One-hit wonders, egregiously so.

[LoathedVermin72]

I think most one hit wonders are actually two hit wonders. There is usually that second single that has some success off the fumes of the real hit.

Except for Len

[i got bugs]

No way Violent Femmes are one hit wonders.

Yeah, they are more like no-hit wonders.

Blister in Sun wasn't even really played on "college radio" until a couple of years after their debut was released. I read somewhere that album didn't chart on the Billboard Top 200 until the '90s.

Add it up
American music

Does it really matter the time frame when a song becomes a hit?? It's still a hit

[Kevin Davis]

I think most one hit wonders are actually two hit wonders. There is usually that second single that has some success off the fumes of the real hit.

Except for Len

What is love?
Baby don't hurt me

[run2death]

No way Violent Femmes are one hit wonders.

Yeah, they are more like no-hit wonders.

Blister in Sun wasn't even really played on "college radio" until a couple of years after their debut was released. I read somewhere that album didn't chart on the Billboard Top 200 until the '90s.

Add it up
American music

Does it really matter the time frame when a song becomes a hit?? It's still a hit

None of the songs from their debut were "hits." They became alternative radio "classics" later.

You may be right about American Music, however. Billboard says it's one of 3 songs that charted on the alternative charts.

[i got bugs]

A hit is still a hit tho regardless of the point in time it becomes a hit

[run2death]

Violent Femmes was the ultimate copy of a copy of a copy tape. It was the alt-rock version of Roxanne's Revenge.

[Norah]

I love that self titled album.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I've seen the Violent Femmes on TV at least a dozen times, and no matter the year, no matter the show, they always play BLISTER IN THE SUN. It's a running fucking joke at this point.

[Norah]

How I Met Your Mother used Good Feeling at Marshall and Lilly's wedding.

[run2death]

Did Sonic Youth have anything that would be considered a hit other than Kool Thing?

[bodysnatcher]

Did Sonic Youth have anything that would be considered a hit other than Kool Thing?

"100%" was their highest charting song at #4. "Bull In The Heather" and "Teen Age Riot" also both cracked the top 20

those are all for US charts

[doone]

Did Sonic Youth have anything that would be considered a hit other than Kool Thing?

"100%" was their highest charting song at #4. "Bull In The Heather" and "Teen Age Riot" also both cracked the top 20

those are all for US charts

I've never heard any of those

[bodysnatcher]

Did Sonic Youth have anything that would be considered a hit other than Kool Thing?

"100%" was their highest charting song at #4. "Bull In The Heather" and "Teen Age Riot" also both cracked the top 20

those are all for US charts

I've never heard any of those

for you live PJ nerds, "Bull In The Heather" was tagged onto "Daughter" several times on the '96 and '00 tours

[run2death]

It's kinda hard to judge what's considered a "hit" in alt-rock pre-late '80s.

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, The Joshua Tree, Green and Music for the Masses (so 87 to 89?) are kinda the landmark albums for me in terms of when alt-rock started becoming "popular." Then grunge hit and a lot of early to mid '80s stuff started getting airplay as "classics."

[Kevin Davis]

To label bands like Sonic Youth, Violent Femmes, etc. one-hit wonders is to kind of misunderstand the phenomenon, I think. A culturally influential band that just happened to have a song break through is a lot different than a band that literally made no impact on the music world apart from having a single song that was popular for a little while.

[bodysnatcher]

yeah i agree with that. hard to lump Sonic Youth into the same category as Right Said Fred.

[run2death]

Yeah, I wasn't trying to put the Violent Femmes or Sonic Youth into a "one-hit" or "no-hit" category.

Just pointing out that a lot of great bands in the '80s didn't really have songs that reached the audience that would have constituted a hit.

Frank Black was still struggling to afford a nice house in L.A. in the mid '80s and 5 or 6 years later Fred Durst was buying mansions.

[i got bugs]

Name your "one-hit wonders" who actually had good careers or good records overall despite the reputation they've been given.

Mine has to be Blind Melon...both their proper records are pretty fantastic.

Going back to the initial post..

Wasn't change a pretty big hit??

[Jammer XCI]

Technical one hit wonders:

Jimi Hendrix
Weezer
Grateful Dead
Korn
Lou Reed
Rush
Blink 182
Gorillaz
Beck
Faith No More
Bob Marley

I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but these count.

[bodysnatcher]

lol what