The Smiley Smile Message Board

Ever felt that an artist or group shot their bolt with one excellent and memorable song and should have left it at that? I have. Here are eight who in my jaded view of things would have made wonderful one-hit wonders, with their one hit (taken from the obligatory album comprising the hit, the flip and mucho filler):

Africa---Toto
1999----Prince
Wonderwall----Oasis
Dancing Queen----ABBA
Black Night----Deep Purple
Whole Lotta Rosie----AC/DC
Rock The Casbah----The Clash
Like A Rolling Stone----Bob Dylan

How about you? Please be ruthless----this is Smiley after all, and there's far too much music in the world as it is...

Out of the list that you provided, I would pick Oasis as my one-hit wonder. 

And I would probably switch out Wonderwall for Don't Look Back in Anger.  The band was comprised of two brothers who didn't much care for each other, so they weren't built to last.  Plus, as with many rock bands of the 1990s, had pretty limited range. 

The Clash is a close second.  I've never been into alternative/punk music, so I never could figure out the big deal about these guys.  To each their own. 

Deep Purple, on the other hand, is sometimes underfairly labelled as one hit wonders.  I applaud you for at least choosing Black Night over Smoke on the Water.  Both great songs.  But, these guys have been putting out great music for almost 50 years, with about eight different lineups. 

AC/DC - OK, you can use the limited range argument for these guys.  But I can't think of another band that has gotten more mileage from the same three chords.  They can just put really good songs together. 

Bob Dylan, you on crack?

Don't get me wrong. Dylan to my mind is one of the greatest songwriters of our or any time.

I'd never put down his compositions! It's just that I prefer to hear other people performing them. ;D 

I'm with you there Mr. K.  I'm not a fan of Bob Dylan's voice, and have mostly preferred cover versions of his songs. 

Having sat--or rather, awkwardly, middle-agedly whitely danced--through several Prince shows over the years, I can say that never in my life did I think he should have called it a day with "1999." (If I'm not mistaken, that would already exclude several hits that preceded it, including "Little Red Corvette" and "Controversy.") In fact, while watching him on his Musicology tour, I kept thinking about some Beach Boys quote of Bob Dylan saying, as they played hit after hit, "they're fucking good, man." Or something. But you get the idea: just hit after hit after hit. You forget some of them until you're listening live, one after the other.

Let's just name a few.

I Wanna Be Your Lover
Uptown
Controversy
Little Red Corvette
1999
Delirious
When Doves Cry
Let's Go Crazy
Purple Rain
I Would Die 4 U
Take Me With U
Raspberry Beret
Kiss
If I Was Your Girlfriend
U Got the Look
I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
Alphabet St.
Glam Slam
Batdance
Partyman
Get Off
Cream
Diamonds and Pearls
Money Don't Matter 2 Nite
Sexzy MF
My Name is Prince
7
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

That's a sample of the higher-charting singles from his "golden era" of roughly '80 to the mid '90s. I'd say it makes him far, far overqualified to have been better off as a one-hit wonder. I'd say he's one of the best artists of the past three decades or so, with a stronger collection of hits than almost anyone else. So really, you could take almost anyone else and fit them more easily into this thread.

I'm not making value judgements (heaven forbid). I've heard a lot of Prince over the years and it has made little or no impression on me----I simply don't "get" him.

As for the others: Toto, AC/DC and Deep Purple are too much of a muchness----one great song apiece is quite enough for me.
I've never warmed to Oasis, although "Wonderwall" is a brilliant song, also in the version by The Mike Flowers Pops.
Same for The Clash----I've never understood what all the fuss was about.
As for ABBA, "Dancing Queen" is ABBA and vice versa, just as "Louie Louie" is The Kingsmen and vice versa...
Eek! I've just thought of another band I don't get with one wonderful song: Coldplay and "Clocks".

Anyway, so long as this thread elicits quality posts by the likes of KDS and the captain, that's enough to justify it being here.

Coldplay - Yellow
Rolling Stones - Satisfaction

Couldn't agree more with Coldplay.  I like Clocks, but everything else I've heard just sounds like a bad impression of 2000s U2.

Here's another great one - Alanis Morrisette "You Oughta Know" - a rarity in the mid 90s, a great rock song.  The rest of the album was typical 90s blandness. 

