One-hit wonders can be fantastic. Sure, the musical artist may not stay relevant for long, but the one gem they give us is often worth listening to for decades. Sometimes, too, the artist has a catalog worth exploring even if they do not have many hits.
That is not the case with the four artists below. Not only did they not have much of a career, but their song's accidental success was not even worth it. Just because people buy records does not make those records good.
The songs' videos have not been included to save you from more sorrow. The one video embedded here is from the great musical artist whose original tune was stolen by one of the one-hit wonders.
These one-hit wonders did not deserve their one popular single
Michael Sembello - "Maniac" (1983)
Like nearly every one-hit wonder, this song was seemingly a mistake. Not as far as public perception goes, Sembello, who co-wrote the song, must have wondered ever since how he came up with that one thing people like. His voice has no range, and the song is exceedingly simple. However, Academy Award voters thought it was good enough to nominate for an Oscar.
The tune reached number one in the United States but only number 43 in the UK, perhaps because New Wave was ruling the day (and was much better than this slick track featured on the Flashdance soundtrack).
Cutting Crew - "(I Just) Died in Your Arms"
This overly earnest song from a band whose name seems inspired by a group of hair stylists is overproduced rubbish. Plus, the songwriter could not appear to get the notes correct. The first line is "Oh, I just died..." The vocals begin with a rush, too, as if the singer forgot when he was supposed to come in.
The track hit number one in four countries, including the United States, but only reached 50 in New Zealand. The Kiwis had the right idea.
Timbuk 3 - "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades"
Even the title of the song is ludicrous. But heck, the makeup of Timbuk 3 was a real married couple who also performed songs called "Rev. Jack & His Roamin' Cadillac Church" and "Just Wanna Funk with Your Mind." So, while this track has a crazy title, it isn't even the duo's worst.
As with Sembello, the duo must have wondered what they got right, but could never duplicate it. Still, the song was popular enough to get Timbuk 3 a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1987. They lost to Bruce Hornsby and the Range.
After the Fire - "Der Kommissar"
What is worse than being a one-hit wonder who wrote their song? A one-hit wonder who did a cover of someone else's song. This is an almost by-note rendition of the Falco classic, so there is no value in the After the Fire tune.
A good sign that the band was terrible is that this track was released 10 years after the group formed in 1972. After the Fire did us all a favor and finally disbanded in 2013. The lineup included 17 people at different times. Maybe they should have renamed themselves at various points.