3 One-Hit Wonders From the 90s You Can Recite by Just Hearing the Title

Some songs are difficult to recall. You hear the title or someone tries to sing the chorus to you, and you just sit there scratching your head, trying to place the work in your memory banks. Indeed, some songs just aren’t that memorable. And then there’s the opposite. Those tunes that spring to mind instantly once you hear a word or a phrase from the track. We wanted to examine three of the latter examples here. Not only that, but we wanted to do so by highlighting three one-hit wonders—those songs that rocketed up the charts from composers who never quite found the same success again. These are three one-hit wonders from the 90s that you can recite by just hearing the title.

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“The Rhythm Of The Night” by Corona from ‘The Rhythm Of The Night’ (1993)

Just by saying the title of this iconic dance song from the artist Corona, you can hear the big-voiced chorus. One can hear her explosive voice rise up and blast out into the night. You can hear the vibe of the music, that 90s almost new wave feel, that beat that kicks in and gets your heart pumping. You can even remember yourself, if you’re a certain age, in your middle school or high school dances, holding your crush at arm’s length as you sway awkwardly to the music from the hired DJ in the corner. “This is the rhythm of the night!“

“Sex And Candy” by Marcy Playground from ‘Marcy Playground’ (1997)

This dour song was in many ways the soundtrack of the late 90s. If you were listening to alternative rock radio at the time, you were aware of just how often this track would hit the airwaves. How the ambivalent-sounding vocals from Marcy Playground lead singer John Wozniak filled up your speakers. Just hearing the title, you can imagine him singing about the smell of sex and candy and his guttural “Yeah!” in between the chorus. Somehow, this song crept into our bones in the 1990s, and it has stayed there some 30 years later. That’s the power of music, after all. Sometimes it never leaves you.

“Breakfast At Tiffany’s” by Deep Blue Something from ’11th Song’ (1993)

This song, perhaps above all others, is emblematic of this list. You say the title of the track just once, and anyone who has heard the tune will just start singing it. It’s a result of the pure joy the track offers as well as the ubiquity of the tune in the 90s. There was a period when friendly rock songs like this were all the rage. The mid-90s were a wonderful time to be alive, after all. And this track, which is about a near-breakup, is at the top of the list. Just whisper the title to a friend and wait for them to belt it out like they were in the band Deep Blue Something, themselves!

Photo by Patrick Ford/Redferns