best song in VH1's Top 40 One Hit Wonders of the '90s

voted Haddaway over Sir Mix-A-Lot, Belly & the Proclaimers. "What Is Love" is such a stomper though.

Voted Snow.

HEY WAKE UP WE GOT THE DREAMER'S DISEASE

people say yo you look like mc hammer on crack

top 10, could vote for any of these: I'm Gonna Be, Humpty Dance, Baby Got Back, The Impression That I Get, Flava In Ya Ear, Good Vibrations, You Get What You Give, Feed The Tree, Jump Around, Unbelievable

bottom 10, fuck these songs for all time: Sex And Candy, One Of Us, No Rain, Steal My Sunshine, Lullaby, Mambo #5, Tubthumping, Barely Breathing, Bittersweet Symphony, How Do You Talk To An Angel

Pretty weird seeing The Verve on this list.

I went with Belly, didn't really like the album but that song is great.

I had to interview Imani Coppola two years ago -- what a ditz.

Went with the unfuckwithable Len. But it could have just as easily been "Baby Got Back."

Crash Test Dummies tbh

not trying to violate the no "that kind of pedantry" rule but it always puzzles me that Vanilla Ice's "Play That Funky Music" went to #4 and isn't considered a "hit" - but obv no one remembers Vanilla Ice for anything but "Ice Ice Baby" so I suppose that is the rationalization

judging from that list, you'd think nothing but novelty songs were produced that decade

iirc "Ice" was originally the b-side of "Play" so maybe they use some kind of goofy logic to rationalize that. also i have virtually never heard "Play" in my life and was coming into pop consciousness at the time of "Ice" hitting big so i'm kind of okay with the one hit wonder thing.

I haven't heard it since very early '91, and all I remember is the GO WHITE BOY GO WHITE BOY GO interlude.

How is "Groove Is in the Heart" not on the list?

verve being on this list makes sense to me, but i heard them purely as a pop group & never followed their records or w/e

Deee-Lite's probably the most surprising omission, I was thinking also Quad City DJs, Fastball, Jesus Jones

semisonic?

there's a lot of crap on this list

1. you get what you give
2. jump around
3. baby got back
4. flava in your ear
5. what is love
6. jump
7. good vibrations
8. tubthumping
9. humpty dance
10. ice ice baby

i think the first 6 or so on that list are 10/10 classics

that list being my list

man it was so weird when i found out that some type of punk kids were heavy into the chumbawumba discog

Marky Mark wins for having the most successful post-music career here, right?

Voting for New Radicals.

oh i totally did not see "whoomp there it is" -- that's top 5

oh also "you gotta be", fuck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGytDsqkQY8

followed by

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL7-CKirWZE

hard choice, though -- might've been switched on another day, but not sure

Was between Feed The Tree and Legend Of A Cowgirl for me, but I would have felt guilty voting for the former when I regard Belly as so much more than a popular single.

The Proclaimers and that horrible annoying beast of a song can fuck the fuck off, actively makes me want to cast away my Scottish heritage.

That New Radicals guy also wrote Ronan Keating's "Life Is A Rollercoaster" didn't he? I think I prefer that.

I was thinking also Quad City DJs, Fastball, Jesus Jones

Jesus Jones's "Real Real Real" hit #4.

Really hard for me to choose, but now feel relieved of the responsibility to vote since prolego points out above that "Groove Is In the Heart" -- vastly superior to anything here -- missed the list.

happy that the list reminded me how much i like "feed the tree," though.

god i hate closing time so so much, more than anything else on this list. and there is some awful stuff on here. mambo #5, proclaimers, ugh

but but... closing time is about love and death and life and meaningful things.

Steal My Sunshine

^^^

Markers, I knew you would vote that. It's your fav iirc.

i love sex & candy!

i think sex and candy is possibly worse than closing time

it's awful

never been around so many people who hate sex & candy

i think i've only ever heard one other person say something nice about that song

altho i guess i do totally understand why ppl would hate it tho

Whoa Shawn Mullins - Lullaby... haven't heard that one in years! Sort of a guilty pleasure... but I could say that about almost every song in this list. You hear them in party or a bar somewhere every two or three years and think about that summer vacation - it feels like better times in your mind but they really weren't that different from the last vacation you had - and your friends from back then and all of the unrequited love you've been through and how you'd find a way to fix it right now. And how you wish all of your friends from back then were with you at that very moment singing along and thinking about those times and making promises of doing something like that all again. But your friends are not there, you're with some awkward co-worker too concerned about not revealing an alternate persona from the one he has at work... and even if they were they've probably become as boring as you are and there's not really much to talk about asides the old times and your new jobs and your kids or dogs or something.

Instead you just bump into the song randomly at some thread and proceed to post a youtube link on your friend's facebook profile with a note "remember our winter vacation in Vail?". And she'll tick the 'i like' button and we shall never speak of it again.

1. Sir Mix-A-Lot Baby Got Back 1992
9. House of Pain Jump Around 1992
14. Wreckx-N-Effect Rump Shaker 1992
16. Kris Kross Jump 1992
17. Snow Informer 1993
21. Imani Coppola Legend of a Cowgirl 1997
23. Haddaway What is Love 1993
28. Craig Mack Flava In Ya Ear 1994
34. Des'ree You Gotta Be 1995
39. Divinyls I Touch Myself 1991

those are the ones i rep for. the rest are mostly quite abhorrent - i still shudder every time i think of "you get what you give". i had no idea "legend of a cowgirl" was a legit hit anywhere, i have the album it's off and just thought it was some obscure oddity! i think i might vote for it actually.

I still rep for that Imani Coppola album, even if she now seems a bit of an idiot.

This is actually a tough poll, but Digital Underground ftw.

1. "Jump Around," 2. "Jump," 3. "No Rain"--and another six I like.

Humpty Dance
No Rain
Mmmm mmmm mmmm mmmm
Jump Around
Steal my sunshine
Jump
Bad boys
Feed the Tree
Good Vibrations
Rump Shaker

Markers, I knew you would vote that. It's your fav iirc.

― ENBB, Sunday, April 10, 2011 6:14 PM

:D

Toss up between the unlikely pairing of The Verve and House of Pain

rico suave!