I remember seeing a YouTube comment about Coldplay not being fit to wipe U2's ass. :lol 

Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love For You

Any glam rock band of the 80s

Fair enough. Certainly no single act is everyone's cup of tea. (But yeah, I'd still argue he's far from someone who should have stopped at one hit.)

What about Hootie and the Blowfish? I recall them having several hits during my college years ... but to me it was all just one hit. One thing, over and over. (Same as Aerosmith around the same era, actually, but at least they had a bigger, more interesting back catalogue.)

It's all so subjective. My main fear is that this will be lumped with the negative threads, of which there are far too many as it is. Luckliy it's been quite civilized so far. ;D

Taking the opposite tack, Lester Bangs wrote an essay about one-hit wonders Count Five that sees them turning out a string of pioneering albums! Most, but not all of it, is here (https://books.google.nl/books?id=9U9wAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT15&lpg=PT15&dq=lester+%22dung+a+tale+of+these+times%22&source=bl&ots=t57d0aHfDE&sig=-4VuvNuyyCAffSbmpHcUYAMBL-k&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAmoVChMI9o7-6qWPyAIVJP1yCh2B0A8a#v=onepage&q=lester%20%22dung%20a%20tale%20of%20these%20times%22&f=false)...

  Rolling Stones under consideration here???

I'm going to flip the script a little bit here. 

For many casual hard rock fans, Y&T had one smash hit "Summertime Girls."  However, the band released a ton of great songs in the first half of the 80s.  Dirty Girl, Forever (different from the BB), Midnight in Tokyo, I Believe in You, Rescue Me, Hurricane, Meanstreak, Contagious, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark.   

Another one is Maryland's own KIX.  Known by many for their mega hit power ballad "Don't Close Your Eyes."  But these guys were never glam.  They were, and still are, a kick a$$ straight up hard rock band, and one of the best live bands on the planet. 

Oh my god, I haven't thought of Kix (or is it really KIX?) in forever. I had Blow My Fuse on cassette in the late '80s. Loved it.

And John k, I know where you're coming from and agree. I'm a huge fan of discussion and debate and am not one for sugary hand-holding, but the nasty ad hominem attacks and such are a waste of time and life. So more power to you.

I've seen KIX (I think that's correct) about eight times or so in the last ten years, and will be seeing them again on Saturday night.  They are an incredible band.  Blow My Fuse and Midnight Dynamite are two of the best hard rock records of the 1980s. 

Well, in a thread where Dylan's under consideration, why not?  I own a few Stones CDs.  I play them sometimes.  I'm groovin' just fine to the first track, but about four tracks in and I'm boooorrrred.  After eight tracks or so, I'm like 'I fucking hate the Rolling Stones' and I wonder, yet again, why I keep their albums.  So, for me, you could pile many of their tunes into just one track and that'll do just fine.

The Stones are one of those bands that have a ton of great songs, but are light on great albums IMO.  Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers are really good, but other than that, I'll stick to compilations when I listen to them. 

Phil Collins. I wish he'd just put out In the Air Tonight, gone back to his day job and spared us a decade of sludge.

Van Halen- Jamie's Crying. I love that record, so glam, but I really don't much care for their output.

Right Said Fred

The Bernard Cribbins song of that name or "I'm too Sexy?" ;D

The latter. Bernard Cribbins should have had as many hits as possible.

Extreme is another band that unfairly gets the one hit wonder label for More Than Words.  They came out at the tail end of glam, but they were not a glam band.  They had a brief, but very memorable catalog, and even released a good (albeit patchy at times) comeback album in 2008.

And had a great set with their medley at the Freddie Mercury benefit concert.

  You guys are funny.

Yes!!  Extreme's Queen medley was one of the highlights of that concert. 

Christopher Cross "Ride Like the Wind". Sailing was good too but both on his first album. He should have sailed away after that.

 :lol

Can't let this tread continue without mentioning Mariah Carey.  She drives me insane.

Isn't she kind of a parody of herself these days anyway?  I know she had a ton of hits in the 1990s.  But it seems like she relies on her looks a lot more than she used to.  Seems like her wardrobe has shrunk along with her relevance. 

If we're going to go with pop tarts, let's throw Brittney Spears, Katy Perry, Kesha, Demi Lovato into the mix.   

In my opinion, a lot of the early 80's Brit Synth Bands (aside,and I love The Human League) like Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Soft Cell , Pet Shop Boys (but I do like the innocence in the voice of Neil Tennant) can have their one big hit and bugger off.
Vince Clarke has a lot to answer for........

