Funny enough, the first artist I thought of when I saw this headline was A-ha. But then I thought, well, The Sun Always Shines... only went to 27 and I wondered if that counted. Obviously it does with your criteria.
In my head, I feel like two Top 10's is more of a "hit" than anything lower. Why? Well, I might not have felt tis way in the 80s or 90s, but now that 30 to 40 years have passed I am confident that a song from the 80s or 90s that didn't make the Billboard Top 10 is far less likely to be played on the radio these days. (FM or Satellite, etc.) Far less often any way, than something that went Top 10. Basically, the lower it placed on Billboard the less likely you are to hear it.
That will be a good reason to lay them all out and see if your thought was accurate. You might be correct!
And another thing that would be interesting to evaluate would be two "hits" or two "Top 10s" from the same album vs. 2 different albums. I just thought of that when looking at Tracy Chapman's 2-Hit Wonder songs.
Finger Eleven should also be mentioned here. "One Thing" and "Paralyzer" both hit top 20 on the US Hot 100, and most people I talk to don't even realize it's the same band. I never heard any other songs from them on the radio or anywhere. 2 hits.
The first group that came to be was The Knack. My Sharona crushed at No. 1 and Good Girls Don’t Want went to No. 11. Nothing else in the Top 30, I don’t think!
Good point. Guessing they’re on the list just not near the top when sorting by popularity. Question. This article saw a ton of traffic yesterday? Any chance you can tell me how you came across it
I realize you disqualified them, but 38 Special even being in a conversation about 2 hit wonders is wild. "Second Chance" is their highest charter and was an AC staple for years. I agree that the other 2 songs are probably more remembered at this point though.
But more importantly......shout out to Fastball, the greatest 2 hit wonder of all time, who should be on this list. Except Billboard had the now silly rule in the 90's that didn't allow airplay-only songs to chart on the Hot 100. "The Way," their biggest hit didn't chart as a result.
I might argue that Sirius channel 26, Classic Vinyl, plays CCR too frequently. I enjoy their music but if I am on the channel for two hours straight, Sirius seems to play them twice.
Mention this near the beginning but because the inspiration was “Caught Up in You” and “Hold on Loosely” by 38 Special I looked at where those charted. One was inside the top 30. The other inside the top 10. But it’s effectively an arbitrary cutoff
belatedly commenting. loved this post. the longevity of some of the artists in the original two-hit wonder set made me wonder if you could have a longevity versus peak ratio (e.g. long career, short peak; or brief career, but relatively broad peak), much as Bill Simmons will do for NBA stars (e.g. Lebron -- long career, wide peak).
also, did Centerfield (Fogerty solo) help assuage the pain of so many second places??
Just checked Todd Rundgren—I think he qualifies. “Hello it’s me” hit #5; “I saw the light” hit #11. I also checked “Bang on the drum all day,” but it peaked at #39. Interesting exercise!
For Todd, would be interesting to see how many top 10/30 hits he *produced*!
I READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE GREATEST TWO HIT WONDERS. I READ IT AND THEY HAD ALOT OF BANDS I AGRRED WITH BUT THE FORGOT, GOLDEN EARRING RADAR LOVE WAS PUT OUT APPROX. 10 YEARS BEFORE TWILIGHT ZONE. BOTH SHOT TO THE TOP AT THE TIME OF RELEASE AND THOUGHT THEY SHOULD BE INCLUDED.
I clicked because it sounded intriguing and if this is true I hate that the "Killers" meet that criteria because they are so much better than what you describe them as and the people that you lump them in with. I would have made asterisks and mentioned footnotes about added success regardless of what the data says. still a solid read. but i hate your killers take and i'll die on that hill.
Funny enough, the first artist I thought of when I saw this headline was A-ha. But then I thought, well, The Sun Always Shines... only went to 27 and I wondered if that counted. Obviously it does with your criteria.
In my head, I feel like two Top 10's is more of a "hit" than anything lower. Why? Well, I might not have felt tis way in the 80s or 90s, but now that 30 to 40 years have passed I am confident that a song from the 80s or 90s that didn't make the Billboard Top 10 is far less likely to be played on the radio these days. (FM or Satellite, etc.) Far less often any way, than something that went Top 10. Basically, the lower it placed on Billboard the less likely you are to hear it.
I’ll take a look what two top 10 hits returns. I thought if you had two top 10 hits you were likely to have more. But might not be the case
That will be a good reason to lay them all out and see if your thought was accurate. You might be correct!