The Power
Tag Team Whoomp There It Is
Inner Circle Bad Boys
Craig Mack Flava In Ya Ear
Haddaway What is Love
Snow Informer
Kris Kross Jump
Wreckx-N-Effect Rump Shaker
Digital Underground The Humpty Dance
House of Pain Jump Around
Sir Mix-A-Lot Baby Got Back

Girl Power
Divinyls I Touch Myself
Len Steal My Sunshine
EMF Unbelievable
New Radicals You Get What You Give
Los Del Rio Macarena
Gerardo Rico Suave
Right Said Fred I'm Too Sexy

Turtle Power
The Verve Bittersweet symphony
Lou Bega Mambo #5
Belly Feed the Tree
Marc Cohn Walking in Memphis
Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch Good Vibrations
Vanilla Ice Ice Ice Baby
Chumbawumba Tubthumping

The Power Of American Natives (not heard these)
Heights How Do You Talk To An Angel
Merrill Baingridge Mouth
B-Rock & The Bizz MyBabyDaddy
Shawn Mullins Lullaby
Imani Coppola Legend of a Cowgirl
Duncan Sheik Barely Breathing

Mighty Morphin' Power Lamers
Des'ree You Gotta Be
The Proclaimers I'm Gonna Be
Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Impression That I Get
Marcy Playground Sex and Candy
Crash Test Dummies Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm
Billy Ray Cyrus Achy Breaky Heart
Blind Melon No Rain
Rednex Cotton Eye Joe
Joan Osborne One of Us
Semisonic Closing Time

Four words: Blessid Union of Souls

top 10 ranked

10. Bad Boys
9. Baby Got Back
8. Jump Around
7. Whoomp There It Is
6. Jump
5. What is Love
4. Informer
3. The Humpty Dance (brilliant bassline but some of Hump's lines are kinda clunky so...)
2. Rump Shaker (can't fault it but its no...)
1. Flava In Ya Ear (assuming we mean the Bad Boy remix, still favourite guest MC ensemble track ever)

To all the rappers in the top ten, please allow me to bump thee.

"Humpty Dance"

1. Flava In Ya Ear (assuming we mean the Bad Boy remix, still favourite guest MC ensemble track ever)

― black bloc bologna (blueski), Sunday, April 10, 2011 7:42 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark

we don't fyi

i kinda forgot there even was an original tbh

all the Craig verses on the o.g. are perfect and it's almost kind of a shame that the best remix ever kind of obscures the greatness of the song itself

OMG that New Radicals song is one of my most hated songs ever.
Semisonic is disgusting too but didn't they do more than that?

man can't believe closing time was 1998, i'm getting old

some jams here

Semisonic is disgusting too but didn't they do more than that?

The singer/songwriter(?) made a bunch of records with Trip Shakespeare in the 80s/early 90s. And wrote a pretty interesting book about how much it actually sucked to have a hit record.

uuughghhh it was 'Secret Smile' i'm thinking of which is the absolute WORST. I'm actually getting angry just thinking about it!

it's not surprising that i would love "closing time" and a lot of train singles too, right?

And weren't Inner Circle more widely known for 'sweat'? iirc maybe it was a double a-side with 'bad boys'

drummer from Semisonic wrote the book, singer was the Trip Shakespeare guy who also wrote a gang of hits for Dixie Chicks, Adele, etc.

Ah, yes. Just found that out when trying to find the title of the book (So You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star).

I swear if "Sex And Candy" were a b-side off Brighten The Corners instead of a US Top 5 hit, people's opinions would be very different.

waiting...

I have never heard of "My Baby Daddy". And why is Skee-Lo's "I Wish" not on there?

no lucas, no cred

closing time vs. steal my sunshine

I feel like my 'you get what you give' love has run its course

actually 'no rain' is a contenda too

I can understand why most ppl round here can't stomach "Sex and Candy" but I have a good friend who stans hard for the Marcy Playground album. I haven't listened to it, but I always liked "Saint Joe on the Schoolbus"

Also, I'm really pulling for Blind Melon crit rehabilitation

xpost I dig "Saint Joe On The Schoolbus"

Baby Got Back

21. Imani Coppola Legend of a Cowgirl 1997

32. B-Rock & The Bizz MyBabyDaddy 1997

37. Merrill Baingridge Mouth 1996

I don't believe I have never heard these songs, and will admit I didn't hear "Flava In Ya Ear" until long after it was a hit

ever heard, I mean

and looking back over the thread, I don't think I've heard the non-remix version of "Flava"

'Unbelievable' in a heartbeat. shame about the Dice Clay sample like but hey.

Inner Circle Bad Boys 1990

Hang on, did Sweat (A La La La La Long) not sell in the US? That song was ubiquitous here for one summer, way bigger than Bad Boys.

Voted 'Jump Around'. Hate that New Radicals song so much, so minus five points for that please.

Merrill Baingridge

This is just Beryl Bainbridge put through Mark G'sScooby Doo translator surely?

Search: Baby Got Back, Rico Suave, Macarena, Closing Time, Jump Around, One of Us, You Get What You Give, The Humpty Dance, Rump Shaker, Jump, , Steal My Sunshine, Good Vibrations, What is Love, The Impression That I Get, Mambo #5, Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm, I'm Gonna Be, Whoomp There It Is
, Feed the Tree

Destroy: I'm Too Sexy, Tubthumping, Ice Ice Baby, Cotton Eye Joe, No Rain, Unbelievable, Achy Breaky Heart, Bittersweet symphony, Sex and Candy, How Do You Talk To An Angel, Bad Boys, I Touch Myself

Hang on, did Sweat (A La La La La Long) not sell in the US? That song was ubiquitous here for one summer, way bigger than Bad Boys.

I don't know whether it *sold*, but it peaked at #16.

Bad Boys has the horrible distinction of being the theme for COPS which both fueled its initial sales and continues to prevent it from going away...ever.

when I try to think of "Bad Boys" i just hear "Bad Cops" from The Simpsons and I'm totally ok with that

Springfield cops are on the take
but what do you expect with the money they make
whether in a car or on a horse
the cops don't mind using excessive force

very though poll. voted MyBabyDaddy couse it seems like no one else will.

32. B-Rock & The Bizz MyBabyDaddy 1997

ATTN EVERYONE PLEASE VOTE FOR THIS

also lol @ Imani Coppola

Also, I'm really pulling for Blind Melon crit rehabilitation

God willing, this will never ever happen

They used to play "Legend of a Cowgirl" all the time on the radio when I was a kid!! I loved that song and for some reason and was disappointed when she wasn't as ridiculously hot as I pictured her to be. Oh well.

