One-hit wonders become major hits for a reason. And sometimes, those solitary hits shine their own sort of light onto underrated genres and creative ideas that haven’t quite yet made it to the mainstream. Let’s look at just a few one-hit wonders from back in the day that introduced new sounds to the mainstream music world!
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1. “Wipe Out” by The Surfaris
When one thinks of surf rock, one thinks of The Surfaris’ major hit “Wipe Out”. Surf rock definitely existed before this song hit the airwaves in 1963. In fact, surf rock has existed more or less since the late 1950s. That being said, no song defined what would come of the genre quite like this amazing one-hit wonder.
2. “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds
This stellar example of one-hit wonders that changed mainstream music proved that soundtrack songs (and new wave songs, too) could become even more legendary than the films they were composed for. The Breakfast Club is still a classic today, but “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds took on a life of its own and inspired countless film soundtracks to this day.
Some would consider Simple Minds to be two-hit wonders, as “Alive And Kicking” made it to no. 3 in the US. However, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was their only no. 1 hit in the US.
3. “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye
“Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye is a classic art-pop-meets-alt-rock tune from 2011 that blew up in a major way. When listening to it today, one might not think it was the most groundbreaking song ever. However, this complex little tune influenced a lot of the indie music that followed it in the 2010s. At the time, dance pop was all the rage. Gotye proved that something a little more well-orchestrated and emotional could appeal to the masses at the time.
“Somebody That I Used To Know” was a no. 1 hit across the board in a ton of countries. Sadly, it’s still Gotye’s only high-charting hit today.
4. “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” by T.Rex
These one-hit wonders only found mainstream success with “Bang A Gong (Get It On)”, and it was well-deserved. This 1971 glam-rock tune went on to be a definitive track of that genre. And T.Rex also proved that glam wasn’t just a flash-in-the-pan iteration of rock music. This song is still a timeless classic today.
T.Rex enjoyed quite a few chart-topping hits in the UK, but this particular tune was their only Top 60 hit in the United States.
Photo by RB/Redferns
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