.
I totally forgot about L7 and Pretend That We're Dead until you mentioned it but it instantly brought me back. Nice.
they had another song called Andres that got a ton of airplay in central NY back in the day
Thin Lizzy had many more hits the one on your list,the title track Jailbreak,Whisky in the jar,and so many more!
also the cowboy song
@@mistermattmoose Damn,I forgot about that one!👍
Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky” was the number one One Hit Wonder of all time. It’s not even close.
I'm 61, and love all music, but am shocked I never heard Living Color's hit. Thanks for turning me onto them as they are quite good, and deserved better success. 😎👍✌
You never played gta san andreas?
Just the fact that The Knack just missed the Top 10 with another song, by definition, means they shouldn't be on this list.
Fountains of Wayne have so many good songs. They really know how to write catchy pop songs, but I like their melancholy songs best.
Agreed. Their lead singer really knew how to write the perfect pop punk song. Hackensack is so sad but such a great catchy tune.
The 1960's was the realm of One Hit Wonders...Louie, Louie by The Kingsmen / Fire by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown / Pushing to Hard by the Seeds, and on and on and on
Fountains Of Wayne was my favorite from this list! Stacy’s Mom was released to the radio after I graduated from preschool and shortly before I started kindergarten in 2003!
The guy from Fountains of Wayne who wrote it also wrote the fictional #1 songs in That Thing You Do and Josie and the Pussy Cats. He wrote a bunch of pop number ones for other artists too.
@@S1ckbassplayer Who? Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter or Brian Young?
@@pbsfundingaddict790 Adam Schlesinger. He has a lot of credits to his name. He nominated for a Grammy award, but also an Oscar and a Tony award. Unfortunately he passed away in April 2020 due to Covid 19 complications.
@@pbsfundingaddict790 someone did an awesome mini documentary on here recently. I can't remember who did it or I would share it with you. It was a great watch.
@@S1ckbassplayer A mini documentary about Fountains Of Wayne?
I was so positive number one was going to be Chumbawamba. 😂
Fountains of Wayne had a pretty popular song in 1996 called "Radiation Vibe" well before "Stacey's Mom." Also...if you've never heard "Solace of You" by Living Color, you're missing out. Their best song in my opinion. Look it up here on YT.
Turn Up the Radio by Autograph was an awesome one hit wonder 👍🏻
Thin Lizzy aren't a one hit wonder lol. They had 3 hits at least. Everyone knows Boys Are Back In Town, Jailbreak, and Whisky In The Jar.
Not in America tho
@@petesmart1983 Apperently not lol but outside of a technicality, nobody considers Thin Lizzy one hit wonders lol
@@petesmart1983 YES in America - though I don't remember Whisky offhand, I know it when I hear it.
Jailbreak and Boys were BOTH big over here.
I missed Kayagoogoo (Too shy) as well as Men Without Hats (Safety Dance)!
Blind Melon No Rain, excellent song!
Jailbreak was a huge hit as well for Thin Lizzy!
I hate teenaged dirtbag song. Seems like im the only one that doesn't like it😫
There's two of us at least. It sucks.
I agree. It's crap.
David Essex. Rock On is a no brainer .
Ugly Kid Joe also had Neighbor which was everywhere on the air waves. Dunno where it ranked on the lists but it got a lot of attention.
My wifes a drunk, my kids a punk!
Uria Heap "Stealing" was also a huge hit. Maybe more than "Easy Living."
thin lizzy is not a one hit wonder...
Nice list, but my favorite one hit wonder was Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky"
Dancing in the moonlight by top loader is my fav
"My Sharona" is definitely my favorite here.
1979 Rocked
"Dancing in the Moonlight"!!! The King Harvest version was definitely the best...
Toploader did way better, you mouldy potato!
? Mark and the Mysterions played my junior prom . The played 96 tears over and over! They didn't seem to know many more tunes 😁
I still get goosebumps from Cult of Personality. Greatest song, at the time, I ever heard. While I concede they're a "One Hit Wonder" they have a ton of really good songs like: Behind the Sun, Memories can't wait, Leave it Alone, Open Letter, Nothingness, Solace of You, Type, Method, Postman, etc. etc.
Thin Lizzy were huge in Sweden. They had several hits here.
Blind Melon actually does an awesome cover of Led Zeppelin's Out on the Tiles
Being from Europe, I haven't heard half of them, but without a doubt my favorites would be Thin Lizzy, followed by Uriah Heap, which were everything but one hit wonders on our side of the pond, also Black Betty is great, one song that I remember from Ugly Kid Joe would be Cats in the Cradle, but otherwise....
Crazy Town with "Butterfly" and Franz Ferdinand with "Take Me Out" should've been here!!!
Franz Ferdinand is nowhere near being one hit wonders
Dancing in the moonlight is classic!
Absolutely love that Green Jelly made it onto the honourable mentions but it should have made the main list xxxxx
Especially since it was technically Maynard James Kenan's (Tool) first hit. He voiced the three pigs.
@@psychonaut1829 No way! You learn something new every day.
Danny Carey (Tool's drummer) was the drummer for Green Jelly as well.
smokin in the boys room / brownsville station, signs / 5 man electrical band, the night chicago died, billy dont be a hero, are 4 you missed
"The Boys are back in town" is a great song
Stacey's mom really had it going on and then some!
One hit wonders don't make the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... but Thin Lizzy just might one day. They don't belong on this list.
Top 10 Worst Things That Happened To Brian Griffin (Family Guy)
Easy one and two and in no particular order. Sleeping with Ida and dying lol
I thought UKJ was a frustrated shoe salesman singing about shoes: "I hate everything about shoes," 🤣
Detachable by King Missile.
Black Betty Should be number 2 and My Sherona number 1
Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne who wrote Stacy's Mom also wrote the fictional #1 songs in That Thing You Do and Josie and the Pussy Cats. He wrote a bunch of pop number ones for other artists too.
What about Pop Muzic by M, and Tainted Love by Softcell ?
L7 had more than one good song. They would have had more hits if the radio didn't refuse to play them.
M and Soft Cell were pop bands.
@@NickSamon Pop is rock.
@@williampennjr.4448 No, they're Synth-Pop.
@@NickSamon Still Rock music.
@@williampennjr.4448 Might as well say L7 is pop...
How you like that?
From Uriah Heep I actually know Lady in Black better than the one you mentioned, but my fav would be depending on my mood either Black Betty or Dancing in the Moonlight
*Uriah Heep!* *WTF!?*