Talk:List of 1990s one-hit wonders in the United States

2005 discussion

How is Radiohead a one hit wonder? And I swear Better Days came out in 2000. I bought their album on iTunes and iTunes says it was released in 2000. And it's not a "greatest songs" album. --WikiFan04^{ß 12:20, 30 May 2005 (CDT)}

I think this list is VERY subjective, and probably should not be included in an encyclopedia. A lot of artists that were listed on these pages are "no-hit wonders" (removed ones I was sure never had a top 40 pop hit). I think that any artist who had just one top 40 hit on the Hot 100 (other, genre-specific charts don't count) should be listed here. And, possibly, also any artist who had just one appearance between 41 and 100 on the Hot 100, with no other songs charting, could be considered a one-hit wonder.

Read Talk:One-hit wonders in the United States. Basically, the rules are:

• Only one song on the Billboard top 40. The number of hit songs on other charts do not matter.

• Because there are a lot of well-known album-oriented rock bands who happen to have only one top 40 hit in their career (Rush, Jimi Hendrix, and Grateful Dead, for example), if a band has had three or more top 40 albums, they are not a "One-hit wonder". Samboy 06:31, 3 Jun 2005 (UTC)

That's a dumb rule about album successes. Some one-hit wonders never had a popular album. Some artists manage to sell boatloads of albums without actually having anything resembling a well-known single, if they even release singles at all. It seems like a scapegoat just because people don't like knowing that such "important", "influential", and "well-known" artists like Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, and Rush had only one "hit". If anything, the rule should relate to single successes on OTHER charts (airplay, sales, rock, dance, R&B, etc); but comparing singles to albums is comparing apples to oranges. Technically, Bob Marley is a no-hit wonder in the United States, because his highest-peaking single only went to the mid-50's on the Hot 100. But, recurrently, SEVERAL of his singles have been massive hits on MULTIPLE formats. Hence, what I said about this list being completely subjective and, arguably, not encyclopediac. This list needs to be explained, in the article's content itself--not on some other article's "talk page"--as far as what criteria are being used. Otherwise, uninformed people are going to continue to come here and add no-hit wonders (like you did), and/or remove artists who've only had one pop hit just because they had more hits at other formats. Also, does lack of a top 40 Hot 100 hit definitely make an artist a no-hit wonder? I'm not so sure...68.44.184.172 03:33, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)

The issue is not that Grateful Dead, Hendrix, and Rush only having one hit; this issue is calling them "One Hit Wonders", which implies their musical success is tied to their one top-40 charting song. If this was called "Artists and Bands with one Billboard top 40 single" instead of "One hit wonders", then, yes, I would have no problem with Hendrix, Grateful Dead, and Rush being on the list. But, it is a list of "One hit wonders", which means something different than an "Artists or Bands with one Billboard top 40 single". Samboy 21:10, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I have to agree, particularly with the "it is a list of "One hit wonders", which means something different than an "Artists or Bands with one Billboard top 40 single" statement. I think if an artist or band has had lots of other success which totally dwarfs their one hit in terms of significance and recognition then there's no way they can be termed a "one-hit wonder". Many one hit wonders are quite well respected artists and released albums after their hit which were successful, but they are still overall better known for their one hit (i.e. Digable Planets) and so can still be reasonably dubbed one-hit wonders. Whereas with Rush, the Dead and Hendrix, they are very obviously far better known for their success elsewhere than for their success with their one hit. It has nothing to do with "not liking knowing" that my favorite bands only had one hit either; I don't care for the Grateful Dead and I absolutely loathe Rush, but I still feel terming them one-hit wonders is just silly. --Jamieli 22:20, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)

There are actually a good number of artists being listed as One-Hit wonders that I would remove from the list if I did not restrain myself. Such as Vangelis, who only had one top-40 hit (a #1, to boot), but has a lot of great albums and did the Blade Runner soundtrack. Or Moby, who has also only had one top-40 hit, but has contributed much more to music. In the case of Vangelis, there is a chance a lot of people might only remember Chariots of Fire; and Moby's success is limited to a single genere. So I'm leaving these artist on the list--with protest. Samboy 03:57, 5 Jun 2005 (UTC)

It is very hard to judge. Even from a perceived/stereotypical one-hit wonders P.O.V., I wouldn't know what to make of Moby. "Southside" is unquestionably his BIGGEST single. It was one of 2001's biggest hits on several formats, including rock, alterative, dance, adult top 40, top 40 mainstream, and possibly even rhythmic top 40. But, then again, what is to be made of a song like "Bodyrock", which was originally sort of a cult/club hit, then became a mainstream rock hit, and then, after being featured in a commercial, sort of crossed over and had some pop success? I can recall "Porcelain" receiving support from adult top 40 stations, so it likely peaked in the top 40 at that format. The "Porcelain" and "Natural Blues" videos were played in light regular rotation on VH1 a year before "Southside" became a bona fide hit, which suggests that both songs had at least MINOR AC/adult top 40 support. (I honestly think early 2000 was a time when Moby's more chill/ambient material was almost being marketed as AC-type material and Moby an AC-leaning, new agey sort of artist, along the lines of Enya, after many of those songs had been used in high-end car commercials and everything else.) Then there's his string of rock/alt radio hits, with both recent albums, as well as his string of dance/club hits and remixes with both albums. To boot, all of Play's songs were featured in at least one American commercial, which gave people even more familiarity with Moby and his work, again well before "Southside" hit big. So middle America and even CHR-listening, teenage girls might perceive "Bodyrock", "Natural Blues", "Honey", etc, as having been bigger than they really were at the pop formats because listeners might have heard the songs once or twice on their local CHR stations but heard them several times on various commercials. Without any steadfast rules, I wouldn't even know where to begin with Moby's perceived status: is he a one-hit wonder or a somewhat underground artist who has had a string of "minor hits", one of which was slightly bigger than the others?68.44.184.172 05:22, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