Don't get me onto Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet pleeeeeeeeease 

Can't believe that the OP mentioned ABBA, I have a box set of all their output and it is (in my eyes) quite simply some of the best Pop music ever produced.

I think, Rob, were ABBA's entire repertoire threatened with deletion except for "Dancing Queen", I'd be up in arms like everyone else!

Perhaps it should be added that the OP can be a bit of a d*ckhead at times (particularly in the evening for some reason) so you can safely ignore much of what he has to say. ;D     

Another candidate for one-hit wonderdom in my jaded view is Whitney Houston. "Step By Step" is a truly uplifting anthem (to say nothing of that chord) but the rest of her stuff goes in one ear etc.

How about Megan Trainor? 

Seems like she didn't get the memo that she's a one hit wonder with a novelty song.  She's on about minute 22 of her 15 minutes.  Time to go. 

Ooh, I have a few of these...

How about Aloe Blacc? 'I need a dollar' was a massive hit but if you listen to his album and guest spots....he's very good....

Athlete's 'Wires' was big a while ago but again, if you like a good MOR Ballad (and we're all Beach Boys fans here....am I right?) then they have a couple of very enjoyable albums

A weird one but for those who like 'comedy albums' then The Amateur Transplants had a viral hit with 'London Underground' and it put me on to them, love it. They have a Christmas Album that no holiday season should be without.

Flobots 'Handlebars' was a top 20 hit in 2008, their stuff is insanely good.

Just Jack's commercial hit 'Starz in their eyes' soundtracked the summer of 2007 for many, he has 3 albums with some superb tracks on

The year before, The Kooks and 'Naive' blew up....the latest album 'Listen' is an absolute stonker and worth repeated listens....

I'm not too sure if he counts but Lupe Fiasco hit the top 5 in 2008 with 'Superstar' and he is absolutely one of my favourite hip-hop artists

Totally disagree. First, she had 5 top 100 hits (4 top 30, 3 top 15). Plus i think she's a good songwriter: I like her album quite a bit. Horrible rapper though, I hope she drops that. But the woman has a gift for hooks.

If there's a such thing as a good rapper, I've yet to hear it. 

Well we're of different mind there, too, then.

I think it's important to think of things as what they are, though, so the quality of a rapper has to be considered a) by someone admitting it as an art form worth evaluating in the first place, and then b) within that art form. I think some people judge tapers as if compared to singers or guitarists or something, which is apples and oranges. (Not saying you do this.)

But if you've never heard a good rapper, you're probably not a fan of the art and thus not fit to judge. No criticism against you, just my opinion. I'm not suited to critique EDM artists for example.

Nope, not a fan of rap or EDM.  Some may call me narrow minded, but I prefer to stick to the rock genre.  Maybe a little country. 

How about Macklemore? I'm no fan of rap in general but this is heartwarming stuff (and the man has a sense of humour):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes



 

Afraid not.  Rap just isn't my thing. 

I'm not a Macklemore fan.

Me neither, maybe in a fun, gimmicky, hear-it-in-the-club-while-drunk way but I definitely wouldn't recommend it to convert someone to hip-hop. Try albums by Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim or my favourite, anything from the Wu-Tang camp from '93 to '97.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM5_6js19eM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM5_6js19eM)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPfIIn5V_LQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPfIIn5V_LQ)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBwAxmrE194 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBwAxmrE194)

Or maybe the really old-school type where the line between hip-hop and disco/funk was still not clear yet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRrS3_-zPfQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRrS3_-zPfQ)

OK, I finally found a rap song that I like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIHbqOQGzp4

No comment.

I liked The Beastie Boys 'till they went too pc with their lyrics, that's about as far as me and rap go.

The Beastie Boys.  Now, there's a great nominee for should-be one hit wonders. 

Fight for Your Right to Party was an alright song (I probably prefer because because it strays a little more on the rock side).  But, I can take or leave just about everything else they ever released. 

