The art of the singer-songwriter was far from dead in the 1990s. In fact, plenty of singer-songwriters found success during the decade of pop, electronica, and indie rock. But many of those singer-songwriters earned the label of “one-hit wonders” in the 1990s, and some of them really didn’t deserve it. They should have been way more successful, in my humble opinion. Let’s take a look!
Marc Cohn
Even if you weren’t a folk or singer-songwriter fan in the 90s, you definitely heard “Walking In Memphis” around 1991. You probably heard it everywhere, in fact. The song was a massive hit for Marc Cohn, peaking at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 20 on several other charts. The song also scored Cohn a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. And yet, Cohn’s subsequent singles, such as the genuinely good “Silver Thunderbird” and “True Champion”, didn’t even crack the Top 40 on the Hot 100. It’s a shame, because his debut self-titled album is loaded with other noteworthy jams.
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Meredith Brooks
Meredith Brooks’ main claim to fame is the 1997 song “B*tch”. I can see why. This song is insanely catchy, and remains one of the most noteworthy singer-songwriter tunes to come out of Oregon’s unique music scene in the 90s. It’s no surprise that “B*tch” peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and earned Brooks two Grammy Award nominations. Her follow-up singles from Blurring The Edges, including “I Need” and “What Would Happen”, somehow didn’t crack the Top 40. I’m still surprised by that. Both of those singles, as well as several other singles from later in Brooks’ career, are excellent pieces of work.
Tal Bachman
Canadian singer-songwriter Tal Bachman closed out the 90s quite gloriously with his solitary hit, “She’s So High”, in 1999. This entry on our list of singer-songwriter one-hit wonders from the 1990s really stole the show with “She’s So High”, and the song peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100, No. 3 in Canada, and No. 1 on the Adult Pop Airplay chart in the States. Oddly enough, Bachman wouldn’t make it to the Hot 100 again. The singles “Strong Enough” and “If You Sleep”, also released in 1999, did well in Canada. But his time in the Hot 100 spotlight was brief, and I still don’t think that was fair. Backman really had the talent of his father, Randy Bachman of Bachman–Turner Overdrive.
(Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images)
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