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Who is an artist that is generally considered to be a “one hit wonder” that you believe to be much more talented/deep than most people presume?

Just something that crossed my mind and I thought would make for good discussion Just to clarify, one hit wonder in these terms could mean just one song or an entire album that seems to be touted far above the rest of the artist’s discography.

My pick would be Bobby McFerrin, who is known by most as the 'Don't Worry Be Happy' guy. In not-so-mainstream circuits, he is touted as being a phenomenal vocalist and I've always thought it was a shame he didn't get the wide recognition he deserved. Being know as the 'Don't Worry Be Happy Guy' must suck when the vast majority of your output is miles ahead of that. I bet his bank account thanks him for writing that one song though, at least.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbfB62AAE5Y


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Surfaris - Wipe Out

for what it's worth - buffalo springfield

and my favorite:

Roger Whittaker -

The Last Farewell

...Deb

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Originally Posted By: DSM
for what it's worth - buffalo springfield


Huh? They are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How much more recognition is there?

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I'd throw Spirit In The Sky out for consideration. Prolly just the times though.

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I am not following the question. How much recognition do you get if you only have one good song in you?

In the case of the OP, Bobby McFerrin was mentioned in the original post. How much more recognition could he have gotten? At the 1989 Grammy Awards, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" won the awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. There is not more recognition than 3 Grammys, is there? Plus, Bobby is 70 now, and that song has been huge since it came out over 30 years ago. I'd say he got plenty of recognition. That song is used over and over and over in soundtracks, for commercials....

This bears me asking the question of Deryk. Aren't you like 20 years old? So his recognition would have been like 10 years before you were born? I get what you are asking but McFerrin got a lot of notoriety for this song.

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Isn't this thread about ARTISTS? Everybody is naming a song.

In most cases, the songs you are naming got TONS of recognition. The artists then has to follow it up with more hits to keep hearing their name. For a great example, 2 years ago someone asked if I want to go see hometown hero Mark Cohn when he played here. My reply was "What is going to do? Play Walking in Memphis for 2 hours? Nobody knows anything else he ever did." (I passed.) That one song was huge, but he never followed it up with anything as impactful, so he got exactly the recognition he deserved.

PS. He played 17 songs. 9 of his and EIGHT COVERS!!! Held out Memphis for the 2 song encore and closed with it (of course).

Been a lot of great bands that had NO hits too!! Some led players to other bands that were bigger scale, some were players who just faded away.

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Bobby McFerrin has more than done it all. What interested me about the question is that the song you cite represents a change away from what many of us knew him for. He had that monster hit, then changed direction entirely to direct a symphony orchestra.


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Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
Bthen changed direction entirely to direct a symphony orchestra.


Wasn't Robert McFarrin senior a symphony director?

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But the question is what other song did these folks do that made it as well known as say "wipeout?"

Getting into the Rock Hall I think is different than having a string of well known hits throughout your career.

...Deb

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Here are a few - 'scuse me if they had more than one wink

Some may be more successful overseas, but my pop reference is USA. Some had a few songs we know, or a few albums, but really only one hit.

After I hit "Submit" I'll think of a lot more. Gigging for a living, I've played a few of these...

Group: Ides Of March
Hit: Vehicle

Group: Flamingos
Hit: I Only Have Eyes For You

Group: Knack
Hit: My Sharona

Artist: Alan O'Day
Hit: Undercover Angel

Group: Wild Cherry
Hit: Play That Funky Music

Group: Baltimora
Hit: Tarzan Boy

Group: Dexy's Midnight Runners
Hit: Come On Eileen

Artist: Frankie Ford
Hit: Sea Cruise

Artist: Curtis Lee
Hit: Pretty Little Angel Eyes

Artist: Nick Lowe
Hit: Cruel To Be Kind

Group: Knickerbockers
Hit: Lies

Artist: Thunderclap Newman
Hit: Something In The Air

Group: Tee Set
Hit: My Belle Amie

Group: Golden Earring
Hit: Radar Love

Group: Looking Glass
Hit: Brandy

Artist: Robbie Dupree
Hit: Steal Away

Group: Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Hit: Relax

Group: Swing Out Sister
Hit: Breakout

Group: Don & Juan
Hit: What's Your Name

Artist: Billy Vera
Hit: At This Moment

Artist: Allanah Miles
Hit: Black Velvet

Group: Spiral Staircase
Hit: More Today Than Yesterday

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Although individual artists in this group made it big I think The Notorious Cherry Bombs should be included in this list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjkLf_X88WM&feature=emb_title


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While reading stuff like this AMAZING thread, do you guys ever go out to Wiki and follow the trails? Notes mentioned The Ideas Of March. I never knew Jim Peterik was in that band and that was the path that took him to Survivor. And then you keep following names that you recognize from THAT page and that takes you to someone else and THIER journey, like Frankie Sullivan who took over the guitar spot in Survivor when Peterik moved to keyboards. And you see where the new pieces came from and where they went after. It's a fascinating web of musicians.

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I'm not sure I'd call Nick Lowe a one-hit wonder:

  • So It Goes
  • I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass
  • Cruel to Be Kind
  • (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
  • I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ’n’ Roll)

OK, so one of them was a hit for Elvis Costello. I'm going to claim it still counts. wink

I saw him open for Elvis Costello way back when. I can't remember much of the show, other than thinking how short it was when he had so many songs I wanted to hear!

I saw him do a couple shows in town around 2014 - one solo, the other with Los Straightjackets. It wasn't an "oldies" tour, either - more a country/Americana sound, a bunch of new stuff from recent albums. He brought an lot of energy to those shows! laugh


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Re: Nick Lowe

Rockpile was REALLY popular. Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner..... solid group. Saw them open for Blondie in 1979.

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I'm going to go slightly off the topic and list a one-hit wonder song that I haven't been able to stop humming to myself for decades. It's got a strong McCartney sound to it but it is right up there with any Beatles song I can name. The song is Alone Again, Naturally. I'll leave it up to you guys to tell me if this guy was an underrated musician or not. In fact, I could have listed this one in the 'sad songs' section too : )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_P-v1BVQn8

Last edited by Joe V; 09/20/20 01:43 AM.
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Gilbert O'Sullivan had several hits but early in his career he dressed as a northern waif - flat cap and tweed jacket - a bit like angus young wearing a school uniform. a gimmick he had discarded by the time this video was made.

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Yes, Gilbert O'Sullivan (real name I think is Ray O'Sullivan?) had multiple hits including "Alone Again, Naturally". Others were "Clair" and another zany one called "Ooh—wakka—doo—wakka—day", and "Get Down".

His music is memorable. No question.


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Originally Posted By: eddie1261
While reading stuff like this AMAZING thread, do you guys ever go out to Wiki and follow the trails? Notes mentioned The Ideas Of March. I never knew Jim Peterik was in that band and that was the path that took him to Survivor. And then you keep following names that you recognize from THAT page and that takes you to someone else and THIER journey, like Frankie Sullivan who took over the guitar spot in Survivor when Peterik moved to keyboards. And you see where the new pieces came from and where they went after. It's a fascinating web of musicians.


I always heard the name 'Survivor' had to do with Peterik's involvement with Chase .. he had just recently started to be involved with the band when the plane crash happened.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chase_(band)
Ides of March was very cool at the time.

But yeah, WIKI can be fun to learn about musicians and who they played with.
Example: Adrian Belew, not very well known but has played with a lot of legends. King Crimson, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, etc.
He's on my 'want to meet someday' list. I bet there are a few stories to hear there.


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