Completing VH1's One Hit Wonders of the 80s

[CloudWolf]

Pretty sure they're talking about hits in America.

I was talking about hits in America, too. A-Ha has a certain song called The Sun Always Shines on T.V. that was a top 20 hit in the United States and Devo had Working in a Coal Mine as a second hit.

If I were to count other countries as well, I would've also mentioned Gary Numan and Madness, who both have more than 20 charting singles in the UK.

[SirDavidTLynch]

How many people know those songs today? Most people don't go by strictly technical definitions that count the Grateful Dead and The Jimi Hendrix Experience as one-hit wonders.

[Vegeduck]

I would kill to get some more a-ha in Rock Band.

[Mileycyrussoulja]

I was talking about hits in America, too. A-Ha has a certain song called The Sun Always Shines on T.V. that was a top 20 hit in the United States and Devo had Working in a Coal Mine as a second hit.

If I were to count other countries as well, I would've also mentioned Gary Numan and Madness, who both have more than 20 charting singles in the UK.

Yeah, I know those songs too. (great songs by the way, awesome RB material) I just assumed they were hits in other countries.

[FujiSkunk]

Precisely. And keep in mind hit =/= good song, or even song you heard on the radio a bunch. Hit = Highly Charting Song (Documented Statistic). Saying a group is a One-Hit Wonder is not an insult or an opinion, it is a matter of fact. Did this band only have one song reach decent chart standing?

The definition of a "one hit wonder" is in the eye of the beholder, but the usual consensus actually isn't all that tied to chart success. If it were, a-ha wouldn't be considered a one-hit wonder, not even in the U.S., since "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." reached #20 on the Billboard singles chart. On the other hand, Rush and Emerson, Lake and Palmer would be considered one-hit-wonders, as both groups have reached the Billboard Top 40 only once.

It's more a combination of things, from chart success of singles to the songs that got the most airplay to the songs casual listeners remember years after the fact. a-ha had two chart successes, but most people, or at least most Americans, remember only "Take on Me."

[Lowlander2]

How many people know those songs today? Most people don't go by strictly technical definitions that count the Grateful Dead and The Jimi Hendrix Experience as one-hit wonders.

>States numbers mean everything
>States numbers don't mean everything a month later
>mfw

[SirDavidTLynch]

There's a difference between currently popular bands and a song that's still #1, and bands/songs with 20-40 years of hindsight.

And what does "mfw" mean? From what I can tell it stands for "my face when..." but that doesn't make any sense. I can gather that you mean "My face when I read the above statement and recall a contradictory statement from earlier", but it's still not a complete thought; you need a predicate, some kind of verb.

[Lowlander2]

And what does "mfw" mean? From what I can tell it stands for "my face when..." but that doesn't make any sense. I can gather that you mean "My face when I read the above statement and recall a contradictory statement from earlier", but it's still not a complete thought; you need a predicate, some kind of verb.

You know, this really


Forget it. I'll leave it to Riles or toymachine.

[Leodwyld]

The definition of a "one hit wonder" is in the eye of the beholder, but the usual consensus actually isn't all that tied to chart success. If it were, a-ha wouldn't be considered a one-hit wonder, not even in the U.S., since "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." reached #20 on the Billboard singles chart. On the other hand, Rush and Emerson, Lake and Palmer would be considered one-hit-wonders, as both groups have reached the Billboard Top 40 only once.

It's more a combination of things, from chart success of singles to the songs that got the most airplay to the songs casual listeners remember years after the fact. a-ha had two chart successes, but most people, or at least most Americans, remember only "Take on Me."

General consensus is not always accurate, though, is it? Myself, I am a stickler for fact. And there are many, many things your average person consider facts that are completely wrong. My point is that there has to be some standard for what a "hit" is, or else you get fans of a certain band claiming some obscure selection of deep cuts preclude a band from being one-hit wonders. I was unaware of a-ha's other hit song, I looked it up. You are correct, it hit number 20. Based on that, it would be *incorrect* to call them one-hit wonders (they had more than one hit), even if the majority of the populace *believes* it to be true.

[FujiSkunk]

General consensus is not always accurate, though, is it?

No, but it's good enough when it's about something pretty subjective as what makes a song a "hit."

My point is that there has to be some standard for what a "hit" is, or else you get fans of a certain band claiming some obscure selection of deep cuts preclude a band from being one-hit wonders.

And I have no problem with them doing so. They can explain what they define a "hit" to be, they can explain why the songs they cite fit their definition of "hit," and then I can decide whether I agree with them.

Some will say a "hit" is a single that made the Billboard Top 40. That excludes songs like Rush's "Tom Sawyer" and Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Lucky Man," both of which peaked a little south of #40.

Some will say a "hit" is a single that made the Billboard Top 100. That excludes Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," which was never released as a single.

Some will say a "hit" is a song that received extensive airplay when first released. That could very well exclude Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)," which was one of many songs "blacked out" when music labels tried to break from radio "promoters" in the early '80s.

Still others will define a "hit" as any song that has stood the test of time and continues to receive attention today. I don't like that definition because it relegates several personal favorites, successful bands I might add, to zero-hit status. Remember Planet P Project? Diesel? The Atlanta Rhythm Section? Not many people do nowadays, and the classic rock and oldies stations with their severely "safe" playlists aren't helping the cause.

So which of these definitions are correct? I dunno. All of them. None of them. It's in the eye of the beholder.

But again, there is a fuzzy area that brushes against all of these definitions, that most people at least find reasonable. That makes it "good enough." And in that fuzzy area, a-ha is rendered a one-hit wonder.

And the funny thing is, after "Take on Me," my second favorite a-ha tune is "Cry Wolf," not "The Sun Always Shines on TV."