And the winner is. . .

I was asking H about my post and asked why she didn't post a comment. She said that she doesn't post comments anymore because she's not really posting anymore except for Three Pints. I told her I miss her witty comments and will just have to get used to not having them on my blog. Her other witty comments I get all the time, so I will not miss those in the slightest. :) H was so kind and decided she did have a lot to say about my previous post and decided to guest post. And *cough, cough any other cousins/persons (say D$) who would want to guest post. . . go ahead!!!

So without further ado. . .

One Hit Wonders. . . Part Un

My favorite song when I was in the sixth grade was “MMMBop” by Hanson. Perhaps you remember it; try hard to recall. If you’re able to, you won’t be able to get it out of your head for several days. You’re welcome.

Hanson was one of those fantastic one-hit wonder musical acts, a group who became household names overnight because of one fantastically shitty piece of music that everyone in America couldn’t get out of their heads. We’ve all fallen prey. We all did the Macarena (admit it, you did it too). We all said “I’ll Be There For You” by the Rembrandts was our favorite song in 1994 until the second episode of Friends aired and we realized 1) that song sucks and 2) it totally contradicts itself.

So, you might be asking yourself, which decade produced the most one-hit wonders? And which genre produces the most? The answer to the latter question, of course, is the very nonspecific “pop” genre, because all pop music is terrible. The answer to the former is not so simple.

The 1980s
The 1980s were an interesting time in music. Pop music ruled supreme in the 80s, spewing out such megastars as Madonna and Prince. The 1980s also gave us:

“Tainted Love” – Soft Cell
“Come on Eileen” – Dexy’s Midnight Runner
“Mickey” – Toni Basil
“Take on Me” – A-ha
“99 Luftballoons” – Nena
“The Safety Dance” – Men Without Hats
“Funkytown” – Lipps, Inc.
“Whip It” – Devo
“Relax” – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” – Bobby McFerrin

All the songs were not necessarily awful. Save Ferris recorded a fantastic cover of “Come on Eileen” in 1997, and there’s a techno version of “Take on Me” that I’m particularly fond of. It’s hard for me to say that the 80s were the worst in terms of one‑hit wonders, since a lot of the repeat offenders were just as ridiculous.

The 1990s
I came of age in the 1990s and am guilty of liking many a ridiculously bad musical act. Suffice it to say, my tastes have evolved a bit since then. The 1990s gave us “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred, Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back”, “Whoomp (There It Is)” and “I Touch Myself” by the Divinyls. Then came 1997:

“Ooh Aah…Just a Little Bit” – Gina G
“Let Me Clear My Throat” – DJ Kool
“Your Woman” – White Town
“Barely Breathing” – Duncan Sheik
“Da Dip” – Freak Nasty
“Bitch” – Meredith Brooks
“Sunny Came Home” – Shawn Colvin
“How Bizarre” – OMC
“All For You” – Sister Hazel
“If You Could Only See” – Tonic
“Tubthumping” – Chumabwumba

You had me at “Tubthumping.” The rest of the 90s were not nearly as memorable.

The 2000s
Since the 2000s aren’t over yet, I cannot say with certainty what place they will have in one-hit wonder history. But let’s look at the evidence from 2000 to 2005 (I will leave the past two and a half years safe from scrutiny…for now):

“Blue (Da Ba Dee)” – Eiffel 65
“Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)” – Aaron Carter
“Who Let the Dogs Out?” – Baha Men
“Butterfly” – Crazy Town

In terms of actual quality, these four might be some of the worst songs ever written. In terms of number of one-hit wonders, it seems that there were fewer in the first half of this decade than in previous eras, or at least there were fewer songs that I remembered. I’m taking the 2000s out of contention. They can get their bad music on for the next two years and we’ll revisit this again in 2010.

This leaves us with the 1980s and 1990s still vying for the title of Ultimate One-Hit Wonder Decade. The 80s made a valiant effort, and “Whip It” may be one of the most ridiculous songs of all time. But the 90s were a wonder of one-hits, too. So was it the 1980s or the 1990s? You decide. Check out the complete 80s and complete 90s lists here.


The ultimate one-hit wonder, of course, is the Buggles’ 1979 hit “Video Killed The Radio Star,” the first music video shown on MTV when it launched in 1981. It’s eerie to think of the irony behind this song, that video literally did kill the radio star.