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A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with only one hit single that overshadows their other work.
- Wikipedia
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The strange thing about One Hit Wonders is how brightly they shone with their one hit at the time and then fizzled out, largely dropping from view.
Here are some.
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MACARENA
About:
"Macarena" is a song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, originally recorded for their 1993 album A mí me gusta.
A remix by Miami-based producers the Bayside Boys, who added a section with English lyrics and expanded its popularity, initially peaked at No. 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in late 1995. The Bayside Boys mix enjoyed a significant revival the following year when it re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 1 for 14 weeks between August and November 1996. Its resurgence was aided by a dance craze that became a cultural phenomenon throughout the latter half of 1996 and early 1997.
The song got the group ranked the "No. 1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time" by VH1 in 2002.
Los del Rio version, with part English lyrics:
Bayside Boys remix:
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TURNING JAPANESE
"Turning Japanese" is a song by English band the Vapors, from their 1980 album New Clear Days. It was an international hit, becoming the band's most well-known song. The song prominently features the Oriental riff played on guitar.
About:
According to songwriter David Fenton, "Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn't expect." Fenton intended the song to be a love song, with the character of the song "pining over a photograph of his ex-girlfriend" in his bedroom, drawing from Fenton's own experience of being rejected. Fenton wrote the song in his flat, but had problems writing the chorus. He said that the chorus then came to him suddenly when he woke up at 4 a.m. with the lyric "Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese" in his head, and he used it even though the words and the song title did not "really mean much".
The band suspected they would score a hit with "Turning Japanese", even delaying its release in order to make it their second single, hoping to avoid becoming "one-hit wonders". Nonetheless, they never matched the single's success. In Australia, it spent two weeks at No. 1 during June 1980. The song was also a minor hit in Japan.
The Vapors' did not chart again in the US, however they had a couple of other minor hits in the UK. After releasing another album in 1981 they called it quits. After the band disbanded Fenton retired from creating music and went to work in the music industry as a lawyer.
Video:
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COME ON EILEEN
Come On Eileen" is a song by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners, written by singer/songwriter and group founder Kevin Rowland, released in the United Kingdom in June 1982 as a single from their second studio album Too-Rye-Ay. "Come On Eileen" was an enormous hit, going to #1 in America, the UK and Australia and won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dexys went through numerous personnel changes over the course of three albums and 13 singles, with only singer/songwriter/co-founder Kevin Rowland remaining in the band through all of the transitions. The band broke up in 1987.
This song is based on a true story. Eileen was a girl that Kevin Rowland grew up with. Their relationship became romantic when the pair were 13, and according to Rowland, it turned sexual a year or two later. Rowland was raised Catholic and served as an altar boy in church. Sex was a taboo subject, and considered "dirty" - something that fascinated him. When he wrote this song, Rowland was expressing the feelings of that adolescent enjoying his first sexual relationship and dreaming of being free from the strictures of a buttoned-down society. The song describes the thin line between love and lust.
By the way:
The band's name was inspired by the amphetamine drug Dexedrine, which is commonly known as "Dexys" (Contrary to popular belief, the band's name does not have an apostrophe). The band itself steered away from drinking and drugs, saying nothing should interfere with their dedication to music.
Video:
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