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Because one-hit wonders are only popular for a brief time, their hits often have significant Nostalgia value and are often featured on era-centric compilations and Soundtracks to period films. The hits of many one-hit wonders are novelty songs that are, to an extent, deliberately short-lived, recorded for humor or to cash in on a Pop Culture Fad . Examples include Rick Dees ’s "Disco Duck," related to the disco craze of the late 1970 s, and Buckner & Garcia ’s "Pac Man Fever," related to the Arcade Game Pac Man . More commonly however, one-hit wonders are serious-minded musicians who struggled to continue their success after their popularity waned. Some artists have only had one chart success due to untimely death, such as Minnie Riperton and Blind Melon . One-hit wonders are common in any era of Pop Music but are most common during reigns of entire Genre s that do not last for more than a few years, such as Disco and New Wave . Though the term is sometimes used in a derogatory sense, fans often have a great passion for these memorable songs and the artists that created them. Some one-hit wonder artists have embraced this following openly, while others distance themselves from their hit in an attempt to craft successful songs with different sounds. QUESTIONS OF DEFINITION Performers who are successful in one country or continent but who are known for only one song in another are usually considered one-hit wonders in the latter. Germany ’s Nena , Europe ’s Boney M , Scotland 's Simple Minds , England ’s Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Canada ’s Crash Test Dummies have each had considerable success in their homelands but are considered one-hit wonders in the United States . Similarly, some performers are considered one-hit wonders in general but have had considerable success within their respective genres. Celtic Music singer Loreena McKennitt , Heavy Metal band Uriah Heep , and Christian Rock group Jars Of Clay are each stars within their respective genres but are known for only a single Crossover Hit each by the general public. The term one-hit wonder does not, however, usually refer to performers who have had only limited success on the singles chart, but who are considered significant for other reasons, such as Album sales, live concerts and influence on other musicians. Jimi Hendrix , Frank Zappa , Roxy Music , Lou Reed , Janis Joplin , Rush , The Grateful Dead , Iggy Pop , Beck and Radiohead have each had only one song in Billboard Magazine ’s Top 40, yet none are considered one-hit wonders. The term is also not usually applied to performers with a single hit as a solo artist but who built a reputation in a group, such as Steely Dan 's Donald Fagen , The Lovin' Spoonful 's John Sebastian or The Beach Boys ' Brian Wilson . Alternatively, Derek & The Dominoes are not considered one-hit wonders because their sole hit, " Layla ," is generally considered within the context of group leader Eric Clapton 's career. By Analogy , artists and bands (such as Golden Earring ) who produce two major hits before fading into obscurity are sometimes called " Two-hit Wonder s", but this term is not as commonly used. Also, some artists may be considered one-hit wonders despite not strictly meeting the definition. For example, A-ha made the top 10 of VH1 's 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders in 2002 , despite having had two singles make the Billboard Top 40. Their first hit, " Take On Me ", was far more successful (in the U.S.) and is more widely remembered than their other U.S. chart hit, "The Sun Always Shines on TV" (which, incidentally, was #1 in the United Kingdom ). Great White is also called a one-hit wonder, for the #5 1989 hit " Once Bitten Twice Shy ," but they had another Top 40 single, "Angel Song", the same year, as well as several lower-charting hits throughout their career. Many so-called one-hit wonders had a single top 40 hit, but several others in the lower regions of the Billboard Hot 100 (#41-#100), and these lower-charting songs are still "hits" in the strictest sense. The defining factor seems to be how well the band is ''remembered'' for other factors than the "one big hit". "ONE HIT WONDERS" IN CLASSICAL MUSIC While the term "one hit wonder" generally refers to sales in popular music, the term has sometimes been used to describe various composers of Classical Music . In this context, it is often used to describe composers who are well known mostly because of only a single piece of music. Extending the term to classical Composer s is more subjective since there are no comparable sales rankings for Classical Music . The primary problem is determining what constitutes a "hit" in classical music. Without ready access to recording sales records and classical concert programs this must be determined by a subjective guess. This guess can only be based on a collective idea of what is frequently performed in concerts, played by classical Radio Station s and recorded by a variety of Orchestra s. What is popular is also highly subject to change over the years, particularly considering the sheer amount of time in which classical music has existed (taking the more liberal use of "classical" to cover music of the Renaissance through Contemporary Classical ). What was popular during a composer's lifetime may not be popular today, an issue compounded by many works achieving popularity through appearances in film and other mass media. The sheer volume of music composed by any serious classical composer is not overall comparable to what is produced by many popular music artists. Some pop one hit wonders produce only a single album (generally slightly more than half an hour of music) while any classical composer will have produced hours upon hours. While only a single short piece might be a "hit", in most cases other works will have been recorded by multiple performers, and occasionally find their way into the repertoire of others, skewing the comparison with popular musicians. Furthermore, what is considered a "hit" will vary greatly when one considers the disparity between the general public and devoted fans of classical music. Edward Elgar 's '' Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1 '', for example, is known widely in the United States as the music associated with Graduation , and many U.S. lay people would not recognize a single other work by him (or, indeed, much of that piece itself, except for the commonly quoted part); and in the UK the same music is widely known as "Land of Hope and Glory", a song of Empire. However, any person reasonably well versed in classical music knows of Elgar as a respected composer of a variety of works. Likewise the final section of the overture to Rossini's '' William Tell '' is known to millions of people through its association with '' The Lone Ranger '', but most opera-lovers are probably ''more'' familiar with some of his other overtures. Conversely, there are various composers by whom even classical music buffs would be hard pressed to identify more than one work, and with whom laymen and casual listeners would be utterly unfamiliar, making their claim of even a single "hit" problematic. Partial list of one-hit-wonder composers in classical music See List Of One-hit Wonders In Classical Music . OTHER USES The term one-hit wonder is occasionally used to refer to an artist or a professional athelete other than a musical performer who is best known for a single work. For example, author Joseph Heller wrote several novels but is still best known for '' Catch-22 '' and actress Natasha Henstridge has yet to match the success of the film '' Species .'' In Video Games , the term one-hit wonder is used to describe a video game character that dies after one hit. A good example is Billy Bob from Capcom 's Gun.Smoke . TRIVIA
LISTS OF GREATEST ONE-HIT WONDERS VH1's list of "100 greatest one-hit wonders" In 2002 , the American cable network VH1 aired a countdown of the 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders . The top ten consisted of: # Los Del Rio - " Macarena " ( 1996 ) # Soft Cell - " Tainted Love " ( 1982 ) # Dexys Midnight Runners - " Come On Eileen " ( 1982 ) # Right Said Fred - "I'm Too Sexy" ( 1991 ) # Toni Basil - " Mickey " ( 1982 ) # Baha Men - " Who Let The Dogs Out? " ( 2000 ) # Vanilla Ice - " Ice Ice Baby " ( 1990 ) # A-ha - "Take On Me" ( 1985 ) # Gerardo - "Rico Suave" ( 1991 ) # Nena - " 99 Luftballons " ( 1984 ) Brent Mann’s 100 "all-time great one-hit wonders" In . SEE ALSO
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