Given that hip-hop is the genre I've listened to the most this year I can't relate to the attitudes in this thread at all. To each their own I guess, but from my experience usually the people who say they flat-out hate hip-hop are the same who don't consider it music or an art form. And believe all rappers have no talent whatsoever. It's the same people who've probably never sat down with a hip-hop album from start to finish in their lives. I honestly don't think I've ever read somebody say "hey, I respect hip-hop as a genre, it's just not my thing at all" in the same way one would say if they disliked jazz or prog rock (not comparing these genres in any way). It's always looked down upon and I feel a bit of that attitude present in this thread as well, though I could be wrong. I used to share it to an extent, but then discovered what people like GZA or Rakim could do with words or Dr. Dre and RZA with a beat. I would definitely say it's a genre essential to my life. I don't expect to convince anybody, of course, you like what you like, but this is just to put things in perspective - hip-hop means a lot to many people.

I said earlier in this thread that rap's not my thing.  While I'll acknowledge that it's an art form on some level, it holds almost zero appeal to me.

I just don't get it.  And I know I never will.  I don't have nearly as much time to listen to music as I used to, so there's really no reason for me to sit down and listen to a full rap album from start to finish. 

I can kinda relate to your feelings as a big fan of the most critically disrespected genre in popular music - hard rock/heavy metal 

Did you at least listen to the songs I posted?

The reason why you should try listening to an album is because I feel your opinion is based on what you heard on the radio over the years and based on the reputation the genre has among certain groups of music fans. Sort of like one only hearing Kokomo and Surfin' USA and never sitting down to give Pet Sounds a listen.

I would say hip-hop is at least acknowledged if not liked by anybody with an interest in contemporary music (many even consider its glory days have passed), but it's the rock fans that generally have a problem with it.

Honestly, I didn't give the songs a listen.  I've heard enough rap in my life to know that I don't like it.  So, I see no reason to spend an hour of my time listening to a rap album, when that time could be much better spent getting acquainted to the new Iron Maiden album.  Or listening to a Moody Blues album I haven't heard in a long time.  Or, since Halloween is getting near, pulling out my copy of Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare. 

And just as Surfin USA and Kokomo steered me towards Pet Sounds and Sunflower, the rap I've heard on the radio, in bars, or at friends' houses lets me know that there's no need to explore that genre further. 

I see where both Ovi and KDS are coming from. I do think a lot of people who say they don't like rappers or hip hop in general are somewhere between uninformed, dismissive, oddly hostile, and even racist. But I don't think any of that is coming from KDS. Like him (I think "him" anyway, not sure of gender), I find genres (and artists) that frankly just don't appeal to me. I could spend more time and energy on them and possibly change my tune...but I probably won't. Life is short and there's a lot I'm more likely to enjoy in the pop, rock, country and rap worlds for me to dig into EDM, however rewarding that could end up.

As long as people don't act superior/inflated about their opinions, it's fine by me what they don't get in to. John K broke my heart stopping with 2 Of Montreal albums, but such is life!

Beastie Boys stopping as 1-hit wonder would've bummed me out btw: Pauls Boutique, a classic, would have been denied me.

Captain,

Yes, I'm a male.  Some of my past references to the music of Rush and Ronnie James Dio might have been a clue.   :)

I appreciate you're assumption that my dislike of rap is not from being uniformed, dismissive, or racist.  Rap, like EDM, jazz, modern Top 40, or ska just don't move me the same way that rock music does.  The only shame is that, like you said, life is short, and it's harder for me these days to find the time to devote to listening to music like I used to. 

Yeah, fair enough. I do hope to get into EDM more someday - I love Daft Punk, but don't know much else.

Since I've thrown some jabs at rap, here's one thrown towards the rock world. 

One band that I was thinking would make a good one hit wonder is Supertramp.  I hear these guys on classic rock radio all the time, and I just don't get the fascination.  Which song?  I dunno - The Logical Song. 

Funny, the worst CD I ever got as a gift was  a best of Supertramp compilation.  Their best never did a thing for me either.

Ovi, I do have Fear of a Black Planet and I have played it a few times (but not recently). Although I liked what I heard, particularly what was going on behind the rapping, generally I only got as far as the end of the original side one as i found it exhausting to listen to!

However, my main problem with rap is simple----when the lyrics become more important than the music, I'm out of there. Same goes for protest stuff and a lot of ballads. So it's not just rap... 

Maybe a less controversial variation could be: which no-hit artists could/should have had one freak hit? Preferably not artists so obscure no-one else reading the board will have heard of them, just artists who never translated to the pop charts (maybe never even bothered releasing singles). And crucially, what could/should have been the song to do it.

e.g. Daniel Johnston, "Speeding Motorcycle".

