According
to Wikipedia, a one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream
popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among
the general public solely for that momentary success. I've translated
this to my own preferences as any act that scores exactly one hit in my
list of 200+ favourite songs (in Artrockometer terms 6/6, "hors
concours") and does not have even one song in the next tier (in
Artrockometer terms 5/6, "essential"). Here is a second helping. The
image above was made with Photofunia.
Stimmen im Wind (Juliane Werding)
About
the artist: Juliane Werding (1956) is a German singer, whose Schlager
(middle of the road pop songs in the German language) were among the
best of the genre in the seventies and eighties. She released 21 studio
albums and sold over 25 million albums and singles.
About the song: Stimmen im Wind (Voices in the wind) is a track from the 1986 album Sehnsucht ist unheilbar. Although it was a major hit in Germany (it even became the record of the year), it should no longer be regarded as a mere Schlager. The lyrics are particularly moving: a woman still talks to her deceased husband, including such lines as "Menschen die sich lieben sterben nie" (People who love one another will never die).
About the song: Stimmen im Wind (Voices in the wind) is a track from the 1986 album Sehnsucht ist unheilbar. Although it was a major hit in Germany (it even became the record of the year), it should no longer be regarded as a mere Schlager. The lyrics are particularly moving: a woman still talks to her deceased husband, including such lines as "Menschen die sich lieben sterben nie" (People who love one another will never die).
After the goldrush (k.d. lang)
About the song: After the goldrush is a cover of the famous Neil Young song. It comes from the 2004 album Hymns of the 49th Parallel, a collection of covers of songs by Canadian artists, also including Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell). I've always like this Neil Young song, but not particularly in his version. Her take it on it completely blows the original out of the water.
The closest thing to crazy (Katie Melua)
About the artist: Katie Melua (1984) is a Georgian-British singer and songwriter. In 2006, she became the United Kingdom's best-selling female artist and Europe's highest selling European female artist. She released eight studio albums.
About the song: The closest thing to crazy is a track from her 2003 debut album Call off the search, which quickly became a triple million seller. It was the first single drawn from the album and reached the UK top 10. Delivered in her trademark husky jazzy pop voice, this mesmerizing song is simply beautiful, and it is hard to believe that it is written by her producer Mike Batt, and not a jazz evergreen - which it will certainly turn into in years to come.
About the song: The closest thing to crazy is a track from her 2003 debut album Call off the search, which quickly became a triple million seller. It was the first single drawn from the album and reached the UK top 10. Delivered in her trademark husky jazzy pop voice, this mesmerizing song is simply beautiful, and it is hard to believe that it is written by her producer Mike Batt, and not a jazz evergreen - which it will certainly turn into in years to come.
A routine day (Klaatu)
About the band: Klaatu were a Canadian rock group formed in 1973 - and for a while rumoured to be the Beatles reunited. After five studio albums, the group fell apart in 1982, except for an occasional reunion afterwards.
About the song: A routine day is a track from the 1978 album Sir Army Suit. It can be seen as an homage to sixties' pop music, but the lyrics are biting in their directness. Never has a dreary unexciting life been described so sharply in pop music: "the life I live would even make a dead man yawn...". Great animated video to boot.
About the song: A routine day is a track from the 1978 album Sir Army Suit. It can be seen as an homage to sixties' pop music, but the lyrics are biting in their directness. Never has a dreary unexciting life been described so sharply in pop music: "the life I live would even make a dead man yawn...". Great animated video to boot.
Perfect day (Lou Reed)
About
the artist: Lou Reed (1942-2013) was an American musician, singer,
songwriter and poet. He was the guitarist, singer and principal
songwriter for the highly influential rock band the Velvet Underground
and had a solo career that spanned five decades, with twenty studio
albums.