As far as I am concerned, I perceive Vangelis as nothing but a one-hit wonder, even if his one hit was a real "hit". I can't remember the first time I heard "Chariots Of Fire"; it seems to have just always been around in one place or another. I guess I sort of originally thought it was some sort of classical work. And, before I had realized that it was an 80's single/music video, I considered it alongside common classical pieces that you always hear as background in movies, TV shows, or commercials. At this point, needless to say, I didn't consider the song to have been made by a one-hit wonder. It wasn't until I saw the video on VH1 some time during the 1990's that I realized that it was an 80's pop song and single as opposed to a 18th century classical piece. I only recently discovered (thanks to MusicChoice factoids) that Vangelis was a solo Greek pop star, as opposed to some sort of group of people who electronically sampled classical work or released work solely comprised of classical instrumentation. All that I know about him to date is that he was a popular Greek pop star in the 1980's, basically only big in Greece, and his song "Chariots Of Fire". If it even hit the top 40 (or is it just rememebered because it was used in movies and was such an unusual pop song?), then it's definitely a one-hit.68.44.184.172 05:22, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Sublime

This may be due to lack of maintenance on wiki pages, but sublime is not a one hit wonder, and several artists listed on this page have made more than one hit song. 8==D — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.20.137.169 (talk) 09:19, 23 October 2013 (UTC)

Fiona Apple

Removed 'Criminal', since Fiona Apple now has 3 top 40 albums

This list is about singles, not albums. Billboard's records show that she has had one top 40 hit to date; this means she's been re-added. - Thanks, Hoshie 09:02, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

Mighty Mighty Bosstones

They arn't really one hit wonders, other songs such as Kinder Words, and Someday I Supose enjoyed success on modern rock radio.

I removed them - they never had a top 40 hit. Teemu08 21:36, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

They did---according to the Billboard Book of Top 40 hits. RomeoVoid 03:25, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

It was a top 40 hit on the Modern Rock charts, but not on the Billboard Hot 100, which is the main chart. See Here Teemu08 04:57, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

The Billboard Book Of Top 40 hits only charts those songs that hit the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 (i own a copy, they're in there alright). Add them back to the list "Artists with one hit that are not necessarily considered one-hit wonders" Doc Strange 13:01, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Hanson

Hanson doesn't belong, they also hit top 40 with Where's The Love, if I'm not mistaken. Their albums may also qualify, but I'm not entirely certain how it would be tracked as they are currently on their own indies label.

That is why Hanson is not on the list. RomeoVoid 22:19, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

Iggy Pop, and Queen Latifah are one-hit wonders..

In the US they never had anything bigger than a cult following. RomeoVoid 22:26, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

Yes, and that's why their in the "Not One Hit Wonder" section. Check the talk page for 2000's one hit wonders for my "pep-talk" on that topic. Doc Strange 13:00, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

The offspring as well, They are far from a one hit wonder. Pretty fly for a white guy and get a job are two other hits they had, and that is just to name two. (98.222.180.71 (talk) 12:43, 23 December 2010 (UTC))

Adina Howard

Is not a one-hit wonder.

"Freak Like Me" #2

"What's Love Got To Do With It" w/ Warren G #32 [1] [2]

Dam!ta 16:48, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Technically, "What's Love Got To Do With It" was performed with Warren G. featuring Adina Howard, so it could go either way. Teemu08 03:40, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

According to the Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, she has two top 40 singles. [3] Timeaftertimecl 16:17, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

A Change Of Standards?

Looking at this list, I can see a few acts who by the definition provided meet the criteria for inclusion on the list, but in all reality would never be considered a one hit wonder. For instance, The Prodigy. Yes, according to All Music Guide they meet the criteria, but if you called them a one hit wonder, anyone who watched MTV in the 90s would tell you are insane. How about The Flaming Lips. Yeah, they only had one charting hit, but having them listed kind of kills the credibility for this list.

The problem is that the list only considers one aspect of charting. I would say if a band has been on a major label or a signifigant indie label (I can't think of a better word for it, but if anyone can give a better definition for it, please do so) for more than 2 albums after that one hit, then it would be safe to delete them (since that means they are selling enough albums to be worth having in the label).

The term one hit wonder implies that the band was on the radar, and then disappeared. A band like The Flaming Lips for instance, has done anything but disappeared. OMC however, has. We have to consider if we are only looking at the wrong aspect of charting.

Should we also expand it to the modern and mainstream rock charts and other 'specialty' charts as well (simply say that if you have a top 20 hit on those charts for instance) so some of these bands who are popular to one segment don't get listed.

I removed the Flaming Lips. RomeoVoid 03:23, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Beenie Man

Took him off the list since there's really no standard by which he'd be a one hit wonder ("Dude" comes to mind as another hit besides the listed "Who Am I")

However, I have to question, if you're letting the connotation of one hit wonder influence which artists are on here (e.g., including the album rule to exclude certain groups), just how useful is this list? Seems slightly POV if you can arbitrarily invent definitions for what constitutes a one-hit wonder past having only one hit. GassyGuy 20:46, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

Queen Pen?

She had a number one hit with NO DIGGITY featuring BlackStreet and Dr. Dre. She is not a one-hit wonder. Dam!ta 03:12, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Reformatting

I decided to be WP:BOLD and reformat the list to be more in line with the analogous 1970s and 1980s articles. I don't know enough about 1990s one-hit wonders to categorize all of them, but I've left room for others to follow... — Dale Arnett 15:23, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Craig Mack

Craig had two top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, therefor is removed from the list. The single "Get Down" was also certified Gold for sales of 500,000 copies.

