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" (1982) by one-hit wonder Toni Basil ]] 's " Who Let The Dogs Out? "]] In the music industry, a one-hit wonder is an artist generally known for only one hit Single . 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 Fad . Examples include Rick Dees ’s " Disco Duck ," related to the Disco craze of the 1970s ; C.W. McCall 's " Convoy ," related to the CB Radio craze of the 1970s; and Buckner & Garcia ’s "Pac Man Fever," related to the 1980s -era Arcade Game '' Pac Man ''. Some artists - Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon , for example, and Minnie Riperton - had their careers cut short by their untimely death, while others, such as New Radicals and The La's , broke up immediately after their one-hit's chart success. More commonly, however, one-hit wonders are serious-minded musicians who struggled to continue their success after their popularity waned. Because one-hit wonders are popular for only a brief time, their hits often have nostalgic value and are featured on era-centric compilations and Soundtrack s to period films. One-hit wonders are normal 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 , New Wave and Grunge . Though the term is sometimes used in a derogatory manner, some fans often have a great passion for these 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, or embark on new careers as songwriters (such as Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes and Gregg Alexander of New Radicals ), or recording industry executives (such as Gerardo ). QUESTIONS OF DEFINITION Most American music industry insiders consider a song in the top forty positions of the Billboard Hot 100 to be a hit. Thus, any performer who recorded only one song that reached the Top 40 is, technically, a one-hit wonder. However, the term is more generally applied to musicians best known for only one song, meaning that some artists who fit the above criteria are not considered one-hit wonders, while others who do not are considered such. Wayne Jancik's book ''The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders'' (Billboard Books, 1998) defines a one-hit wonder rather conservatively, as "an act that has won a position on Billboard's national, pop, Top 40 just once." He therefore includes such performers as Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix solely on the basis of their Top 40 performance. In his definition of an "act", Jancik distinguishes between a solo performer and any group he or she may have performed in; thus Roger Daltrey is distinguished from The Who . He restricts his reporting time to the period from the start of the "rock-and-roll era" (defined by the author as 1 January 1955) to 31 December 1992. The latter date was picked to allow a five-year "lag time" before publication for a listed one-hit wonder to produce a second hit; this unfortunately does not allow for a longer hiatus between hits for a particular performer. For example, Lenny Kravitz is listed for "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" (No. 2, August 1991);Jancik 1998, p487 the book therefore misses subsequent hits, such as "Fly Away", which reached #12 on the Billboard chart in 1999. In the United Kingdom, the term one-hit wonder is used to describe a singer or band who had only one hit reach the Top 75 on the UK Singles Chart . The term was first used by the "Guinness Book of Hit Singles" from the 1970s, and originally referred strictly to those artists whose first chart action was: "a number one hit, and then nothing else, ever." Here are some other criteria that also affect a performer’s status as a one-hit wonder:
OTHER USES The term "one-hit wonder" is occasionally used to refer to an artist, other than a musical performer, who is best known for a single work. Examples in literature include , who has yet to match the success of the 1995 Film , '' Species ''. Classical composers such as Johann Pachelbel , despite being very popular in his time, known today almost solely for '' Pachelbel's Canon '', are also sometimes described thus. {Link without Title} In the sports world, there are several athletes known for one event in their careers. Examples include Bill Mazeroski , who is the only player in MLB history to end a seventh game of the World Series with a Walk Off Home Run ; Paul Henderson , who scored the deciding goal in the 1972 Summit Series that is widely considered the most famous goal in hockey history; and Jimmy Glass , an English Football Goalkeeper , who is remembered for scoring a goal in the last seconds of the final day of 1998-99 English Third Division . In drug culture, the term 'one-hit wonder' is often applied to strains of potent Marijuana that produce effects after taking only one "hit" (a drag, or single breath of smoke). 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 . It listed musicians with only one American hit - regardless of international success, which has been substantial and long-lived for bands like A-ha and Nena (see below). It also omitted acts such as Jimi Hendrix and Grateful Dead who, while technically charting with only one single, became too well-known for their entire bodies of work to merit inclusion on the list. 