I voted the Proclaimers song (really, could have half of them), but I'm kind of surprised Savage Garden didn't make the list. They were releasing the kind of songs that Michael Jackson should have been doing in the mid-90's.

BTW the Merrill Bainbridge song is the one that goes "would it be so bad, if I could turn you on", yadda yadda yadda. It was really famous and I'm guessing most of you have heard it at some point. Kinda wonder whatever happened to her.

love a lot of these, voted for "i touch myself" which i'm surprised more people aren't repping for, it's a great song

"Legend of a Cowgirl" seemed like kind of a minor hit to make the list, barely scraped the top 40 in the US and the UK

Wow...I could have sworn it at least hit the top 10. I've heard it so many times.

my favs are tubthumping and rump shaker, voting for the former

"Legend of a Cowgirl" seemed like kind of a minor hit to make the list, barely scraped the top 40 in the US and the UK

a lot of this reads like someone was going through the archives of Charles Aaron's old singles column in SPIN

I'm still lolling that they tried so hard to make Imani into a Thing; I remember seeing her image all over the place but afaik I never heard a note of her music until just now.

a lot of this reads like someone was going through the archives of Charles Aaron's old singles column in SPIN

― da croupier, Monday, April 11, 2011 11:54 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

really? i only see at most 3-4 songs that fit that description, which is why Coppola stuck out like a sore thumb to me

I'm kind of surprised Savage Garden didn't make the list. They were releasing the kind of songs that Michael Jackson should have been doing in the mid-90's.

But Savage Garden weren't one hit wonders though. "I want You", "Truly Madly Deeply", and "I Knew I Loved You" were all pretty sizable hits.

Now the exclusion of Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn", Quad City CJ's "Come on Let's Ride", Merideth Brooks' "Bitch", Jennifer Paige's "Crush", Dionne Farris's "I Know" and Donna Lewis's "I Love You Always Forever" on the other hand...

Donna Lewis's "I Love You Always Forever"

I love that song. lol.

Bitch is here.

that was an xpost, i was not insulting ENBB

xxp also love "i love you always forever," would have voted for it.

but maybe not if "torn" were also included

x-posts LOL - I was about to say!

Bitch isn't there though. Also I meant to say "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by Quad City Dj's.

No "Torn" but also no "Stay (I Missed You)" or "Sunny Came Home". Also, no way Right Said Fred is 1999.

But Savage Garden weren't one hit wonders though. "I want You", "Truly Madly Deeply", and "I Knew I Loved You" were all pretty sizable hits.

Yeah I kind of forgot the "one-hit" part of it, Savage Garden always seemed like they fit in that category even though they had two big hits and a few other decent sized ones. "I Want You" totally has the one-hit wonder vibe.

No RSF must have been around 89 not 99.

Also, Bitch is annoying and awful so it's good that it's not here.

Also, does "Barbie Girl" count, or not because they had like seven #1's in Denmark??

"I'm Too Sexy" was 1991.

They had another song but I might be the only person who remembers "Don't Talk Just Kiss".

I remember it!

I saw a Cambridge University a capella group do "Don't Talk Just Kiss" circa summer 1992.

you know what? the site i c&p'd this list from is fucked up -- i watched the actual VH1 special and "Bitch" was totally on it, i think it was at the spot "Mouth" has on this version of the list. weird!

hahaha amazing

x-post

the fuck? No Whale?

I'm glad Barbie Girl is not on there because I remember some of ther eother songs being hits here in Canada, like Lollipop (Candyman).

Also "Return of the Mack".

Most one-hit wonders become so in hindsight - usually a record company will push a follow-up single - so I'm always fascinated by artists where I truly can't even remember the attempted follow-up like Shawn Mullins and Positive K

speaking of which, where the fuck is positive k?

actually, shawn mullins doesn't count in the Had Hit And Fell Off The Face Of The Earth category for me since I remember his lame-ass faux-CSN album with Pete "If You Don't Love Me I'll Kill Myself" Droge and Matthew Sweet

Oooh ooh! "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" by Primitive Radio Gods! I can't believe that is NOT on the list!

also more deserving than Imani:

I LOVE YOU PERIOD
DO YOU LOVE ME QUESTION MARK
PLEASE PLEASE EXCLAMATION POINT
I WANNA HOLD YOU IN PARENTHESES

i do remember the 2nd Shawn Mullins single, mostly because my wife reminded me how it went when we were watching the VH1 thing

also "life is a highway"

haha xpost

did Bel Biv Devoe have hits other than "Poison"?

And "Your Woman" by Whitetown. I'm getting quite good at this.

also i heard that single by the Mullins/Sweet group (The Thorns) in the supermarket the other day and i kind of was like woah this is awesome

Bel Biv Devoe had "Do Me"

x-post Yeah they did - "Do Me".

the jayhawks cover? xpost FLIP IT UP SMACK IT RUB IT DOWN OH NOOOOO

did Bel Biv Devoe have hits other than "Poison"?

oh COME ON

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZieygZyvw4A

The only other song I had remembered from Shawn Mullins was his cover of "What is Life?" from the Big Daddy soundtrack along with Sheryl Crow's Sweet Child o Mine.

if there's one thing people will learn from this thread, it's that Bel Biv Devoe had a hit called "Do Me!"

haha at the secret BBD massive all leaping to the ready

I remember the two Shawn Mullins hits though. I think there was a version of the second hit by someone else that was big on country radio.

I don't really think "Your Woman" was big enough to be on this list or Whale for that matter either. I mean sure I remember Hobo humping Slomo whatever (yes, I know that's prob wrong) but how big was that really? I'm guessing not huge.

haha at the secret BBD massive all leaping to the ready

― fat fat fat fat Usher (DJP), Monday, April 11, 2011 12:14 PM (20 seconds ago) Bookmark

yesssssssssssss

Did Snow have another hit after "Informer"? I loved that tune; even knew most of the lyrics at one point. I don't think they really attempted a "follow-up", did they?

I don't really think "Your Woman" was big enough to be on this list or Whale for that matter either.

They do belong when the bar is Imani Coppola

I had to interview Imani Coppola two years ago -- what a ditz.

OMG SP FUCKIN JEAL

I was absolutely obsessed w that album growing up

x-post - fair enough. i honestly don't even think I know who that is.