[4]

• 1994 Flava in Ya Ear The Billboard Hot 100 9
• 1994 Get Down The Billboard Hot 100 38

Watley54 21:33, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

==Chante Moore==

Went #10 with Chante's Got a Man and #19 with Contagious (song) as a featured artist.Watley54 13:43, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

==Chante Moore==

Went #10 with Chante's Got a Man and #19 with Contagious (song) as a featured artist.Watley54 13:43, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

No, she still is a one-hit wonder. I've got a copy of The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn, which says that "Chante's Got a Man" was her only Top 40 hit. "Contagious" is listed under R. Kelly and The Isley Brothers, but not under Chante Moore's name; there is, however, a small note saying that she did back-up vocals. Holiday56 (talk) 12:31, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

Candy Dulfer

I wonder if she should be in the "not necessarily" segment as I think she kept producing things significant to the smooth jazz world.--T. Anthony 09:18, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Tonic

Tonic are listed here for "If You Could Only See". How can they be considered a one-hit wonder for this one when they are best known for their song "You Wanted More"? Wiwaxia 01:20, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

What? What? "You Wanted More"? Geez, i've never heard that song. Ever. "If You Could Only See" was a Top-40 hit, where as "You Wanted More" was (and I just found out what it was) was a single (and a quite unsuccessful one) that didn't even come near the Top-40. Doc Strange 12:59, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Suicidal Tendencies and Anthrax

Gosh, neither of those songs ever hit the Top 40. And even on the Mainstream and Modern Rock charts, "Asleep At The Wheel" was a bigger hit for Suicidal. Doc Strange 13:03, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

OK, i'm deleting the following

• "Another Day" by Dream Theater charted at #22...on the Mainstream Rock charts. This is for the Hot 100. Even if you included the Mainstream Rock charts, they wouldn't be eligible anyways becuase they had other hits, including "Pull Me Under" which hit #10 on said chart.
• "Only" by Anthrax Never and I repeat NEVER have ever had any song hit the Hot 100. "Only" was indeed their biggest hit on the Mainstream Rock charts, but nonetheless are ineligible for this chart
• "Nobody Hears" by Suicidal Tendencies, as i've stated above, Suicidal had a much larger Mainstream and Modern Rock hits than this track. "Asleep At The Wheel", for instance hit #21 on the Modern Rock charts.

I'm keeping the following

• "Three Little Pigs" by Green Jelly. This band, which would later evolve into Tool did not have a charting single table on their page
• "She Don't Use Jelly" by The Flaming Lips. Didn't hit the Top 40, but at least hit the Hot 100.

Doc Strange 12:24, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Aqua

I'm hesitant to mess with the entry myself, but I wanted to note that Aqua are NOT one-hit wonders. Although they're best known for their number 7 Hot 100 hit "Barbie Girl", they also charted at 23 on the same chart with "Lollipop (Candyman)."--97.101.1.246 01:27, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes. You're correct. They're a case like Men Without Hats and a-ha where it is widely believe the act is a one hit wonder, but have another song in the Top 40. Doc Strange^MailboxLogbook 19:25, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

{{cleanup-restructure}}

I placed this tag because several of the wikilinks link to the wrong subject. Anthony Rupert 14:01, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Alright

So now every main artist on this list has a Wikipedia entry. Finally. Chubbles 09:01, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

radiohead

why are they on there?they have had a lot of hits! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sharkdude95 (talk • contribs) 23:19, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

They have been removed due to the fact that "Nude" hit #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2008. The other American hits before that were on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, not the Billboard Hot 100, the chart on which "one hit wonders" are usually described in the United States. The band has 12 Modern Rock Top 40 hits, but only the two on the Billboard Hot 100. Doc Strange^MailboxLogbook 21:13, 19 December 2008 (UTC)

Dogs Eye View and Baz Luhrmann

Hello,

Recently this list had Dogs Eye View and Baz Luhrmann listed as one-hit wonders based on how the two acts charted on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. After fact-checking all of the airplay hits on the list, it appears that the acts charted on the Hot 100 but they were both below #40. Here's the data:

Dog's Eye View charted at #65 in September 1996; see [5]. All Music has the listing for the single here.

Baz Luhrmann charted at #45 in April 1999; see [6]. It seems unclear if a single was released in the US. The Billboard page has the words "Album Cut" for the catlog number, which I guess refers to the album Something For Everybody; see [7]. A single exists (see [8]), but Amazon claims its an import; see [9]. I'm going to do more research on this point. Hope this helps. - Thanks, Hoshie 01:20, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

A short update on Baz Luhrmann. Everybody's Free was not released as a single in the US (see [10]); however according to our Hot 100 article, the rules were changed in December 1998 to allow album cuts on the chart (see also [11]), so this appear to have been what happened here. 10:24, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

Somethin' for the People

I added this group to the list probably a year ago, and it's been removed again, for reasons I can't surmise. Someone went absolutely reference-crazy with this article (there's one book you could have used for all of the references, published by Billboard and written by Joel Whitburn), so I won't shoot at any barrels of gunpowder, but the group is missing and should be listed. Chubbles (talk) 03:22, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Hi! I'm the one who added all the refs. While I agree the Whitburn book (which I plan to get, because this topic is interesting) is a good source, I've found the database to be just as good and more current. As for the refs, it seems to be the trend now, for better or worse. I've re-added the group you mentioned as they had one top40 hit. - Thanks, Hoshie 09:35, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Fastball, BSO, Garth Brooks, Dog's Eye View (again)

Hello,

I've recently brought a copy of Joel Whitburn's The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits referenced in this article. I've used it to reference the chart postions on the list since books are more static compared to the web. This has also reduced the page size somewhat.