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 list. Instead, Mann reaches back as early as the 1950s, and includes some songs that are perhaps unfamiliar to modern audiences. He also included artists who had many hits in the United Kingdom or other markets, but not in the United States. His number one choice was " Walking In Memphis " by Marc Cohn . Channel 4's "50 Greatest One Hit Wonders" A 2006 television poll, conducted by Channel 4 in the UK, asked viewers to select their favourite one hit wonder from a shortlist of 60 {Link without Title} . Respondents could also vote by e-mail to select a song that was not on the original list, if they so wished. The top 50 were: # Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas # 99 Red Balloons - Nena # Because I Got High - Afroman # Sugar, Sugar - The Archies #Can You Dig It? - The Mock Turtles # Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life – Monty Python # Spirit In The Sky – Doctor And The Medics (also Norman Greenbaum) # Who Let The Dogs Out – Baha Men # The Safety Dance – Men Without Hats #Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please – Splodgenessabounds # Groove Is In The Heart – Deee-Lite #Trouble - Shampoo # It's Raining Men – The Weather Girls #All By Myself – Eric Carmen #Jilted John – Jilted John #I’ll Be There For You – The Rembrandts #Doctorin’ the Tardis – The Timelords #Rock Me Amadeus – Falco #Flat Beat – Mr Oizo #Video Killed the Radio Star – Buggles #Je T’aime … Moi Non Plus – Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg #Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…) – Lou Bega #Turning Japanese – The Vapors #Mickey – Toni Basil #Mouldy Old Dough - Lieutenant Pigeon #Pump Up The Volume – M/A/R/R/S #Milkshake - Kelis #Axel F – Harold Faltermeyer
#I’m the Urban Spaceman – The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band #Spaceman – Babylon Zoo #My Sharona – The Knack #Shaddap You Face – Joe Dolce Music Theatre #Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) – Baz Luhrmann #Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs (Lowry’s Song) – Brian & Michael #MacArthur Park – Richard Harris #Monster Mash – Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers #Rapper’s Delight – Sugarhill Gang #Fire – Crazy World Of Arthur Brown #The One and Only – Chesney Hawkes #Louie, Louie – The Kingsmen #Since Yesterday – Strawberry Switchblade #My Boy Lollipop – Millie Small #Money – Flying Lizards #Stutter Rap (No Sleep ‘til Bedtime) Morris Minor and the Majors #Just Say No – Grange Hill Cast #Woo Hoo – The 5,6,7,8’s #Japanese Boy - Aneka #Save Your Love – Renee And Renato # Brimful Of Asha - Cornershop Depending on one's definition of "one hit wonder" (Channel 4 did not lay down any particular criteria), as many as half of these acts ( comedy troupe is generally known for film and TV, and several of their comedy songs are well-known in the UK, but this in fact was their only entry into the UK Top 40. "20 to 1: One Hit Wonders" In 2005, the Australian series ''. Number one was The Knack 's " My Sharona ". C4's ''UChoose40'': One Hit Wonders In September 2006, New Zealand 's terrestrial music channel, C4 , aired an episode dedicated to "One Hit Wonders" on the weekly theme-based chart show, '' UChoose40 '', where the chart was ranked entirely by viewer's votes from the website. There were some surprising candidates who made it to the chart, such as former boy-band Hanson , who were clearly not one-hit wonders, even in NZ. Moreover, Meredith Brooks 's hit single " Bitch " was mentioned on the candidates list but failed to make the Top 40. The top ten ranking are as follows: # " The Final Countdown " - Europe ( 1986 ) # " Teenage Dirtbag " - Wheatus ( 2000 ) # " How Bizarre " - OMC ( 1996 ) # " Because I Got High " - Afroman ( 2001 ) # " Ice Ice Baby " - Vanilla Ice ( 1990 ) # " Eye Of The Tiger " - Survivor ( 1982 ) # " Tubthumping " - Chumbawamba ( 1997 ) # " My Sharona " - The Knack ( 1979 ) # " Video Killed The Radio Star " - Buggles ( 1979 ) # " Who Let The Dogs Out? " - Baha Men ( 2000 ) Deutsche Grammophon and Vox classical one-hit wonders Deutsche Grammophon and Vox Records have both released albums of classical one-hit wonders. Many of the works on the CDs are from composers who have two or more works that are popular in classical music circles but have a single work that has become popular outside these circles. The works will be familiar to most people because they have been used in commercials or in movies and television shows. The two CDs differ but the works common to both are: # Johann Pachelbel - Canon In D http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/arts/television/27heff.html?ex=1314331200&en=b993c2e50a7b705d&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss # Samuel Barber - Adagio For Strings # Tomaso Albinoni - Adagio In G Minor # Jean-Joseph Mouret - Rondeau ( Masterpiece Theatre theme) # Luigi Boccherini - minuet from String Quintet in E # Jeremiah Clarke - " Trumpet Voluntary " # Jules Massenet - Meditation for his opera "Thais" # Pietro Mascagni - " Cavalleria Rusticana " # Léo Delibes - " The Flower Duet " # Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov - " Caucasian Sketches " # Amilcare Ponchielli - " Dance Of The Hours " from the opera " La Gioconda " (" Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh ") # Charles-Marie Widor - Toccata from Symphony for Organ No. 5 # Aram Khachaturian - " Sabre Dance " from the ballet " Gayane " SEE ALSO
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