I don't think they really attempted a "follow-up", did they?

hahahahahaha holy shit apparently this went to #19 in billboard according to wikipedia. don't recognize it at allv

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yGYfdyYylE

I can understand Snow better than Shawn Mullins's "aaaaaaaahl be yer crying so jerrr"

re: White Town - Jyoti Mishra used to post here didn't he?

lol croup stole my post almost verbatim

GIRL SNOW'S BEEN HURT AND NOW SNOW NEEDS ANOTHER LOVA
GIRL YOU'RE NO GOOD
bibbiddibiiddibidoobadoobabooba

wow. the more you (s)know??

oh wait I recognize the chorus

wow dude could not sing

I mean sure I remember Hobo humping Slomo whatever (yes, I know that's prob wrong) but how big was that really? I'm guessing not huge.

Probably not -- I was in Holland when it came out, and it was shown on MTV Europe three times an hour, minimum. I didn't think it would be a US hit, but six months or so later, it was, but barely. I just like the song, and the improbably great album that followed (We Care -- Christgau gave it an A-).

Where is Breakfast at Tiffany's? Seems like that would fit right in.

Also, Markers every time I hear that song I think that it must be one you like. I could be wrong but I have a feeling that you'd consider it, how they say, a jam. Amirite?

Snow also had a bit of a "comeback" in Canada in 2000.
We try not to speak of it though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oAlLvQIKYE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61EyJsOKE88

It's almost sweet that Vh1 would ignore shit like Deep Blue Something, Candlebox and Dishwalla to rep for crit picks like Coppola and Belly

who the hell is Merrill Bainbridge

oh wait I have heard this song before, like maybe twice

Then again a lot of Canadians also wouldn't consisder Crash Test Dummies a one hit wonder due to the success of songs like "Superman Song".

Candlebox had several hits!

haha ok i should have assumed, but I didn't realize that mainstream rock charts stuck with the c-box beyond fart behind

by that same logic, why pick the bosstones when obv the position belongs to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy actually had a hit song?

I think you mean Cherry Poppin Daddy's.

oh whichever

also where's the d and the a and the m and the n and the a and the t and the i-o-n

There should be a thread on late 90s chart-trance one-hit wonders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tuQ6AkOdGY

you guys realize this is not a list of all of the one-hit wonders of the 90s, right

I hope to god their band name wasn't actually "Cherry Poppin' Daddy's" as that begs about a million questions

it is now, n/a!

like it or lump it

(whew it was DADDIES as I thought, I was about to be traumatized)

n/a stop being thread police

n/a, lumping it on ILX since 2002

I mean Big Bad Voo Daddy was lumped into the whole Swing Revival, I just don't think I ever heard any of there songs get any airplay.

Zoot Suit Riot by The Cherry Poppin Daddies on the other hand.

ugh that fucking song

tbf I started really listening to the radio in 1997-98 so all the one-hit wonders from that period seem more significatn than they maybe are

THROW BACK A BOTTLE OF BEER

Also, that Sonique song didn't become a bg hit till it was re-released in 2000.

really? that would explain why I NEVER saw it on MTV despite it being everywhere on the radio

BTW didn't Bainbridge have two hits? I distinctly remember "Under the Water" as being hers too

you know who was actually kind of hit shit, was Squirrel Nut Zippers

lol "hit shit" I don't even know what that would mean

"How Do You Talk To An Angel" makes me wanna hit shit, yeah.

I can't think of a song on this list with more obnoxious, terrible singing.

plus a sax solo!

"hit shit" sounds like a limp bizkit b-side

And yes I'm aware it isn't a list of every one hit wonder, but when there were songs that were either bigger hits or by artists that had even less success with follow-ups, then I question the list. I mean I remember "Lucky Man" doing pretty well back in the day.

lol remember when Jamie Walters was Donna's abusive boyfriend

Plus I like thinking of one hit wonders that were more than just silly novelty tunes.

That being said:
"How Bizzare" by OMC!

O___O

maybe Vh1 refused to buy the rights

croup's old zing about dude from eels and dude from collective soul and jamie walters all singing the same is all i think about now when i hear songs by any of the above

I know everyone really likes "You Get What You Give" but is there a more "lol 90s!" song in existence?

ha i remember sitting down to watch the VH1 thinking "i wonder where OMC is gonna place" and then totally forgot about it by the time it was over

xpost haha i don't remember saying that but that's awesome if I did

New Radicals is very "lol 90s" because it references contemporary acts more than other pop/rock songs but so do lots of rap songs

When I first heard that New Radicals song I thought it was an 80s song I didn't know.

I know everyone really likes "You Get What You Give" but is there a more "lol 90s!" song in existence?

i was gonna quibble (the music felt kinda out of place and yacht rocky back in the day), but the closing rap does kinda seal it

Jamie Walters played a musician on two different soaps!

When I first heard that New Radicals song I thought it was an 80s song I didn't know.

John Mayer said the same thing!

judging from that list, you'd think nothing but novelty songs were produced that decade

― Darin, Sunday, April 10, 2011 4:25 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Haha, yeah, I did a ton of wedding and corporate DJ gigs during much of this time period, and request lists were always full of novelty shit like Achy Breaky and I'm Too Sexy, so I still own a disconcerting number of these. Voted Humpty.

I am listening to "Novacaine For The Soul" and the idea of this being sung by Jamie Walters is fucking killing me

I don't get how "You Get What You Give" sounds like Hall & Oates. "Someday We'll Know" is closer (and it was covered by H&O).

Voted for this, which might be my favorite single of the '90s:

32. B-Rock & The Bizz MyBabyDaddy 1997

My next nine (in no particular order)

1. Sir Mix-A-Lot Baby Got Back 1992
4. Los Del Rio Macarena 1996
5. Chumbawumba Tubthumping 1997
7. Vanilla Ice Ice Ice Baby 1990
9. House of Pain Jump Around 1992
13. Rednex Cotton Eye Joe 1995
16. Kris Kross Jump 1992
17. Snow Informer 1993
40. Tag Team Whoomp There It Is 1993

Probably like at least a dozen others, too.

Inexplicably missing:

OMC - How Bizarre

THANKING U, XHUXK

xp (Which I didn't notice til now that a couple people mentioned already.) (OMC, I mean.)

how bizarre!

btw will anyone defend "Walking in Memphis"?

