They shined a light in our life for exactly 4 minutes… And then they were GONE forever. The 19 Top One Hit Wonders In Rock History are our subject matter today, and one hit wonders were always a fun thing to listen to!
I picked a list that stretches on over 30 years, and tried to keep it down to rock music. Most of the one hit wonders are very poppy, but there’s definitely also a huge share of ’em in rock history, and especially in the 90’s which seemed to be a very popular time to come out with a huge worldwide hit and fade away a few months later…
Enjoy the list! I also added Wikipedia links when you click the song’s names to get some fun facts if you’re interested, and for the musicians among us, I have also added a link for the chord sheets of every song – some of them are a huge fun to play and can cause a lot of smiles to pop up on your friend faces when you pull it out on your guitar…
*Originally posted in November ’15.
The 19 Top ONE Hit Wonders In Rock History
19 – Stealer’s Wheel – Stuck In The Middle With You (1972)
Probably one of the most popular songs I hear in bars, and it’s been more than 40 years. The band formed in Scotland, recorded this one hit in London, and broke up shortly after. “Pleeeeeeease, pleeeeease…”
Chord Sheets ♦ Very fun and easy to play on the guitar, and even more so on the bass…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DohRa9lsx0Q
18 – The New Radicals – You Get What You Give (1998)
For some reason, I always used to think that this song was by U2… Nevertheless, still a fun song with some kicking lyrics to get you motivated!
17 – Edie Brickell & New Bohemians – What I Am (1988)
Such a joyful song, give it a listen if you do not know it, a smooth 90’s girls vibe.
Chord Sheets ♦ It’s a smooth 3 chords progression that has a challenging groove that you need to slide around. It definitely sounds best on an electric.
16 – Norman Greenbaum – Spirit In The Sky (1969)
I bet you’ve heard that intro before… I also bet you’ve never heard Norman Greenbaum anywhere else…
15 – Crash Test Dummies – Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm (1993)
This catchy but somewhat weird tune won a Grammy for the Canadian group Crash Test Dummies even though it starred on a lot of “worst songs” lists, and even reached the 15th spot on The Rolling Stone’s list of “the most annoying songs ever”. I really don’t think it’s that bad…
14 – Lit – My Own Worst Enemy (1999)
A grungy 90’s one hit wonder about stupid stuff the dude’s done when he was drunk… NOW we really start feeling the 90’s one hit wonder vibes, woo hooo!
13 – Harvey Danger – Flagpole Sitta (1998)
Actually very similar to #14, both of them are good and had a similar impact. Flagpole Sitta also has some amusing lyrics to go along with it.
12 – Nena – 99 Luftballons (1983)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La4Dcd1aUcE
11 – Better Than Ezra – Good (1995)
10 – Ten Years After – I’d Love To Change The World (1971)
9 – Wheatus – Teenage Dirtbag (2000)
A classic among teenagers, and even though the lyrics are not very self-lifting, (to say the least…) this song hits the spot.
8 – Edwin Collins – A Girl Like You (1994)
7 – Semisonic – Closing Time (1999)
More than 15 years later and it’s still a closing time regular in so many bars and restaurants. Essentially a very polite way of saying GTFO to your customers…
Chord Sheets ♦ Not much to it other than following the regular 4 chord pattern for a hit. Nonetheless, still nice to play around with and almost made it to the Top 13 Campfire Guitar Songs.
6 – Meredith Brooks – Bitch (1997)
A challenging song to swallow for the mostly PC world of popular music, but this one won a Grammy award for best song of the year. I think it’s fantastic, and musically also shows a great deal of keeping the listener interested, with very fun bridges, solo and even a more explicit C-part…
Chord Sheets ♦ Very fun to play, but for some reason girls usually seem reluctant to sing it to my guitar… (-:
5 – Marcy Playground – Sex And Candy (1997)
The story says he got the idea for this song when a friend of his girlfriend walked into his dorm room after they had sex, and said that “it smells like sex and candy in here”. They indeed had some candy after having sex. And that’s how a great song was born…
Chord Sheets ♦ Try to actually nail that funky riff at the beginning of the chorus! The tabs are inside.
4 – Gilbert O’Sullivan – alone Again, Naturally (1971)
3 – The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony (1997)
Still one of the top classics of the 90’s by any meaning, by The Verve – A British alternative rock band that had Richard Ashcroft as a lead. Later he came out with a few hits by himself that had a similar sound and a lot of strings.
2 – Reel Big Fish – Sell Out (1993)
Ska-rock never got any better than this, you just want to keep dancing and screaming along to these awesome lyrics. Too bad they didn’t carry on with this success – a friend told me they had just played in his frat house party not long ago… Not something you’d expect from a band that showed they can create such a huge international hit. By the way, they also have a very fun cover for “Take On Me” by the Norwegian group A-Ha.
1 – Blues Traveler – Hook (1994)
