3 One-Hit Wonders From the 90s Who Also Wrote Songs for Others

Music is one of those things that the more you know about it, the more there is to know. It’s like a rabbit hole that just keeps going. For instance, you may have a favorite song by a favorite artist. You may know everything they’ve ever recorded. But then you find out that they’ve written songs for other people. The rabbit hole just keeps extending further! That’s what we wanted to highlight here today.

Videos by American Songwriter

We wanted to explore the careers of three artists who not only wrote songs for themselves but who wrote tunes for other people. Not only that, but we wanted to dive into the careers of three one-hit wonders from the 1990s. You know, those artists who saw one of their tracks rocket into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. These are three one-hit wonders from the 90s who also wrote songs for others.

Beck

While Beck is one of the most famous and accomplished songwriters of the past 30 years, he only boasts one track that made it into the Billboard Hot 100. That is, of course, his breakout single, “Loser”, which he released in 1994. But life as an artist isn’t all about top-40 hits. Indeed, Beck has also worked with a number of other songwriters, including the pop star Pink. While Beck originally wrote the song for himself, Pink said she wanted to cover it, and so he just gave it to her to release first.

Linda Perry

Linda Perry’s band 4 Non Blondes rose to fame in the 1990s thanks to their acoustic-driven song, “What’s Up?”. The track is still a fan favorite today in karaoke bars. But Perry has also written songs with many other artists that have helped their careers along the way, including Christina Aguilera. Perry penned Aguilera’s 2002 track, “Beautiful”, a tune that hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and highlights both inner-beauty and insecurity.

Shawn Colvin

Shawn Colvin, known for her hit single “Sunny Came Home”, which she released in 1997 and hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, also wrote music for others, including Irish singer Maura O’Connell. Colvin wrote the sentimental tune, “I Don’t Know Why”, for O’Connell, which the singer released on her 1991 LP, A Real Life Story. That record marked O’Connell’s first with the Warner Bros. label. Sonically, the song is both sweet and sad. The kind of music you put on when you need to shed a tear or three.

Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images