Lord I won't tonight, though I owned the CD as a young "progressive radio" listener in Indiana

lol i found it -- i even left a comment on the post! http://modernrock4eva.blogspot.com/2006/04/156-eels-novocaine-for-soul.html

Two that I'd add to the list that would be representative of fluky hits by indie/alternative/whatever bands who'd been around for a while, and who were able to cash in a bit on Nirvana's success, would be Pornos for Pyros' "Pets" and the Butthole Surfers' "Pepper." At the time, I remember how weird it felt that the Butthole Surfers would actually have a hit, but they did, sort of--according to Wikipedia, it made to #26 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart (but not, I guess, to the actual Top 100).

my wife would rep for "Walking In Memphis" if she was here

meanwhile I rep for this version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GFbik9RmVk

Also, looking it up, Kris Kross's follow up single "Warm it Up" was pretty successful. In fact that used to be the main song that I knew was by them.

I just listened to "You Get What You Give" for the first time...I missed the second half of 90s pop culture b/c was writing a dissertation & ~growing up~. It's a pretty decent song! kinda sounds like a poppier Ben Folds. I watched the video & was kinda depressed that it didn't look particularly out of date.

And OMC, definitely.

LISA FUCKING LOEB

Because everyone still wears bucket hats!

"Pepper" cashed in on Beck, not Nirvana though

xxxxxp if that is "I'm Raving" it totally justifies the existence of that song

haha nevermind re loeb, didn't realize "do you sleep" went top 20 what the hell

when i heard "You Get What You Give" for the first time i was like cool a new World Party single

I remember "Stay" and "I Do", nothing else. Really 2-hit wonders from this time are just as interesting to me.

(xp)

the real question is, how many of these hits were on halfway decent albums? I remember the New Radicals one being pretty good, like a modern-day Todd Rundgren

I SAID HEY.... WHAT'S GOING ON

WHITHER THE HOTSTEPPER?

I don't think I know "Do You Sleep", but I do remember "I Do".

"You Get What You Give" is a rad karaoke number.

DO YOU EAT SLEEP DO YOU BREATHE ME ANYMORE ANYMORE

Yeah the New Radicals album is pretty good. Thing is with them, Gregg Alexander disolved the entire group and stopped touring by the time they released their second single.

he was needed on his home planet

he also wrote Santana's "The Game of Love."

I still almost don't believe he actually "worked" on "Game Of Love" so much as he got credited for the chorus hooks it swiped

or pre-chorus, that HIII-IIiiiighhh part

when i heard "You Get What You Give" for the first time i was like cool a new World Party single

woah was just about to post this

and Lovin' Each Day by Roanan Keating.

There's actually a demo out there floating around of him singing "Game of Love" by himself.

"Pepper" cashed in on Beck, not Nirvana though

I meant more in terms of access to radio than the sound of the record. I don't think there's a Beck without Nirvana...but it was all a long time ago, I'm headed out for yard duty.

For some reason, Katy Perry's Teenage Dream reminded me of something Gregg Alexander would write. Ecspecially from a few covers I've heard of it played on live instruments.

Voting for the Bosstones happily and unironically. Had Joan Osborne second.

I'll take Gregg Alexander's voice over Perry's horrifying one any day.

Perry's horrifying voice is very effective in the context of Jane's Addiction and really really terrible everywhere else

like, I don't think "The Mountain Song" or "Three Days" would work with someone else singing them

which horrifying Perry are we talking about?

yeah but the Surfers had a moderate hit post-Nirvana (or post-RHCP, since much was made of Flea being in the "Who Was In My Room Last Night?" video) and then "Pepper" was in '96, like post-post-post-Nirvana

Katy!

ok I lol'ed at the image of Katy Perry singing "Pets" and "Stop!"

which horrifying Perry are we talking about?

I assumed Farrell (obv)

now I want to hear her singing those songs because despite what I said that might actually work

Katy Perry as Perry Farrell would look like Joan Osborne.

Perry Farrell as Katy Perry would like like Linda Perry.

haaaaa

*LOOK like rather

what's going on

yes thanks

I love that if you say "Perry" a guy whose last name is Perry assumes you're referring to Perry Farrell.

Paradise and the Perry

would much rather hear Dan Perry sing "Teenage Dream"

look, there were no other important/relevant Perrys in the 90s* and I sort of completely forgot that someone had mentioned Katy Perry right before I wrote that

*arguably, Linda was not important/relevant until the 00s

also I had forgotten how hilarious this song is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NXnxTNIWkc

I retract what I said ^^^ worst singing ever

OHMAHGOD do i pray

Makes Melissa Etheridge sound like Stephen Merritt.

When I first heard that New Radicals song I thought it was an 80s song I didn't know.

the first time i heard it i thought it was a new todd rundgren song

i think i like game of love better, though. also hilariously (to me anyhow) the santana guitar bits are v v close to the guitar in my ever changing moods

yeah but does Todd really write songs like that anymore?

like seriously, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed is just the decent, semi-forgettable but pleasant mid-70's album the Todd never wrote

yeah he said he got bored of writing pop songs

I'm definitely gonna do some kind of poll of 90s one hit wonders not in the VH1 list, so feel free to keep posting notable omissions

I think we're at the point where we can consider Hanson

Gotta give it to 'No Rain'

Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta" and the Flys' "Got You (Where I Want You)" (don't know anyone who likes that as much as I do)--not sure if they were technically one-hit wonders, but I think they basically were.

I will always rep for "Not An Addict" by K's Choice

I was reading down the list to give my vote to White Town and it's not even there! wtf? Not passionate about any of the choices, maybe "I'm too Sexy" or "Unbelievable".

okay lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc5iTNVEOAg&feature=related

I'd nominate Local H, "Bound For the Floor" (got to #46, if that counts as a hit)

Always got confused w/ them and Buckcherry cuz I think the latter had the word "Lit" in the title.

xp

best song is a tough call.

best BAND on this list is easy (Digital Underground)

OK that Lit song is one of my guilty pleasures. Also, I always always get 100% singing it on Rock Band. It's kind of a jam.

(hides)

omg I have not thought about Local H in years

Something about the 90s is shameful for each of us, so feeling guilty about it is unnecessary amongst friends.