I just didn't want to make assumptions!

But yeah, I totally see where you're coming from.

My pick for this would be Herman Dune's "I Wish That I Could See You Soon," from one of my favorite (and criminally unknown) albums, Giant (2007).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eYmLNVxjZc

Or if not that, maybe something off Cotton Mather's brilliant 1997 gem, Kontiki.

"Homefront Cameo": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlSTNH95WaY
"My Before and After": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoRU9nXzUV4

Or if not those, maybe (Cotton Mather frontman Robert Harrison's newer band) Future Clouds and Radar, with "Build Havana" (2007).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ko3axNT9hk

I do understand this, but not all rappers concentrate on the lyrics. Ol' Dirty Bastard from the Wu-Tang Clan is among my very favorites and his words are literally non sequiturs and even gibberish at times. With him, it's all about how he delivers them, with a unique style that combines rapping, singing, grunting, screaming and whatnot in the most crazy way you can imagine. You really have to hear it to believe it. I once compared his rapping style to Keith Moon's drumming in a review. Rakim is the father of modern rapping and MC-ing and his words aren't really that interesting either, it's more about the unstoppable flow, the crazy rhyme schemes and the laid-back tone. Snoop Dogg is more about style than content too in my opinion, at least in his early stuff that I'm familiar with. With Dr. Dre's solo albums, I force myself to ignore the idiotic lyrics in order to enjoy the brilliant beats and the atmosphere he creates with them. So it depends for me.

Thanks for causing me to find a video clip in which Al says 'vegetables'....

Forgot about Snoop Dogg. I have a comp of stuff from his album DoggyStyle. The musical aspect is very strong----but I must confess to enjoying the words (and the humour) as well.

I'll give ODB a listen, and Eric B. & Rakim (whom I'm sure I must have heard at one time). Maybe you have some recommendations...

I'm a huge Wu-Tang Clan fan so I would say each member is worth listening to both within the band and for his solo stuff. With ODB, his best work is his earliest released since later he would lose it because of the drugs, the scandals and the fact that he was shot twice. Here's the Wu song with what I consider to be his greatest verse and one of the most entertaining ones of all-time. It's taken from their debut and ODB comes on at minute 1:40 (and you can hear him crooning along with the chorus right before that):

https://youtu.be/YsiAsTa0oEI (https://youtu.be/YsiAsTa0oEI)

And here's his most famous and recognizable solo song, from his solo debut:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2zgB93KANE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2zgB93KANE)

If you like those I can recommend more.

Eric B. & Rakim work better when viewed as a singles band so I would recommend pretty much every single from their first 2 albums as a start - I posted Microphone Fiend in this thread, but Follow the Leader, I Ain't No Joke, Paid in Full or I Know You Got Soul as just as good.

https://youtu.be/95gP3m-uBHA (https://youtu.be/95gP3m-uBHA)

https://youtu.be/2TN-kDEKxF0 (https://youtu.be/2TN-kDEKxF0)

Thanks, Ovi. I'll give them a listen in due course and get back to you...

Let's see... Which did I like the most of the tracks you linked in your three posts? Public Enemy, the first two Wu Tangs (not the solo ODB----too weird even for me) and the Eric B. & Rakim tracks, particularly Eric B's scratching! I've never liked "Rapper's Delight" (give me Chic's "Good Times" instead)...

What struck me about many of the tracks is that they're over a quarter of a century old! So these guys were pioneers----you can still feel the excitement of breaking new ground in this early stuff. 

Thanks for taking the trouble, Ovi. Whether I'll ever be a complete convert is another matter----whatever else, it's widened my musical horizons. :=) 

Sly & Family Stone. Imo they didn't top "Everyday People" goodness. Tbc

I'd say "EP" is one of the greatest pop singles ever recorded. If ever less were more...

But pretty well all their singles are unmissable in different ways----except perhaps "M'Lady" ("DTTM" pt. 2) and "Que Sera, Sera"... ;D

Here's another, darker Sly example of less is more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Uzikag7Xo

Culture Club "Church of the Poison Mind" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Zv1Vh6x2Y) - the single song I liked by this band after hearing its catchy intro. Pretty cool. I can describe the lead singer's voice as "stylish". I don't even mind the gospel/ soul female backing vocs which usually annoy.

Check out the first two albums by Culture Club. They are both superb. (At least I think so.)