3 Timeless Female-Fronted One-Hit Wonders From the 80s

Something was happening in the 1980s. Something good. While there was a push in many directions to have life feel orderly and centered on things like the suburban family, there were many artists in the world busting through the cracks in the plan. Think: Joan Jett smashing the windows of your living room with a raucous guitar riff.

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Below, we wanted to highlight three women who went against the grain in their work. Three who flouted any idea of what others thought they should be and instead put their original selves out there in their songs. Indeed, these are three timeless female-fronted one-hit wonders from the 1980s that we absolutely love today.

“99 Luftballons/99 Red Balloons” by Nena from ‘9 Luftballons’ (1983)

A what-if song about peace and love defeating hate and war—gee, it seems like this idea would help a lot of people out there today! But that’s just why the German-born band Nena’s song was such a success in the middle of the 80s. People wanted to imagine others on the other side of a divide. They wanted to reach them, connect with them, even if it was with a song in a foreign language or via red balloons floating over the Berlin Wall.

“C’Mon And Get My Love” by D Mob from ‘A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That’ (1989)

This deep house hit from D Mob famously featured the vocal prowess of British singer/songwriter Cathy Dennis. While D Mob found success well into the 1990s in the United Kingdom and also had more than a few No. 1 hits on the US Dance charts, “C’Mon And Get My Love” was the only D Mob song to make it to the Top 40 on the Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at No. 10. However, it’s worth noting that Cathy Dennis enjoyed quite a few Hot 100 hits on her own as a soloist without D Mob, from “Too Many Walls” to “Touch Me All Night Long”. So, while Dennis is far from a one-hit wonder as a solo singer, this particular female-fronted partnership fits the bill.

“Genius Of Love” by Tom Tom Club from ‘Tom Tom Club’ (1981)

As the 70s turned into the 80s, there were some songs that bridged both decades. Enter: “Genius of Love” by Tom Tom Club, the one-hit wonder band that was born from the Talking Heads. Indeed, the husband and wife duo Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz played bass and drums in the Talking Heads, respectively. And when they created their own side project, they became their own cottage industry. Their hit single was part-disco, part-rock, and all fun.

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