And another thing that would be interesting to evaluate would be two "hits" or two "Top 10s" from the same album vs. 2 different albums. I just thought of that when looking at Tracy Chapman's 2-Hit Wonder songs.
Yeah the same album idea is interesting. But I had to mapping of the songs to albums and it felt like a pain to figure it out lol
lol I completely understand!
Finger Eleven should also be mentioned here. "One Thing" and "Paralyzer" both hit top 20 on the US Hot 100, and most people I talk to don't even realize it's the same band. I never heard any other songs from them on the radio or anywhere. 2 hits.
Totally forgot about Finger Eleven. Any chance you could tell me how you came across this article?
Don't forget The Left Banke with "Walk Away, Renee" (#1) and "Pretty Ballerina" (#15) way back in 1966.
True! Any chance you could tell me where you came across this article?
Think I followed a Substack email to a different site, then saw a teaser for your article.
The first pair I thought of—thanks for the data!
The first group that came to be was The Knack. My Sharona crushed at No. 1 and Good Girls Don’t Want went to No. 11. Nothing else in the Top 30, I don’t think!
Good point. Guessing they’re on the list just not near the top when sorting by popularity. Question. This article saw a ton of traffic yesterday? Any chance you can tell me how you came across it
Awesome article as always! However....
I realize you disqualified them, but 38 Special even being in a conversation about 2 hit wonders is wild. "Second Chance" is their highest charter and was an AC staple for years. I agree that the other 2 songs are probably more remembered at this point though.
But more importantly......shout out to Fastball, the greatest 2 hit wonder of all time, who should be on this list. Except Billboard had the now silly rule in the 90's that didn't allow airplay-only songs to chart on the Hot 100. "The Way," their biggest hit didn't chart as a result.
I always say, "second chance" is by 38 special, but its really not a 38 special song! Lol
You left out The Clash. “What I like about you” #28 and Blues Traveler “But Anyway” #5? Those are just the glaringly obvious misses
Good article.
I might argue that Sirius channel 26, Classic Vinyl, plays CCR too frequently. I enjoy their music but if I am on the channel for two hours straight, Sirius seems to play them twice.
RADAR LOVE & TWILIGHT ZONE by GOLDEN EARRING
Hey quick question. I saw a ton of traffic on this article yesterday. Any chance you could tell me how you came across it?
What made you choose top 30 instead of top 40?
Mention this near the beginning but because the inspiration was “Caught Up in You” and “Hold on Loosely” by 38 Special I looked at where those charted. One was inside the top 30. The other inside the top 10. But it’s effectively an arbitrary cutoff
Multiple shoutouts in the same piece? I truly can't get much higher.
Based on this analysis I'm ready to give Dido the two-hit wonder crown.
belatedly commenting. loved this post. the longevity of some of the artists in the original two-hit wonder set made me wonder if you could have a longevity versus peak ratio (e.g. long career, short peak; or brief career, but relatively broad peak), much as Bill Simmons will do for NBA stars (e.g. Lebron -- long career, wide peak).
also, did Centerfield (Fogerty solo) help assuage the pain of so many second places??
Hey
Just checked Todd Rundgren—I think he qualifies. “Hello it’s me” hit #5; “I saw the light” hit #11. I also checked “Bang on the drum all day,” but it peaked at #39. Interesting exercise!
For Todd, would be interesting to see how many top 10/30 hits he *produced*!
Your article probably got a ton of traffic because there was a link to it in 1440 News, a news newsletter that you can have sent to your email daily.
I READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE GREATEST TWO HIT WONDERS. I READ IT AND THEY HAD ALOT OF BANDS I AGRRED WITH BUT THE FORGOT, GOLDEN EARRING RADAR LOVE WAS PUT OUT APPROX. 10 YEARS BEFORE TWILIGHT ZONE. BOTH SHOT TO THE TOP AT THE TIME OF RELEASE AND THOUGHT THEY SHOULD BE INCLUDED.
Provocative if nothing else. Disagree with several, but that's okay. Thanks!
I clicked because it sounded intriguing and if this is true I hate that the "Killers" meet that criteria because they are so much better than what you describe them as and the people that you lump them in with. I would have made asterisks and mentioned footnotes about added success regardless of what the data says. still a solid read. but i hate your killers take and i'll die on that hill.