I will always rep for "Not An Addict" by K's Choice

I will too. You made me go back to the list fearing I'd missed it earlier, but as far as I can tell I didn't.

Dionne Faris, "I Know"
Donna Lewis, "I Love You Always Forever"

Then there's the one-hit-wonders-in-America that were big artists elsewhere, like B*Witched, Take That and All Saints

I saw Dionne Farris open for Bryan Ferry in '95, at which she performed an eight-minute version of "I Know" and twenty-two minutes of the slushiest non-funk I've ever heard.

mostly remember the All Saints song because I didn't know non-Americans said "A to Zed"

ARE YOU JIMMY RAY?

noooooooooooooooo :(

wtf @ this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skoPxPZmySs

list needs more toadies

i remember when Jimmy Ray was on that proto-trl show MTV Live and played an attempted follow hit called 'Are You Trippin On Me' or something

actually it was "I Got Rolled" possibly

Luscious Jackson, "Naked Eye"

Folk Implosion, "Natural One"

Cornershop, "Brimful Of Asha"

da croup plz make a 90s mix tape because all of your suggestions have been amazing

Jars Of Clay, "Flood"

xpost wanna take that back now?

I swear this thread has happened already.

odds are

like word for word

those who remember the past are condemned to repeat it with a "lol" attached

I prefer the one-album-wonders.

Is this the 40 highest songs of a top 100 list? I'm kind of shocked they didn't put Deep Blue Something.. I mean we're talking fucking VH1 here..

Not that that song is anything special, but I knew without even looking that they were gonna put The Heights even though that song is hugely unmemorable.

Does "The Globe" count as a second hit for BAD II?

Voted for "I Touch Myself" because that was the video I was most thrilled to see as a horny teenager.

Does "The Globe" count as a second hit for BAD II?

― da croupier, Monday, April 11, 2011 2:37 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

I don't think so.

I can't believe they forgot "Jeremy" by Pearl Jams and "Plush" by The Stone Temple Pirates.

"Bittersweet Symphony" is the best song listed here but that would be a really boring vote, so Humpty it is..

Nada Surf - Popular

xpost wanna take that back now?

hell no, "Flood" is great

well okay Jimmy Ray is not awesome, step away from that

oh lol this some pedestrian string playing

Sister Hazel, "All For You"

btw it is crazy compared with what it takes to sell a million albums these days that Sister Hazel could score platinum off "Runaroundagain" like that

Taylor Swift's biggest album has sold six million copies, which puts it with the biggest BLUES TRAVELER album

I have zero recollection of Sister Hazel... oh wait, I remember this song. I had no idea who did it or what it was called. I was happier then.

I think I just assumed this was Blues Traveler.

lol that was an xp

Weird. I thought "Change Your Mind" was a hit.

It did well on the Adult Contemporary chart...in 2000

I'd just like to note that 9 Days' "Absolutely (Story Of A Girl)" came out in 2000 so it doesn't count in this thread, though if you want to get it stuck in your head anyway you're welcome to

okay now I really hate you

when i smile?

I had to write a short preview of a Jimmy Eat World-Sister Hazel show in 2003. I really had to struggle to come up with sixty words.

Also they had the Verve on the list but they didn't have The Verve Pipe.

now they're guilt stricken sobbing with their heads on floor

Meat Puppets, "Backwater"

Jennifer Paige - "Crush"

I feel like Sixpence None The Richer should get an honorable mention for pimping the La's one-hit-wonder to keep themselves from being a one-hit wonder

Shawn Colvin, "Sunny Came Home"

Shawn Colvin is seriously unpleasant. She was pimping her Christmas album at the Boston Pops holiday concert one year and was just a sour, unlikeable person all through rehearsal and the concert.

humpty dance

though i resent digital underground being called a one hit wonder

If America forgets "Kiss You Back" it's their loss

Top 20 in 1991

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-nyeiKk35M

Dowhatchalike

Nobody remembers whatever other songs Mr Bigg had hits with except for "To Be With You."

JUST TAKE MY HEART WHEN YOU GOOOOO

totally remember that follow-up

Does Tesla count?

can't say I recall Mr. Big's Top 30 cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" though. I think I still owe my sister 20 dollars over whether the singer for Mr. Big was a man or a woman. I was SURE that person was female, HAD to be.

xpost Tesla had two top ten pop hits (love song and signs) so no

plus a bunch of mainstream rock numbers i'm sure are just lovely

i saw mr big open for Rush. billy sheehan played his bass with a powerdrill that had a cylinder with guitar picks no it so he used that to pick the bass while he weedleweeedleweeelded...

they came out for rush's encore and jammed "wipeout"

i defy anyone to listen to that Steelheart song all the way through, nirvana didn't kill pop-metal, it found pop-metal's corpse and peed on it

Is this the 40 highest songs of a top 100 list? I'm kind of shocked they didn't put Deep Blue Something.. I mean we're talking fucking VH1 here..

― billstevejim, Monday, April 11, 2011 2:34 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

nope, the special that aired last week was just top 40. but they've previously done a top 100 one hit wonders of the 80s and a top 100 of all time.

they had to make more room for people to ask what that was about

I think it's fair to say that Queensrÿche [do not forget the umlaut this is critical] was a one-hit wonder with "Silent Lucidity" (1990).

also Damn Yankees with "High Enough"

(also 1990)

FUCKING DAMN YANKEES HATE THEM SO MUCH

90s entries in VH1's previous all-time list in 2006 that weren't in this list for some reason:

http://www.danboe.net/articles/975/vh1s-top-100-one-hit-wonders

“Groove Is In The Heart” by Deee-Lite (1990)
“Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinéad O’Connor (1990)
“Lovefool” by The Cardigans (1996)
“Epic” by Faith No More (1990)
“A Girl Like You” by Edwyn Collins (1995)
“How Bizarre” by OMC (1997)
“Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” by Digable Planets (1993)
“Just A Friend” by Biz Markie (1990)*
“Barbie Girl” by Aqua (1997)
“Don’t Want To Fall In Love” by Jane Child (1990)
“What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes (1993)

* originally released in 1989 but peaked in '90

the queensryche thing is kinda weird though, cuz do artists that had successful album careers count as one-hit wonders?