I have added a few new artists. The first is Fastball. While "The Way" seems to better known, it didn't chart on the Hot 100. Another single, "Out of My Head" did. See [12]. I have also added the The Brian Setzer Orchestra as they had a hit with "Jump Jive An Wail" peaking at #23 on the Airplay Chart (see [13]). However it also peaked at #94 on the Hot 100 (see [14]). I have re-added Dog's Eye View as the Whitburn book lists them for "Everything Falls Apart", which peaked at #14 on the airplay chart (see [15]). However the song also peaked at #66 on the Hot 100 (see [16]). I have no idea why both of these are in the book.

This may ruffle a few feathers, but I have added Garth Brooks. So far he has seven songs cross over to the Hot 100. Of these "Lost In You" is the only one to be in the top 40; it peaked at #5 (see [17]).

It hope this helps. - Thanks, Hoshie 10:54, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

I've a few more additions in recent days. First, I've added dc Talk, Cypress Hill, and Clint Black to the list. They seem to be like Iggy Pop: popular in another genre, but not mainstream. This may again ruffle feathers, but I have also added the Los del Río. The Bayside Boys mix of the Macarena went to #1 and this is what the listing is for. The Spanish version also hit the Top 40 as well. This seems to be like Benny Mardones. He had two hits with one song. Someone recently added L.V. for Gangsta's Paradise. While I oppose this, the 2000's page does this well. Since this is the case, I've deleted Vonda Shepard. She had a hit on the top 40 with Dan Hill in the late 80's. Finally I've added Robin S. (with a note telling her apart from Robyn) and Toadies as well. Hope this helps. - Thanks, Hoshie 13:28, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

I think Fastball was a victim of how in the 90's, record companies tended to stop issuing singles for many songs so people would buy the album. Had they taken radio airplay much more into account, they definitely would have cracked the top 40 with The Way. Believe me, I heard it very frequently back then. Just something to think about. ErikNY (talk) 23:56, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

I agree with you on same bands being hurt due to their label not releasing a single. Like you, I remember The Way from '98. I didn't realize Out of My Head existed until I brought the album last year. As for The Way charting on the Hot 100, it was impossible. At the time, songs that weren't released as a single (like The Way) were not allowed on the Hot 100. This was changed in late 1998. See [18] for more details. This is why Fastball and Out of My Head are listed here. - Thanks, Hoshie 01:42, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

It seems to me that it's disingenuous to have here listed a Fastball song I had to look up vs. one I couldn't avoid when I was living through the 90's--the term "One Hit Wonder" may have a special record industry connotations, but to most people I know, Fastball is an OHW for The Way. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.111.35.33 (talk) 23:51, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but I've been looking over this list I think it needs a major restructuring as to what this page is actually trying to accomplish. If the goal is to list all the artists who only had one hit in the 1990s, then I am fine with that goal. But I don't think we can use the term "one hit wonder". As we see in this discussion page, "one hit wonder" is a loaded term that has more meaning than simply only had one single chart on Billboard's List. The perceived implication of "one hit wonder" is that the band came into public prominence very quickly and then disappeared just as quickly. Many of these artists on this list do not fit the description. If an artist has a long, sustained career, they shouldn't be on this list. So I'm not sure how Vonda Shepard has been taken off this list, but Garth Brooks and Clint Black belong on it? Garth's wikipedia page states that the RIAA has recognized him as the biggest selling solo artist in U.S. history. So that's a one hit wonder? I don't even like country music, but we cannot make such a distinction. Likewise, if a band had 3 hit singles, but they were all off the same album, and we never heard of them again, wouldn't most of us consider them a one hit wonder? If we use the term "one hit wonder" on a wikipedia page, I'm of the opinion that the term should conform to definition as set out by the wikipedia page for the term. And reading through that page, I don't see how some of these artists apply. Maybe a simple title change would work: something like Artists with only 1 Single on Billboard Charts. That's clumsy, but something similar. Plasticflasks (talk) 18:54, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

artists with successful albums

Hello again,

The talk page for One-hit wonders in the United States states that in addition to one top 40 hit, an act "with three or more albums with a rank of 1 to 40 inclusive on the Billboard 200 may be taken off of this chart". I have gone though the acts listed found that Sinéad O'Connor, Faith No More, Chris Isaak, Queensrÿche, k.d. lang, Onyx, Cypress Hill, Beck, Candlebox, Do or Die, Fiona Apple, Garth Brooks, & Clint Black meet this criteria. Here's the raw data for each:

Sinéad O'Connor:

1994 Universal Mother The Billboard 200  36
1992 Am I Not Your Girl? The Billboard 200  27
1990 I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got The Billboard 200  1
1988 The Lion And The Cobra The Billboard 200  36

Faith No More:

1990  The Real Thing  The Billboard 200  11
1992  Angel Dust  The Billboard 200  10
1995  King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime  The Billboard 200  31

Chris Isaak:

1989  Heart Shaped World  The Billboard 200 7
1993  San Francisco Days  The Billboard 200 35
1995  Forever Blue  The Billboard 200 31
1996  Baja Sessions  The Billboard 200 33
2002  Always Got Tonight  The Billboard 200 24

Queensrÿche:

