3 One-Hit Wonders From 1975 That Will Never Lose Their Spark

The year 1975 was an excellent one for music, and it was also a busy year for more than a few one-hit wonders in disco, early new wave, and rock music. Let’s take a look at a handful of one-hit wonders who scored big hits in 1975. All of these songs have aged beautifully through the years!

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“The Hustle” by Van McCoy

Is there a more memorable disco tune out there? To me, there certainly isn’t. “The Hustle” by Van McCoy is one of the finest disco tunes from the mid-1970s, and it still gets tons of love today.

It always makes me sad that arranger, songwriter, and singer Van McCoy never got as much mainstream attention as he deserved in the 1970s. After “The Hustle” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, McCoy continued to make it to the chart through 1975, but he never made it to the Top 40 again.

“I’m On Fire” by 5000 Volts

How about some more disco? “I’m On Fire” by 5000 Volts dropped in 1975 and became quite a hefty hit for the band. It peaked at No. 5 in Australia and No. 4 in the UK, and also made it all the way to No. 26 on the Hot 100 in the US.

Sadly, the British outfit never quite capitalized on the success of “I’m On Fire”. After that song hit the Top 10 across the board globally, they never made it to the Hot 100 again. Though, they enjoyed a second hit in their native UK with the No. 8 hit, “Doctor Kiss Kiss”, in 1976.

“Autobahn” by Kraftwerk

I just couldn’t leave Kraftwerk off this list of one-hit wonders with hit songs that came out in 1975. I really don’t think they deserve “one-hit wonder” status, though. This is one of the most genre-influencing synth-pop acts of all time. Technically, though, they only scored one big hit in the US, and that very hit was the 1975 jam, “Autobahn”.

“Autobahn” peaked at No. 25 on the Hot 100 and did even better globally. Sadly, the band only enjoyed one more Hot 100-charting tune, which was the 1977 No. 67 track, “Trans-Europe Express”. Kraftwerk never made it to the Hot 100 again, though they continued to chart in Europe and the UK through the early 2000s.

Photo by Fröhling/Kraftwerk/Getty Images