Need some rock one-hit wonders to add some spice to your 80s playlist? The following three songs have been somewhat forgotten over time. That’s wild, considering one of these songs’ artists was part of one of the biggest bands of the 20th century. Let’s refresh your memory, shall we?
“Without Your Love” by Roger Daltrey
I know what you’re thinking. Roger Daltrey? A one-hit wonder? That’s impossible! However, in terms of Daltrey’s solo career, that’s actually true. Roger Daltrey is about as far from a one-hit wonder as it gets as a member of the legendary rock band The Who, but as a solo artist, he only enjoyed one major hit in the 1980s. That song is “Without Your Love”, released in 1980. That song, which peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, was Daltrey’s only solo single to make it to the Top 40 on the Hot 100 in the US. And it’s a fine jam, too.
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“Steal Away” by Robbie Dupree
Remember Robbie Dupree? This singer scored quite a big hit in April 1980 with the soft rock, yacht rock tune “Steal Away”. The song peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100 and did similarly well on other charts, as well as in Canada.
I would consider Robbie Dupree to technically be a two-hit wonder. “Steal Away” is just so good, I had to find an excuse to include Dupree on this list. Technically, the 1980 song “Hot Rod Hearts” made it to No. 15 on the Hot 100. Though, considering “Steal Away” was his only Top 10 hit in the States and is far more memorable, I think it’s fair to include him here. “Brooklyn Girls” from 1981 peaked at No. 51, and Dupree never made it to the Hot 100 chart again.
“Heartbreak Beat” by The Psychedelic Furs
How about a little bit of pop-rock goodness? “Heartbreak Beat” by The Psychedelic Furs dropped in 1986 and is one of my favorite rock one-hit wonders of the 80s. And yet, I never heard it on the radio anymore. Similar new wave outfits have slipped through the cracks, but this one definitely doesn’t deserve it. “Heartbreak Beat” was a No. 26 hit on the Hot 100 chart, and the band surprisingly never made it to the Hot 100 again. However, they continued to chart decently on the Alternative Airplay chart and in their native UK until the early 1990s.
Photo by Matthew Reeves
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