1990  Empire  The Billboard 200                   7
1991  Operation: LIVEcrime  The Billboard 200     38
1994  Promised Land  The Billboard 200            3
1997  Hear in the Now Frontier  The Billboard 200 19
2006  Operation: Mindcrime II  The Billboard 200  14

k.d. lang:

1995  All You Can Eat The Billboard 200	37
1997  Drag	       The Billboard 200	29
1992  Ingenue	       The Billboard 200        18
2008  Watershed       The Billboard 200        8

Onyx:

1995  All We Got Iz Us   The Billboard 200  22
1993  Bacdafucup         The Billboard 200  17
1998  Shut 'Em Down	 The Billboard 200   10

Cypress Hill:

1993  Black Sunday                      The Billboard 200   1
1995  Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom The Billboard 200   3
1992  Cypress Hill                      The Billboard 200  31
1998  IV                                The Billboard 200  11
2000  Skull & Bones                     The Billboard 200  5
2004  Till Death Do Us Part             The Billboard 200  21
1996  Unreleased & Revamped             The Billboard 200  21

Beck:

1994  Mellow Gold The Billboard 200  13
1999  Midnite Vultures The Billboard 200 34
2008  Modern Guilt The Billboard 200 4
1998  Mutations The Billboard 200 13
1996  Odelay The Billboard 200 16
2002  Sea Change The Billboard 200 8
2006  The Information The Billboard 200 7

Candlebox:

1993 Candlebox The Billboard 200 7
1995 Lucy The Billboard 200 11
2008 Into The Sun The Billboard 200 32

Do or Die:

2005 D.O.D. The Billboard 200 40
1998 Headz or Tailz The Billboard 200 13
1996 Picture This The Billboard 200 27
2000 Victory The Billboard 200 13

Fiona Apple:

2006 Extraordinary Machine The Billboard 200 7
1996 Tidal The Billboard 200 15
1999 When the Pawn... The Billboard 200 13

Garth Brooks:

1992 Beyond the Season The Billboard 200 2
1998 Double Live The Billboard 200 1
1995 Fresh Horses The Billboard 200 2
1999 Garth Brooks & the Magic of Christmas The Billboard 200  7
1990 Garth Brooks The Billboard 200 13
1993 In Pieces The Billboard 200  1
1999 In the Life of Chris Gaines The Billboard 200  2
1990 No Fences The Billboard 200 3
1991 Ropin' the Wind The Billboard 200	1
2001 Scarecrow The Billboard 200 1
1997 Sevens The Billboard 200	1
1992 The Chase The Billboard 200 1
1994 The Hits The Billboard 200	1
1998 The Limited Series The Billboard 200 1
2007 The Ultimate Hits The Billboard 200 3

Clint Black:

1996	Greatest Hits		 The Billboard 200	12
1989	Killin' Time		 The Billboard 200	31
1993	No Time to Kill		 The Billboard 200	14
1994	One Emotion		 The Billboard 200	37
1990	Put Yourself in My Shoes The Billboard 200	18
2004	Ultimate Clint Black	 The Billboard 200	27
1992	The Hard Way		 The Billboard 200	8

I used Allmusic for the source. I also added Loleatta Holloway, as she was a guest with Marky Mark. I hope this helps. - Thanks, Hoshie 02:09, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Should we make a subsection featuring popular artists who only had one hit single? There used to be before tables were intergrated on these pages. Doc Strange^MailboxLogbook 16:09, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

I added them all back. I've added a special note for all these artists relating to how they are not called "one-hit wonders", but rather "Artists with only one top 40 hit." Holiday56 (talk) 11:16, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Songs not on the Whitburn book?

Hi, I've been interested in the topic for a while. I noticed a few acts with one song to reach the top forty on the Billboard Hot 100/Hot 100 Airplay. Yet I don't have a copy of the Whitburn book, which is being used as the reference for each song listed in the article.

I've done a little research on the songs using Billboard.com and Allmusic as sources. These acts have both have had only one single to reach the top forty, and one (or no) albums to reach the top forty. I'm positive that they meet the criteria, so I'm going to add them anyway.

Here's the table:

• Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers - "Swing the Mood" (#11, January 13, 1990)

Source: Allmusic
Billboard

Top 40 albums:

1989 Jive Bunny: The Album The Billboard 200 26

Source: Allmusic

• Shana - "I Want You" (#40, January 13, 1990)

Source: Allmusic
Billboard

• Fu-Schnickens - "What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock)" (#39, August 14, 1993)

Source: Allmusic
Billboard

• Steve Wariner - "Two Teardrops" (#30, June 5, 1999)

Source: Allmusic
Billboard

Top 40 albums:

1999 Two Teardops The Billboard 200 35

Source: Allmusic

• Lisa Hartman Black - "When I Said I Do" (with Clint Black) (#31, December 25, 1999)

Source: Allmusic
Billboard

Thanks for adding these other artists! I'm been busy with other tasks here and couldn't get to this page. All of them are in the Whitburn book. I have removed Clint Black and Garth Brooks as they had more than 3 top 40 albums (see the thread above this one). I thought about bringing back the billboard refs at least for the dates so that they check out. - Thanks, Hoshie 01:35, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

More new artists in need of Whitburn 2004 references

Focusing more on the Airplay hits. They're all in the 2000 edition of the Whitburn book (checked Google Books). I'm not quite sure about their page numbers on the Whitburn 2004 edition, though.

