The one - dispatch wonder . The very term conjures up image of red-faced balloons , blinding skill and burning beds – images of Eileen and Mickey spinning right rhythm like a disc as they do the rubber dance in Key Largo . You get the picture . Nobody is sure exactly which artist was first declared a one - hit wonder . The Web land site phrases.org claims a writer from the Winnipeg Free Press first used the term in print in 1977 , as a counter to the band Abba ’s succeeder . But the Web site notes that it appeared to be a known set phrase .

For artists who transmit the load of this sobriquet , it ’s a rag that sticks . You hear dance orchestra public figure like Men Without Hats and Timbuk 3 , and those three words creep into yourbrain . deplorably , people like Thomas Dolby , Nina Hagen and Gary Numan are part of this select club . It ’s probably especially elusive for someone like Numan , who had a successful transcription life history in England , but never placed more than one song , 1980 ’s " elevator car , " on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart . In fact , Numan continues to record and tour , which is more than can be enunciate of many of his one - hit counterparts .

Although the term is typically associated with the recording manufacture , the one - strike stigma is n’t reserved for just Singer . story is rich with celebrated flame - out , from painters and authors to discoverer and athletes . In fact , many baseball game players ' major conference calling consist of just one single hit , make them real one - hit wonder . New York Mets player Chris Jelic had only one hit , but it was a home run . Not to be outstrip , a St. Louis Cardinal catcher discover Keith McDonald had only three career striking , also all house footrace .

Inbaseball , just one hitting mean you failed in your life history . In the music business , you ’re lucky to get a recording declaration , much less chart even one bona fide collision . So being a one - hit wonder ca n’t be as bad as it seems , right ? We ’ll let you decide after you take a look at the following famous one - hit wonder .

Musical One-hit Wonders

Although the terminal figure " one - hit wonder " has been used in many circles , from drug culture to boxing , when most people hear it , they think of bands or singers with only one hit . What does it take to be categorise as a one - hit wonder in the music game ?

Technically , a " collision " is a Song dynasty that gain the Billboard Hot 100 Chart . For one - impinge on wonder status , this is unremarkably narrowed down to the top 40 . However , some legendary artist with immense followings have technically only had one Billboard slay . It ’s doubtful that many the great unwashed think of Jimi Hendrix , Janis Joplin or Rush as one - attain wonderment , even though they each chart only once . Other popular player with only one hit include Beck , Garth Brooks , The Grateful Dead , The White Stripes and Devo . And then there are the artist who never had a top 40 hit , but their song was somehow hard file in the zeitgeist of whatever decade it was release . Neither Wall of Voodoo ’s " Mexican Radio " nor Modern English ’s " I Melt with You " charted in high spirits than 58 , but they ’re both generally noted as classic 1980s one - score wonder .

The example above show that being a one - hit wonder is more about striking a chord with a multiplication of music buff with a lone Sung than it is about the chart position of that song . The eighties were rife with one - hit wonders , but each decade can lie down claim to its own great deal of classics . The fifties started with one - hit wonders like " Earth Angel " by The Penguins and " Sh - Boom " by The Chords , and wrap up with " Rockin Robin " from Bobby Day . The bloom of classic rock , the late 1960s , had its part of one - hit admiration as well with Song dynasty like " Summertime Blues " from Blue Cheer and " Green Tambourine " by the Lemon Pipers . Nineteen - 70 disco music was riddled with one - bump off wonders , but before disco even hit , the following Song dynasty pass the charts :

These are just a fistful of the hundreds of one - hit - wonder examples from the medicine humankind . Entire Web sites and Internet radio station are dedicated to keeping this music awake , ensuring that each one - polish off wonder will stay a hit .

Literary and Film One-hit Wonders

Perhaps because originative industries keep track of popularity as a benchmark of winner , the creative world is full of one - hit wonder . ( You wo n’t find many one - make wonder listing for what the intermediate blue- or white - collar worker does for a living . ) Although the medicine human race has a nook on the market place , there are heap of instance from literary circles , as well . The most often mention literary one - hit wonder is Harper Lee ’s classical book " To Kill a Mockingbird . " Lee never published another ledger . Neither did Ralph Ellison , during his lifespan at least , after his National Book Award winning " Invisible Man " in 1953 . Other illustrious literary one reach wonder include :

Both Plath and Toole charge suicide , which is why they did n’t write travel along - up hits . Plath wipe out herself months after the release of " The Bell Jar , " and Toole remove his life story years before his hitting publish . It should be observe that Plath was already on the single-valued function as a successful poet , so her one - strike wonder status only applies to her novel writing succeeder .

As with writing novel , making a strike movie is difficult to do , and there are quite a few film directors who ’ve only had one strike . There ’s certainly no guarantee of future successes after attaining one . Just ask conductor Michael Cimino , who pip it bad with his Vietnam Era heroic poem " The Deer Hunter " in 1978 . Though this motion-picture show scored five Academy Awards , including one for Best Picture , his follow up " Heaven ’s Gate " was a infamous catastrophe ; none of his five films that followed amount to much . And sadly , the life history of writer / director Steve Gordon ended not long after he made his lone hit drollery " Arthur " in 1981 .

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