Queensryche only had one pop chart moment (though yeah a lot of mainstream rock hits), but apparently Damn Yankees hit no. 20 with this doozy two years after "High Enough"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnRsz4Yyshs

Am I wrong in thinking this sounds EXACTLY like "High Enough"?

that chorus is some straight up "let's twist again" shit

What about Seven Mary Three? Did they do anything besides the loathsome "Cumbersome"?

apparently three songs not named "cumbersome" made it to no. 7 on the mainstream rock chart (though yeah that was 7M3's only pop hit). I kind of wish they'd all made it to no. 6

from wikipedia: In December 2008, the group re-released their long out-of-print debut album Churn. On February 9, 2010, Seven Mary Three released the live acoustic album Backbooth.

Why and why?

I kinda love "High Enough".

Yeah, Queensrÿche was a biggish albums-band (as my hesher friends reminded me at the time when they got snobby about "Silent Lucidity")(which is kind of a jam I think? I mean it's obv. ridiculous but it's got a nice swell, a woozier "Comfortably Numb") but I think "one-hit wonder" means one single hits big & the other Empire singles were rock hits but "Silent Lucidity" hit #9 pop.

Surely some of the others on this list did decent biz with their albums?

Yeah, Billy Ray Cyrus did pretty well with his albums; and surely thinking of Queensrÿche as a one-hit wonder isn't any weirder than thinking of the Verve that way (though I guess we're playing with US/UK stuff here).

totally, it's all tiers and shits'n'giggles, but anybody with ONE pop hit or ONE hit on their genre chart counts as a one-hit wonder to me. You could even say Pavement was one for "cut your hair" which somehow hit #10 on modern rock with no follow-up.

If we're gonna count modern rock hits then I'm gonna put forth Peter Murphy's "Cuts You Up", which also went #55 pop.

fair enough (def his closest to a crossover), though my point was that pavement had no other modern rock hits - murphy scored a #2 on the next album

ah ok, I see---that's pretty amazing about Pavement!

I was thinking that Primal Scream's "Movin' On Up" would be a candidate (#2 modern rock, 1990) but actually they placed a bunch of songs on those charts. Here I'm talking USA charts. But I had no idea they were that big over here.

actually the Cure are kind of a 90s one-hit wonder in the USA---"Friday I'm In Love" hit #18 on the pop charts in 1992 (though "Just Like Heaven" hit #40 in 1988; maybe they're more like a 2-hit wonder).

I'm pretty sure "Lovesong" was top 10.

Lovesong hit #2.

lol ok I missed that one

wiki says operation mindcrime went gold

the cure did a version of operation: mindcrime??

no but Jet City Woman made it to #6 on the Mainstream Rock charts

Semisonic is disgusting too but didn't they do more than that?

The singer/songwriter(?) made a bunch of records with Trip Shakespeare in the 80s/early 90s. And wrote a pretty interesting book about how much it actually sucked to have a hit record.

Dan Wilson and bassist John Munson were both in Trip Shakespeare and both sang a couple songs per album but it was Matt Wilson's band.

Trip Shakespeare were awesome, Semisonic were shit.

Leaning Rednex on this one. Maybe Divinyls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bJrHl4TeN0

^^^^ the Zapruder film for Alexander fans.

i think there's a thread for gregg alexander iirc but a love like that and his song with hanson are both dope

+ the NR's album obv although i think there are some pretty weak joints on it. but the opening track is A+++++

um he also did 'murder on a dancefloor' by sophie ellis baxtor, forgot abt that

"Walking in Memphis" is totally justified by this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcBQepRQR7E

I'm pretty sure VH1 chose these songs based on their placement in pop culture history and do not care whether the songs charted or not.

In other words, if the song still still gets played on the radio or is used on nostalgia programs, it's a "hit" .. The artist might have another single which reached #38, but lots of songs chart which and then never get played on the radio ever again.. those are not considered hits in this regard. VH1's lists are based on pop culture and not Billboard.

http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/062308_cypresshill-260x260.jpg

not pictured: Gregg Alexander

i was going to contribute gina g's "ooh aah just a little bit" but after wiki'ing her i am shocked to discover she has had other hits!

VH1's lists are based on pop culture and not Billboard.
― billstevejim

And exclusively American pop culture, which is why bands like Roxy's Midnight Runners and Simple Minds will often show up in them.

For some reason, Katy Perry's Teenage Dream reminded me of something Gregg Alexander would write. Ecspecially from a few covers I've heard of it played on live instruments.

― MarkoP, Monday, April 11, 2011 12:58 PM Bookmark

this is really OTM actually - i think "teenage dream" might actually bite "You Only Get What You Give" as it is - -
"You - make - me - feel like a teen-age dream"
vs
"Wake - up - kids - we got the dream-er's disease"...

Roxy's Midnight Runners

lol

For some reason, Katy Perry's Teenage Dream reminded me of something Gregg Alexander would write. Ecspecially from a few covers I've heard of it played on live instruments.

― MarkoP, Monday, April 11, 2011 12:58 PM Bookmark

this is really OTM actually - i think "teenage dream" might actually bite "You Only Get What You Give" as it is - -
"You - make - me - feel like a teen-age dream"
vs
"Wake - up - kids - we got the dream-er's disease"...

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, April 12, 2011 4:13 AM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

otm

Roxy's Midnight Runners
lol
― dell (del),

lol I meant the band Dexy's Midnight Runners. AFAIK, no, Roxy never had any midnight runners.

get what you give v steal my sunshine v sex and candy v closing time

Tracy Bonham - Mother Mother
L7 - Pretend We're Dead

(Both may be discounted due to another single reaching 20-something?)

Trip Shakespeare were awesome, Semisonic were shit.

― last name ever, first name gjetost (Jon Lewis), Monday, April 11, 2011 11:22 PM

oh man TRUTH BOMB

wait what tracy bonham other single hit anything something?? xpost

this is really OTM actually - i think "teenage dream" might actually bite "You Only Get What You Give" as it is - -
"You - make - me - feel like a teen-age dream"
vs
"Wake - up - kids - we got the dream-er's disease"...

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, April 12, 2011 4:13 AM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah this isnt how the song goes tho

not that i disagree w/ the original point, but just ftr

"You - make - me - feel like I'm livin a - teen-age dream"

now that you mention it, if any KP song bites "you get what you give" it's the "firework" beat

Why is "I'm Too Sexy" listed as a 1999 song? It was a hit in the early 90s, wasn't it? And why does everyone always misspell Chumbawamba as "Chumbawumba"?