• D.N.A. - "Tom's Diner" (#5, Billboard Hot 100, December 22, 1990)

Source: Billboard

• Big Daddy Kane - "Very Special" (#31, Billboard Hot 100, October 16, 1993)

Source: Billboard

Top 40 albums:

1989 It's a Big Daddy Thing The Billboard 200 33
1990 Taste of Chocolate The Billboard 200 37

Source: Billboard

• Raphael Saadiq - "Ask of You (From Higher Learning)" (#19, Billboard Hot 100, May 20, 1995)

Top 40 albums:

2002 Instant Vintage The Billboard 200 25
2008 The Way I See It The Billboard 200 19

Source: Allmusic

• Selena - "Dreaming of You" (#22, Billboard Hot 100, November 25, 1995)

Source: Billboard

Top 40 albums:

1994 Amor Prohibido The Billboard 200 29
1995 Dreaming of You The Billboard 200 1

Source: Allmusic

• Silverchair - "Tomorrow" (#28, Hot 100 Airplay, September 30, 1995)

Source: Billboard

Top 40 albums:

1995 Frogstomp The Billboard 200 9
1997 Freak Show The Billboard 200 12

Source: Allmusic

• Chantay Savage - "I Will Survive" (#24, Billboard Hot 100, April 20, 1996)

Source: Billboard

• Sublime - "What I Got" (#29, Hot 100 Airplay, October 26, 1996)

Source: Billboard

Top 40 albums:

1996 Sublime 13
1997 Second Hand Smoke 28

Source: Allmusic

• Ty Herndon - "It Must Be Love" (#38, Billboard Hot 100, December 5, 1998)

Source: Billboard

Yet I'm somewhat skeptical about adding the Fugees. They have had one Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Fu-Gee-La", #29) and one Top 40 album (1996's The Score, #1 on the Billboard 200, Sourced from Allmusic). The reason why I'm skeptical about adding them is because of the song "Avenues", which peaked at #35 on the Hot 100. This featured the Fugees line-up (I believe), but was instead credited to Refugee Camp All-Stars featuring Pras, who was one-third of the Fugees.

Then, I'm also skeptical about adding Luke. Allmusic and Billboard say that his only Top 40 hit was "Raise the Roof" (#29, Billboard Hot 100, May 30, 1998) Then, I'm completely aware how the Top 40 "Banned in the U.S.A." was credited to "Luke featuring 2 Live Crew", or so I believe.

--Holiday56 (talk) 08:30, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

Here the references:

• D.N.A. - "Tom's Diner" - "Tom's Diner" - p. 659
• Big Daddy Kane - "Very Special" - p. 337
• Raphael Saadiq - "Ask of You (From Higher Learning) - p. 549
• Selena - "Dreaming of You" - p. 561
• Silverchair - "Tomorrow" - p. 571
• Chantay Savage - "I Will Survive" - p. 554
• Sublime - "What I Got" - p. 612
• Ty Herndon - "It Must Be Love" - p. 284

As for the others, As for the "Refugee Camp All-Stars", it appears to me to be a different group from the Fugees. Whitburn lists them under the Fugees (p. 245) and under Pras himself (P. 423). He also lists Pras as having another hit with "Ghetto Supastar" in 1998 (#15). As for the 2 Live Crew and Luke, I'm not sure. Whitburn lists him with 2 Live Crew (p. 648) and states that Luke "went solo in 1996". In short, I'm not sure about ether of these. - Thanks, Hoshie 10:19, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Discogs states that the Refugee Camp All-Stars was a hip-hop duo composed of John Forté and Pras. I'd probably suggest Pras was credited as a featured artist for promotion, because people probably knew him from the Fugees. I'm starting an article on them. They're similar in the case of Jim Henson; both Kermit and Ernie are listed under his name on the 2000 book; however, they're both listed as one-hit wonders. Holiday56 (talk) 11:24, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

WP:NOR?

This doesn't violates WP:NOR?Comu_nacho (spanish speaker) (talk) 00:51, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

No, it doesn't. Fully referenced by sources. Holiday56 (talk) 08:33, 24 July 2009 (UTC)

Query re: Presidents of the United States of America

According to the Presidents of the United States of America article, "Lump" is listed as peaking at #26, which suggests they had two hits. Dan ad nauseam (talk) 04:18, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

That was actually #26 on the Hot 100 airplay chart. To date, "Peaches" is their only top 40 hit in the main hot 100 chart. 112.203.111.185 (talk) 09:11, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

I never even heard Peaches until maybe 2005-2010. Lump was the only song of theirs I ever heard on ANY radio. I'm pretty sure I speak for the masses. Please explain to me how Peaches was considered a bigger hit than Lump and Lump didn't even make it on your Top 40 list that you people use to consider songs. Considering you put Vince Gill on this list, and used a song that wasn't even one of his Grammy Winning songs, I trust very little that this page says. I think you should seriously rethink what makes them a one-hit wonder. If it was ahit on any major list it is a hit meaning they aren't on here. But, you have artists on here who won Grammies on multiple songs and claim they were one hit wonders with lesser known songs lol

2601:5:180:916:39BC:5BE4:EE9A:FD78 (talk) 18:36, 10 March 2015 (UTC)

Hot 100 airplay and hot 100

why is it that a band that has one hit on the hot 100 airplay is considered a one hit wonder but in a band has had a hit on the hot 100 airplay and hot 100 they are still one hit wonders example Fastball ("the way" 5-hot 100 airplay) (out of my head 20-hot 100) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Feedmyeyes (talk • contribs) 21:07, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

Fastball

Ok, this entry totally contradicts itself, if "The Way", reached #5 on the Hot 100 Airplay, why is "Out Of My Head" on here? So technically, Fastball is not a one hit wonder? The Man Who Needs No Introduction! (talk) 01:53, 20 October 2010 (UTC)

Do the Bartman

This was not a US hit, it didn't even chart. Thus, it should be removed.

