Country music tested the boundaries during the 90s, as artists started to take a liking to blending genres and getting experimental with their sound. Here are some 90s one-hit wonders you may have forgotten, from The Tractors to Billy Ray Cyrus.
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The Tractors
You might not necessarily be a diehard fan of The Tractors, but if you were around for country music in 1994, it’s very possible you got a kick out of their song, “Baby Likes To Rock It”. The Tractors released this song in August of 1994 as the first single for their album, The Tractors. The song took them pretty far. The group earned a Grammy nomination, a CMA award, and a No. 11 spot on the Billboard charts alone. They haven’t had anything do quite as well since then, but not bad for a first single.
Kevin Sharp
In 1996, much like The Tractors, Sharp found instant success with the release of his first single, “Nobody Knows”, a Tony Rich cover. Sharp topped the Billboard chart for about four weeks, and later released his album, Measure Of A Man, that year. The album also gave Sharp two more Top 10 songs with “She’s Sure Taking It Well” and “If You Love Somebody”. However, “Nobody Knows” was his major hit. Sharp, who was a bone cancer survivor, would spend much of his life working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Then, in 2014, he passed away at the age of 43.
Billy Ray Cyrus
Cyrus also got his big break with the release of “Achy Breaky Heart”, which made him a star in 1992. Before it was pitched to Cyrus, the No. 1 hit was actually offered to the Oak Ridge Boys, who apparently passed on it because their lead singer didn’t like the words “achy breaky.” Honestly, fair.
“At the last minute, I received this cassette tape,” he shared with Yahoo. While he was finishing up his debut album, Some Gave All, Cyrus got the song “Don’t Tell My Heart”. The name would later be changed to “Achy Breaky Heart”. “I just fell in love with it,” he said of hearing the demo for the first time.
Since “Achy Breaky Heart”, Cyrus has had a couple of other Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Charts, but that song would remain his biggest commercial success.
Photo by: Vern Evans /Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
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