There are songs in every decade that become bigger than those who created them -- one-hit wonders so successful they, for example, prevented Michael Jackson from having back-to-back hits on the charts or had the nation reciting a fictional phone number. Ranging from a Norwegian synth pop track to a hip-hop single under the Nastymix label, here are the Top 10 One-Hit Wonders, as rated by AOL Radio listeners. Make sure to name your favorite one-hit wonder in the comments!
Not only is Jenny a fictional character, but the number was chosen at random. In one area code, the number belonged to the Buffalo Chief of Police's daughter.
Though the song did not do well in the U.K., where it was first released, A-Ha's U.S. label considered the group a top priority and made an edgy music video to promote the band.
Carl Douglas has said there were three things that drove him to write this song: He had seen a kung-fu movie, he attended an Oscar Peterson jazz concert, and he was suffering from the side effects of pain killers.
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' is very popular in the Proclaimers' native Scotland, and each time the national football team scores, the song is played as well as sung by fans.
After lead singer Jimmy Stokley left the band, a year after its only pop hit, the remaining band members re-established themselves as a country music group.
The band had to re-record the "Play that funky music, white boy" chorus specifically for Boston because the city was having racial tension at the time. The lyrics were changed to "Play that funky music right, boy."
After Soft Cell's first single failed to chart, their label was very harsh with them and implied that if 'Tainted Love' did not do well it would not release another single. Lucky for us, the song did chart, giving us another great synthpop hit from the '80s.