Wonderwall

"Wonderwall" wasn't Oasis's only top 40 hit. As I recall, "Champagne Supernova" reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Live Forever" and "D'You Know What I Mean" both peaked at #39. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.24.182.66 (talk) 19:00, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

"Live Together" and "Champagne Supernova" did reach those positions, but only on the Hot 100 Airplay. "D'You Know What I Mean" did not chart on either the Hot 100 or Airplay charts. Oasis has had three songs on the Hot 100: "Wonderwall" (#8), "Don't Look Back in Anger" (#55), and "The Shock of the Lightning" (#93). Holiday56 (talk) 01:42, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

Garbage?

Seriously? "When I Grow Up" was a #4 song a few years after "Stupid Girl" came out, and "#1 Crush topped out at 29 on the charts. Sedna1000 (talk) 10:43, 3 April 2011 (UTC)Sedna1000

One hit wonders...

Do you know the meaning of a "one hit wonder"? A one- hit wonder is an artist or group who had only ONE hit during the entire career. A lot of the artists listed are not one hit wonders. Please do more research. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.236.0.71 (talk) 17:01, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

they need to have ONLY one Top 40 Hit on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart to be a one hit wonder Dman41689 (talk) 07:30, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Am' I Dreamin'

This is a song by Ol' Skool and "AID" is for sure Skool's only hit, so can you please add them? Oh, and can you also add Queen Pen and The Dove Shack member Bo-Roc? Cause Pen's song "All My Love" peaked at #28 on the Hot 100 in 1997 and Bo-Roc was featured on E-40's "Things'll Never Change", which peaked at #29 in 1994 as a B-side to "Rapper's Ball", featuring Too Short and K-Ci & JoJo.- Speedfish 22 February 2012 12:34 (UTC)

Garbage does not belong to this list

'Stupid Girl' is far from their only hit, songs like 'Queer' (#55), 'Only Happy When It Rains'(#57), 'Milk' or '#1 Crush' (Wich was a Airplay #29 hit, giving Garbage more than one top40 hit already, also a #1 Rock Hit, fueled the debut sales to make it a multi-platinum album with more than 4 million sales.

In 1998, still the 90s, Garbage released her sophomore album Version 2.0 wich featured a top5 Rock hit, a top10 Rock hit, another top20 rock hit and a top30 hit, all of them except 'When I Grow Up' charted in the Hot 100, one of them 'Special' nominated for two Grammys, all of these produced another multi-platinum, this time more than 4 million sales, again.

In 2005, Garbage released the Rock hit 'Why Do You Love Me' wich helped produce a high debut for Garbage #4 in the Billboar4d 200.

They are still active, and have released the top20 rock hit 'Blood For Poppies', their last album charted at #13 at the Billboard 200 and topped the Alternative Albums list at #1, it also was #5 At Rock Albums.

Garbage has recorded the soundtrack for a Bond Movie ('The World Is Not Enough')

They have sold more than 17 million albums, with 5 albums they're far, very far from being one-hit wonders. Garbage should be removed from this list.

Meshell Ndegeocello

Shouldn't Meshell Ndegeocello be on this list as a featured artist? She didn't have any solo hits, but her and John Mellencamp's cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" hit #3 on the Hot 100. DaBomb619 (talk) 08:56, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Never mind. I didn't see it on the page. DaBomb619 (talk) 09:41, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

The BC-52's

I've got to question this one. The notes and wikilink go to the B-52's, a group who has achieved two #3 singles with "Love Shack" and "Roam" plus other hits in the top 40. The membership is the same. They added one letter to their name as a promotion for the movie The Flintstones. And that minor difference gives us an excuse to consider them a distinct group for this list? Trackinfo (talk) 01:14, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

Yeah, I agree — the change is probably about as significant as a band dropping "The" or another single word from their name — removed. Holiday56 (talk) 10:35, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

The bc52s are just a joke name the b52s used for their appearance in the Flintstones movie. Robtverdi (talk) 00:00, 18 September 2021 (UTC)

Removal of "Notes" section, and other potential fixes

I know I may have had a different stance on this in the past, but looking back I think the entire Notes section would be better off removed and replaced with a section in the lead explaining that influence, success in other countries, etc. aren't accounted for in the established criteria of a US one-hit wonder (one Hot 100 top 40 hit). The lead already establishes that this technical definition of a one-hit wonder is based solely on Hot 100 chart performance, so I don't see much point in enumerating each artist's other achievements (if getting a second top 40 hit on any other chart is all it takes to warrant italicization + a footnote, then pretty much every single artist here would end up in italics). Right now that section is a rather overlong and confusing to read—and most of all completely unreferenced—list of footnotes. It would probably take a good 200+ extra footnotes to reference each item in this section, and even then the inclusion of some of the notes are questionable (how is Michael Penn being Sean Penn's brother even relevant to an article about his chart performance?). Same thoughts go for other OHWs articles. Holiday56 (talk) 10:17, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

I've been meaning to clean up these one-hit wonders articles (been working on a sandbox draft for some time now) and revamp them to make them more compliant with accessibility and formatting standards for lists. Some other (major) changes to the article I'd like to propose:

1. Addition of pictures of selected artists from the list.
2. Addition of sortable functions for the individual yearly lists.
3. Removal of the alternating color scheme currently being used in favor of basic site-wide CSS attributes for the tables, per MOS. The colors seem to be purely decorative and serve as a potential hindrance to color-impaired readers (see WP:COLOR and MOS on colors). Plus, they make the addition and removal of list items rather strenuous.

