One-hit wonders are still a bit of a puzzle to me. Some are huge hits around the world. Others might feature in the soundtrack of major movies and they are usually great songs.
But for one reason or another, they just don't get followed up by another hit for the artist. Sometimes it's hard to believe that didn't happen when the music the artist produced is so good.
Also, many songs are one-hit wonders in one country but the artist goes on to have major chart success elsewhere. Let's narrow it down though and look at six songs from the 1980s. These were amazingly good one-off hits in the top 40 charts across several major music industry countries, including the UK and the US Billboard Hot 100 or dance charts.
Six 1980s one hit wonders
Sugar Hill Gang - "Rappers Delight"
This is a great song to start the list. “Rappers Delight” was a massive hit around the world for Sugar Hill Gang. It did only peak at number 36 on the US Billboard Hot 100, perhaps as it originally was released only on 12” vinyl there. Elsewhere, it reached number three in the UK, and number one in Canada, and was a top-five hit in many European countries.
Released late in 1979, the single hit the charts in January 1980. It is regarded as a crucial step in bringing hip-hop to a huge public audience. There’s a very funky bass throughout and easily accessible rap vocals and lyrics, which all help make it pretty memorable and more mainstream.
It’s not without some controversy. Chic stars Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards eventually got songwriting credits after a legal dispute claiming their “Good Times” hit had been used for “Rappers Delight”. Well, it added to the groove nicely so was worth the credits.
Rockwell - "Somebody’s Watching Me"
Rockwell’s real name will sound familiar, or at least his surname. Kenneth William Gordy, known as Rockwell for a stage name, is the son of the legendary Motown founder Berry Gordy. So it's no surprise that he found himself in a recording studio with all he needed to make a record. And a pretty good one too.
Amongst that list of what Rockwell needed was a backing singer. He somehow managed to rustle up Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, and Norman Dozier on backing vocals for the single. What it is to have good connections! To be fair, Rockwell was signed for Motown records without his father knowing or being involved, Gordy senior apparently only found out after the event.
“Someone’s Watching Me” was released in December 1983, on Motown Records. The song is a great mix of creepy tones and Rockwell’s accented vocals, some RnB with electronic drums and synth, and a brilliant hook as a chorus. It soared to success quickly on an international scale. The Billboard Hot 100 saw it reach number two, in the UK it hit number six and was a top ten smash across many European charts, as well as South Africa and Canada.
Occasionally someone's hit wonders are a novelty song or tied to a specific event and they don’t really last for long. It's great when a record endures much longer and remains valid and very listenable years later. Rolling Stone magazine pinned this song down nicely "an international and enduring smash hit that, more than 30 years later, remains the perennial paranoia-rock anthem and Halloween mix go-to song."
The Vapors - "Turning Japanese"
The Vapors were an English band with a connection to UK punk and mod rockers The Jam. Initially spotted playing in a UK pub by The Jam bass player Bruce Foxton, they ended up being managed by him and John Weller, father of The Jam lead man Paul Weller. An early success for The Vapors CV was supporting the Jam on their 1979 tour.
Success was limited for the band though despite that connection and other attempts at hit singles. The Vapors were pretty confident about “Turning Japanese” but also wary of being labeled as one-hit wonders, oops, sorry lads! The band held back the song and released ”Prisoners” as a single late in 1979. It was a miss, but they were right about their next song.
“Turning Japanese” did do as well, if not better, than they had expected and perhaps hoped. Number three spot in the UK charts and up to 36 in the US, it also reached number one in Australia and was a top-ten across Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. It even scored a minor success in Japan. This was their only single hit despite their attempts.
“Turning Japanese” is a neat punk or power pop song, with similarities to the Jam, especially with the powerful bass line. Although the title and the promo video clearly linked in Japan, there wasn't really any connection with the country. Various rumours circulated at the time about the meaning behind the song, but band frontman Dave Fenton halted those.
Fenton explained it was about the youthful angst of a broken relationship and being tormented by only having a photograph left to remember it by. He reckoned it could as easily have been Portuguese or another country in the title. Maybe so but the oriental sounding guitar riff worked like a dream!
The Weather Girls - "It’s Raining Men"
This one is a real dance floor filler. It’s one of those songs that DJs rely on if they need to get people back up on their feet and get the party going. Oddly for such a popular hit song, it was originally turned down by some major artists.
It was written for Donna Summer, but she declined, as did Cher and Diana Ross. Barbra Streisand decided against it too. The song found its way to Martha Walsh and Izora Armstead, a duo known as the Two Tons, who became The Weather Girls. They also turned it down initially, claiming the lyrics of "raining men" were just a bit too crazy. No doubt they remain very glad to have been persuaded otherwise, even for just that one hit wonder.
Released in September 1982 it was a huge US number-one dance chart hit, and peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was at number two in the UK and charted well around Europe, New Zealand, and Australia too. The song received a Grammy nomination too. If you are thinking it was in the Bridget Jones Diary movie, you’re partly right, the song was included, but it was a later version by Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls.
Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians - "What I Am"
A nice but slightly quirky number now. Unusual and tongue-in-cheek vocals plus an unusual guitar tone make for a plucky effort at the charts. And another one-hit wonder as the result.
The pairing of Brickell and the band hail from Dallas, Texas, and released this song back in November 1988. It was from their debut album, delightfully named Shooting Rubber Bands At The Stars. The album was really successful and claimed double platinum, perhaps on the back of this single which got plenty of airplay and attention.
“What I Am” is a great song and well deserving of its number seven in the US charts though only reaching number 31 in the UK. It was a top twenty chart hit across Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. From the opening seconds, you recognize the tune from the guitar picking, and then Brickell’s bouncy vocals come in. There's a great guitar solo with an envelope filter near the end too. Everything comes together well in a slightly odd style but in a good way.
Brickell and the band parted ways in 1990 after their second album Ghost Of A Dog, which didn’t achieve nearly the same level of success. She married Paul Simon shortly afterwards. Brickell has had a respected musical career since, including Broadway success, but without another hit single.
Berlin - "Take My Breath Away"
There’s an element of loose definitions about including this song as a one-hit wonder, but it’s so close to one and such an amazing song that I’ve included it. The song was of course featured in the soundtrack for the hit movie Top Gun. starring Tom Cruise. The film is heavily linked to promotional videos for the song too. I reckon if you think of the film, you recall the song. And if you hear the song, you think about the film, they are that closely entwined.
“Take My Breath Away” by New York band Berlin is another classic song written by Giorgio Moroder with the words by Tom Whitlock. Moroder later labeled Whitlock as a guy who came to fix the brakes on his Ferrari and mentioned he wrote lyrics. That’s some way to find your songwriter!
It’s yet another song with a familiar and unmistakable introduction. Moroder added a slightly booming synth bass as a beat. Then there’s Terri Nunn singing superbly throughout. You can’t beat a great classic song like this.
The song stormed the charts and hit number one around the world, mirroring the phenomenal success of the movie. Released in June 1986, the song added an Academy Award and a Golden Globe to Moroder’s extensive collection and started one for the Ferrari fixer Whitlock.
Berlin didn’t have any follow-up hits to this mega song. They did have very minor success a couple of years earlier when a single, “No More Words”, was just outside the top twenty in the US, but didn’t chart in the UK and Europe. Three other singles made it into the lower half of the top 100 in the US earlier too. The scale of worldwide success for “Take My Breath Away” is so far beyond those minor and local hits that the label one-hit wonder is ok to apply, slightly loosely perhaps, on this occasion.