About the song: Perfect day is one of the most surprising songs I know. Who would have thought that the rock and roll animal would be capable of writing and recording such a tender ballad about a lazy summers day? Although admittedly there some darker undertones in the lyrics ("You're gonna reap just what you sow...") as well, suggesting links to drugs use. The 1972 album Transformer, produced by David Bowie, yielded this masterpiece. Melody, instrumentation, lyrics, all are rather simple, but the total result is breathtaking. Somehow I feel cheated that this little known gem suddenly became public domain courtesy of the 1997 cover by a streetload of artists each singing one line - the line-up varying wildly from Lou Reed himself, Bono and David Bowie on one side versus the likes of Boyzone and Tammy Winette on the other side.
💻 About the song: Perfect day is one of the most surprising songs I know. Who would have thought that the rock and roll animal would be capable of writing and recording such a tender ballad about a lazy summers day? Although admittedly there some darker undertones in the lyrics ("You're gonna reap just what you sow...") as well, suggesting links to drugs use. The 1972 album Transformer, produced by David Bowie, yielded this masterpiece. Melody, instrumentation, lyrics, all are rather simple, but the total result is breathtaking. Somehow I feel cheated that this little known gem suddenly became public domain courtesy of the 1997 cover by a streetload of artists each singing one line - the line-up varying wildly from Lou Reed himself, Bono and David Bowie on one side versus the likes of Boyzone and Tammy Winette on the other side.
Une fille aux yeux clairs (Michel Sardou)
About the artist: Michel Sardou (1947) is a French singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He released dozens of albums, and is regarded as one of France's most important singers, especially of love songs. He sold tens of millions of albums and had a string of over 25 consecutive hit singles.
About the song: Une fille aux yeux claires (A girl with bright eyes) is a 1974 single that was not released on an album at the time. A lovely ballad, in which Sardou reminisces about his mother, and how he only realised from pictures that she once was young and beautiful as well, against a dominating organ accompaniment.
Torn (Natalie Imbruglia)
About the artist: Natalie Imbruglia (1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. She released six studio albums, which have combined sales of 10 million copies worldwide.
About the song: Torn is a track from the 1998 album Left of the middle. I was interested in this song long before I heard even one single note: The MTV clip caught my eye even though I had turned off the sound - really, looking at the video, can you blame me? Later I found, much to my surprise, that the song (a cover of an Ednaswap song) is as beautiful as the singer. Of course, her voice is not impressive (certainly in live and unplugged renditions), but on the studio CD track this is corrected by clever production. And the guitar solo near the end must rank as one of the most memorable moments in pop singles history.
About the song: Torn is a track from the 1998 album Left of the middle. I was interested in this song long before I heard even one single note: The MTV clip caught my eye even though I had turned off the sound - really, looking at the video, can you blame me? Later I found, much to my surprise, that the song (a cover of an Ednaswap song) is as beautiful as the singer. Of course, her voice is not impressive (certainly in live and unplugged renditions), but on the studio CD track this is corrected by clever production. And the guitar solo near the end must rank as one of the most memorable moments in pop singles history.
Beyond the pale (Pain of Salvation)
About the band: Pain of Salvation is a Swedish eclectic progressive metal band, who have released ten studio albums. Personally, I find their albums a bit uneven, but there are some great songs to find there. About the song: Beyond the pale is the closing song of their 2002 album Remedy Lane and it is superior over anything they have done. The original start, a repetitive simple guitar riff, sets the scene for a song with bewildering changes of pace and mood, full of energy and breathtaking moments, and with an intimacy in the lyrics that I cannot do justice in a short summary. The song ends with one of the greatest lines ever: "We will always be so much more human than we wish to be".
Miss Sarajevo (Passengers)
About
the band: Passengers were not a real band, but the name given to a
once-off collaboration of U2, Brian Eno, and guests, recording one
album.