If anybody supports/objects to any of the proposals I've laid down feel free to leave any thoughts; I plan to proceed if no objections arise. Cheers, Holiday56 (talk) 10:33, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Boldly applying the changes. Current vs. previous revisions, for comparison. Holiday56 (talk) 09:46, 26 June 2014 (UTC)

I think, at the very least, there should be some sort of signifier when the artist in question is not the lead performer of the song. In that case, there can be a footnote, or a separate featured artists table. Otherwise, this looks much better, and much cleaner. Doc Strange^MailboxLogbook 00:28, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

@Doc Strange Seconded. - 198.45.223.105 (talk) 23:58, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

I feel that it was better when the featured artist had a their own table to avoid any type of confusion the readers may have. It be better for them to see that they are featured artists instead of them having to click on the song to find out that information Dman41689 (talk) 05:36, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

1995 - Vince Gill - House Of Love

I'm pretty sure Vince Gill was FAR from a one hit wonder. Should he even be on this list? I don't think I even need to post a link to prove this. Just do a quick google. lol this is why people don't trust Wikipedia as much as they could. Interesting thing...House Of Love isn't even one of his biggest hits... Just scan through all his awards and hits...

http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Vince_Gill

2601:5:180:916:39BC:5BE4:EE9A:FD78 (talk) 18:25, 10 March 2015 (UTC)

I just checked each of them because I didn't remember the song House Of Love being on any Vince Gill albums. It wasn't. it was on an Amy Grant album. The song was recorded as a duet between Amy grant & Vince Gill. Considering Vince Gill had multiple hits..it shouldn't be his name on here. I'm not familiar with how many hits Amy Grant had...maybe change it to say Amy Grant had the song as a hit, instead of Vince Gill....because Vince Gill is NOT a one-hit wonder. 2601:5:180:916:39BC:5BE4:EE9A:FD78 (talk) 18:44, 10 March 2015 (UTC)

Revisions

An IP 139.78.183.6 editor came in today and made a succession of edits based on . . . I'm not sure what his criteria was. But the editor was partially correct. Using the WP discographies as a source: Everlast has three appearances on the US Main chart; What Its Like #1, Ends #7 and Black Jesus #30. He was correctly removed. Fatboy Slim has only charted once on the US Main chart with Praise You #36. Beck only made the top 40 once with Loser #10, he had several appearances in the 60's and 70's, a lot of Alt success and the 2014 Grammy, but still belongs on the list. Offspring is harder to decipher without further research, their discography shows zero on the U.S. chart, not even Come Out and Play. They don't belong on the list for the opposite reason. Iggy Pop has charted three times with Cry for Love #34, Real Wild Child (Wild One) #27 and Cold Metal #37. Public Enemy just one Give It Up #33, Sublime just one With What I Got #11. and Cake eeks its way off the list with The Distance #38 and Never There #40. It seems the IP edited from their own impressions of things. Leaving out Offspring, they were correct 3 times vs the cumulative work of all other wikipedia editors, while the stats prove 4 to be correctly placed on the list. It shows everybody needs to do better research. I'll try to revert the correct listings. Trackinfo (talk) 07:52, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

Oasis?

From what I can tell from Oasis' discography they only had one hit on the Hot 100 despite being a huge sensation in the U.K and having successes on the Alt. rock charts and the Hot 100 Airplay. I am going to ad them unless there is something that contradicts this which you can undo. --73.240.105.185 (talk) 02:17, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

JESUS JONES !

I think JESUS JONES is a one hit wonder

they had a hit # 2 on the Hot 100

but than after a few months they had another hit with REAL REAL REAL peaking at #4 but something is very strange about it

it is official that they had another top 10 hit but it s very strange it peaked at a low position on the SALES and low position on AIRPLAY how it can be top 10 then ?

But if you ask people who were living at that time and were eager mtv and radio fans they don't know the later song — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.113.106.94 (talk) 11:03, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Digital Underground

Is Digital Underground, a.k.a. "Humpty Hump" one-hit wonders with The Humpty Dance? 97.96.29.159 (talk) 23:45, 1 April 2017 (UTC)

OFFSPRING not a one hit wonder

OFFSPRING are one hit wonders in the USA ?

they had at least 2 Multi-Platinum albums in the USA

SMASH and Americana !

THEY HAD SEVERAL RADIO HITS IN THE US

but also a lot of Hot 100 entries

in 2008 one of their song reached the Hot 100 and sold over 1,000,000 copies (YOUR GONNA GO FAR) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.247.242.166 (talk) 14:07, 14 June 2017 (UTC)

OFFSPRING does not make sense !

im not a fan of the band

but they don't belong here

ONLY HOT 100 TOP 40 count for the terminology of ONE HIT WONDER

Example 1 Band has a #31 Hit on the Hot 100 and then a # 41 Hit = one hit wonder

example 2 Band has # 42 hit and a #45 hit = No one hit wonder

Offspring had several Hot 100 entries !

COME OUT AND PLAY reached top 40 mainstream top 40

but KRISTY ARE YOU DOING OK ? reached also top 40 of the Mainstream Top 40 charts

THEREFORE NO — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.247.242.166 (talk) 14:12, 14 June 2017 (UTC)

Inclusion criteria -- see 2010s discussion

Please take part in the discussion about inclusion criteria which is underway at Talk:List of 2010s one-hit wonders in the United States#Inclusion criteria. Thank you. Binksternet (talk) 04:14, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

One-hit wonder inclusion criteria

If you're interested in the topic, your comments would be appreciated at Talk:List of 2010s one-hit wonders in the United States#Inclusion criteria where there is a discussion with sweeping ramifications about whether the "one-hit wonder" articles will be based on charting songs or on artists described in sources. Binksternet (talk) 15:27, 18 October 2017 (UTC)