68 One-Hit Wonders and Why Some Aren’t [VIDEO]

There are endless lists of the top "one-hit wonders" in music. Problem is, very few of them are true one-hit wonders.

What actually constitutes a "one-hit wonder"? Short answer: having one hit, obviously. More specifically, it's usually an artist with one wildly memorable song after which they disappeared off the face of the earth, or had one big blockbuster hit with a string of lesser-known and less popular songs (see The Rembrandts). It's also almost always restricted to the 1980s -- as if music didn't exist before or since. Also, how long do they have to go without another hit before they are relegated to one-hit wonder status? You can't call someone who debuted in 2012 a one-hit wonder a mere three years later, because more might be coming (although "Gangnam Style" might be more than we'll ever need from PSY!)

One example of a mislabeled one hit wonder is "Achy Breaky Heart". Billy Ray Cyrus went on to release 12 albums and 44 singles after this crossover smash (at least according to his Wikipedia page) maintaining a moderately successful career when he turned his focus strictly to country -- "Could've Been Me" hit #2 and "In the Heart of a Woman" charted at #3, respectively, in the country format. Not exactly a one-hit wonder.

Others are sometimes labeled one-hit wonders but are clearly not, which can be discovered with a simple YouTube search or just being moderately attentive to music. Rick Astley and Rick Springfield come to mind (the latter of which you can see October 28 at the Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids--click here for details.) Having a signature song is not the same as being a one-hit wonder.

All that being said, I think I've finally come across the most definitive list of 68 of what would most accurately resemble honest-to-goodness, legitimate one-hit wonders that I've seen. Even this list contains a few that don't really qualify and it acknowledges the fact that they are so hard to come by in that Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" is on the same list twice!

Here are some of MY favorite one-hit wonders:

Question Mark & The Mysterians-"96 Tears"

Timmy T-"One More Try"

Don Johnson-"Heartbeat"

M-"Pop Muzik"

Dexy's Midnight Runners-"Come on Eileen"

...I can just about guarantee someone will be able to call me out on some of these. See? It's harder than you think.

Sometimes, being a one-hit wonder is intentional. This one-time charity collaboration was never going to continue after "We Are The World" was recorded, yet USA For Africa makes many one-hit wonder lists:

This just scratches the surface of the subject of one-hit wonders.  Who is YOUR favorite "one-hit wonder"? Tell us in the comments section below!

[Via Wikipedia, WEBN]