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.
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.
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
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.
My first thought was the UK band Haircut One Hundred, who had two great songs ("Love Plus One" and "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)") but I didn't see them in your lists. I suppose you only have access to US chart data, though. :(
You undoubtedly know the answer to the trivia question of who are the three superstar singer/songwriters who never had a #1 of their own (maxed at #2), but write songs taken to #1 by other artists/groups, right?
You nailed it. Except that here in Northeast Florida, there may be some 'WTFs?' from some locals, defending 38 Special and the late Mr Buffett.
When I was in [coed] boarding school in the late ’60s, I'd play "Build Me Up, Buttercup" every single morning until my roommate accidentally broke the 45. I didn't buy their second Top 40.
Please continue your good work, Chris. I enjoyed this article so much I'm going to read it again. Thanks!
Really enjoyed the HAIM song, and the Foundations always bring a smile to my face. The two 38 Special songs are romance favorites. The post itself was very interesting too.
What a cool topic! Adding in the album sales filter was very smart. One problem I often have with "One-Hit Wonder" lists is that they go just by the single criterion of "only one charting hit" and so you end up with the Grateful Dead and Lou Reed on the list, just as your list had Pink Floyd and The Cure on it. Calling any of those acts "one-hit wonders" is just perverse. The "wonder" part of the term, it seems to me, is supposed to capture the curiousness that an otherwise unremarkable act managed to score a big hit. The album sales filter is a great way to get around that.
Also, it's been a long time since I had "Rico Suave" playing in my head. Um... thanks for that?
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!
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.
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.
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.
My first thought was the UK band Haircut One Hundred, who had two great songs ("Love Plus One" and "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)") but I didn't see them in your lists. I suppose you only have access to US chart data, though. :(
I think you forgot Sugarloaf with 2 pretty good Top 10 70s hits: Green Eyed Lady (no. 3) and Don't Call Us, We'll Call You (no. 9)
You undoubtedly know the answer to the trivia question of who are the three superstar singer/songwriters who never had a #1 of their own (maxed at #2), but write songs taken to #1 by other artists/groups, right?
Correct
Nice. I did know that Ed Sheeran was in his group for a few years. But has had a number one since
At one time I knew the six songs, but I’ve forgotten what they were. I remember that “Blinded by the Light” was the Boss written song that went #1
Dylan’s is Mr. Tambourine man by The Byrds. Newman is Mama Told Me Not to Come by Three Dog night
Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and … Randy Newman? Not sure about the third.
You nailed it. Except that here in Northeast Florida, there may be some 'WTFs?' from some locals, defending 38 Special and the late Mr Buffett.
When I was in [coed] boarding school in the late ’60s, I'd play "Build Me Up, Buttercup" every single morning until my roommate accidentally broke the 45. I didn't buy their second Top 40.
Please continue your good work, Chris. I enjoyed this article so much I'm going to read it again. Thanks!
Really enjoyed the HAIM song, and the Foundations always bring a smile to my face. The two 38 Special songs are romance favorites. The post itself was very interesting too.
What a cool topic! Adding in the album sales filter was very smart. One problem I often have with "One-Hit Wonder" lists is that they go just by the single criterion of "only one charting hit" and so you end up with the Grateful Dead and Lou Reed on the list, just as your list had Pink Floyd and The Cure on it. Calling any of those acts "one-hit wonders" is just perverse. The "wonder" part of the term, it seems to me, is supposed to capture the curiousness that an otherwise unremarkable act managed to score a big hit. The album sales filter is a great way to get around that.
Also, it's been a long time since I had "Rico Suave" playing in my head. Um... thanks for that?