About the song: Miss Sarajevo, a track from from the 1995 album Original soundtracks 1, featured one of the more unlikely combinations of the nineties - or any decade for that matter. Bono and other members of U2, and Pavarotti, larger than life opera star. Add production by Eno, and something special emerges. Combinations like this usually do not work - Barcelona (Mercury with Montserrat) and Perhaps love (Denver and Domingo) come to mind. However, Passengers pull it off. Bono delivers the simple yet haunting melody in a more restrained fashion than usually with U2, and the moment that Luciano Pavarotti enters the scene is one of the most memorable 'musicules' in the history of pop and rock music. Breathtaking.
About the song: Miss Sarajevo, a track from from the 1995 album Original soundtracks 1, featured one of the more unlikely combinations of the nineties - or any decade for that matter. Bono and other members of U2, and Pavarotti, larger than life opera star. Add production by Eno, and something special emerges. Combinations like this usually do not work - Barcelona (Mercury with Montserrat) and Perhaps love (Denver and Domingo) come to mind. However, Passengers pull it off. Bono delivers the simple yet haunting melody in a more restrained fashion than usually with U2, and the moment that Luciano Pavarotti enters the scene is one of the most memorable 'musicules' in the history of pop and rock music. Breathtaking.
Silent lucidity (Queensrÿche)
About
the band: Queensrÿche is an American progressive metal band, formed in
1980. The band have released fifteen studio albums, and has sold over 20
million albums worldwide.
About the song: Silent lucidity is a gorgeous ballad from the 1990 album Empire, which cemented their reputation as one of the leading prog metal bands, and also brought them to attention of a wider audience, due to a number of hit singles and successful MTV clips.
About the song: Silent lucidity is a gorgeous ballad from the 1990 album Empire, which cemented their reputation as one of the leading prog metal bands, and also brought them to attention of a wider audience, due to a number of hit singles and successful MTV clips.
The first time ever I saw your face (Roberta Flack)
About the singer: Roberta Flack (1937) is an American singer, who scored a string of USA No. 1 singles in the seventies. She recorded twenty studio albums and is the only solo artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year on two consecutive years.
About the song: The first time ever I saw your face is a track from her 1969 debut album First take, an astonishing slow and sensual cover of a 1957 folk song written by British political singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger. As a single release it made the number one spot in the USA in 1972 after it was used in the Clint Eastwood movie Play Misty for me.
About the song: The first time ever I saw your face is a track from her 1969 debut album First take, an astonishing slow and sensual cover of a 1957 folk song written by British political singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger. As a single release it made the number one spot in the USA in 1972 after it was used in the Clint Eastwood movie Play Misty for me.
Angie (Rolling Stones)
About the band: The Rolling Stones are a British rock band formed in London in 1962, and still going strong with four of the original members. Touted "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World", they have released 26 studio albums and still draw sell-out crowds at their concerts.
About the song: in general I do not particularly like the Stones, but the exception is this song from the 1973 album Goats Head Soup. Angie was released as a single when I was 16, just at the time that I really started to get interested in pop and rock music. Nothing in their repertoire comes close to this world-wide number one hit, a heartfelt mournful ballad about a doomed love. The inspiration for the lyrics have speculatively been attributed to varied sources: Keith Richards' long time love, Anita Pallenberg; David Bowie's ex-wife, Angela Bowie; and even David Bowie himself, who Angela claimed to have once found in bed with Jagger (it was in fact Keith Richards' daughter Angela who inspired the name choice). "Everywhere I look, I see your eyes...."
About the song: in general I do not particularly like the Stones, but the exception is this song from the 1973 album Goats Head Soup. Angie was released as a single when I was 16, just at the time that I really started to get interested in pop and rock music. Nothing in their repertoire comes close to this world-wide number one hit, a heartfelt mournful ballad about a doomed love. The inspiration for the lyrics have speculatively been attributed to varied sources: Keith Richards' long time love, Anita Pallenberg; David Bowie's ex-wife, Angela Bowie; and even David Bowie himself, who Angela claimed to have once found in bed with Jagger (it was in fact Keith Richards' daughter Angela who inspired the name choice). "Everywhere I look, I see your eyes...."
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