And why does everyone always misspell Chumbawamba as "Chumbawumba"?

Because so few people care.

I double checked to make sure there was no Gregg Alexander or Danielle Brisebois involvement with "Teenage Dream" and "Firework," and there wasn't. But I find it incredibly easy to believe Dr. Luke and Max Martin were channeling the NR style to some degree.

Also, I don't understand why Haddaway is listed as a one-hit wonder. He had a few other singles that made the charts, and back in the day "Life" was almost as big as "What Is Love". Sure, "What Is Love" is the one that keeps getting played today, but you can't retroactively change it to be his only hit.

Tuomas, have you ever seen a VH1 theme countdown? Logic doesn't apply. Only what they can get "humorous" commentators to comment on.

Most of the time with these things, we're lucky if they can even place a song in its correct release year.

And why does everyone always misspell Chumbawamba as "Chumbawumba"?

Because so few people care.

It's kinda sad that their only hit was followed by one of their worst albums, so they couldn't even come up with a proper follow-up single. If they'd hit big earlier with Anarchy, things might've been different, as that album has loads of catchy pop tunes. Though maybe the (more obviously) political lyrics and the (rather graphic) cover image might've made it more difficult to sell that one.

hey tuomas,

btw it's a given that VH1 has a totally warped idea of what a "one hit wonder" is and lots of these acts had more than 1 hit, so let's keep this thread free of that kind of pedantry and instead discuss and rank the songs themselves.

Too bad this was overlooked:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5PNYNQqnvk

I think I still have that first UDS album somewhere, and I may dare to give it a listen.

Ahhhh! We were just talking about UDS a couple weeks ago! And I've been thinking: what was up with them and ducks anyway? "ducks categorize us as hardcriers" from the big single, obv., but then on the next record they had Duck Ska: "have you seen the ducks witgh mother goose behind?" so is that strictly a UDS thing or is there some deeper Netherlands duck culture slang going on?

I also love how I can refer to them as UDS, like it's some kind of Mormon offshoot sect or something.

The ones I bought, in single format, at the time:

Right Said Fred I'm Too Sexy 1999
Chumbawumba Tubthumping 1997
Vanilla Ice Ice Ice Baby 1990
Joan Osborne One of Us 1996
New Radicals You Get What You Give 1999
Kris Kross Jump 1992
Snow Informer 1993
EMF Unbelievable 1990
Imani Coppola Legend of a Cowgirl 1997
Haddaway What is Love 1993
Belly Feed the Tree 1993
The Verve Bittersweet symphony 1998
Crash Test Dummies Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm 1994

The one I'm voting for:

Len Steal My Sunshine

Crash Test Dummies Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm 1994

I had a horrible temp job at a cd plant around the time this came out. The plant handled a lot of BMG stuff (RCA, Arista, A&M, etc), and I specifically remember spending a week hand inserting some kind of mail-in card in countless copies of this Crash Test Dummies cd.

Also? I had to hand-place the "Parental Advisory" sticker on literally thousands of copies of Tool's Undertow cd cover. If you bought that around the time it was new, I may or may not have put that sticker on your cd.

Chumbawamba ... Oh man. Went to see this lot play Orchard Youth Club in Slough in 85 or 86, because Peel had been playing Revolution to death. It was 50p to get in, all proceeds to some local collective. There were more stalls for animal rights than there were actual punters (Slough was not a big anarcho town. It tended more towards jazz-funk), and those punters were the same people who attended the few local gigs that were vaguely "indie". There seemed to be 1200 bands on the bill, all of whom seemed to be made up of the same five people in varying combinations. My mate and I snuck out for a Big Mac before the headliners, then felt we'd better have some Extra Strong Mints lest some some zealous ALF activist smell Corporate Death on our breath. Chumbawamba were like a particularly earnest local agitprop theatre group with backing musicians – Danbert Nobacon kept putting on a bowler hat to signify when he was playing the part of capitalism. It wasn't much fun. I never saw Crass, but I always imagined this to be the Poundland version of what they must have been like.

Anyway, You Get What You Give, for me.

^ The 80s were weird

Anyway, You Get What You Give, for me.

Heckovapunchline, there.

wait what tracy bonham other single hit anything something??

The second single, "The One" (taken from the 1995 EP), was a minor hit and peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart,[1] and two different music video versions of the song were briefly in heavy rotation on video music channels MTV & VH1. The third and final single, "Sharks Can't Sleep" failed to chart in the US.

Her wikipedia page is disturbingly well maintained.

for once, the Scooter cover is inferior btw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0drSzhnMbJg

Whoa, did everyone forget about KWS - "Please Don't Go"? What a great tune!!

Seconding L7 and KWS.

I wish Right So Fred and the Presidents of the United States of American hadn't had bigger hits, otherwise I'd nominate "Deeply Dippy" and "Peaches"--they should have been great one-offs.

I kind of can't stand "Peaches"

Lump > Peaches

Been a while, but I loved it at the time--#1 on my year-end list for whatever year it was.

Their version of "Cleveland Rocks," though, beats the stuffing out of their other singles, and even shits on Ian Hunter's version.

I love "Lump" and "Peaches" eternally, as well as PUSA album cuts like "We're Not Gonna Make It." So there.

I suppose Sixpence NTR is disqualified b/c that godawful La's cover actually managed to chart. Shame too, b/c 'Kiss Me' would be a major contender otherwise. I always pretended to hate that song until one day I was able to admit to myself and the world that I actually totally love it.

OMG the nineties is one long gay pride parade.

I love "Lump" and "Peaches" eternally, as well as PUSA album cuts like "We're Not Gonna Make It." So there.

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, April 12, 2011 10:10 AM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark

that first PUSA album is the kind of thing i'd probably still bump and enthusiastically tell people about if i wasn't sick of those 2 songs and people didn't already know them and have their minds made up about them because of those songs.

I think 'Gump' by Weird Al kinda perfectly encapsulated a certain mid-90s zeitgeist.

xpost: Just before Xmas, I was on a post-screening discussion panel with a former member of Chumbawamba, who is now working on a documentary of Sham 69's recent tour of China. He looked me hard in the eyes, and growled "Never Trust A Music Journalist". I could muster no quibble.

I would have shot back "you're never gonna keep me down"

lol

who is now working on a documentary of Sham 69's recent tour of China

Not a fate I would wish on anybody.

Wonder if the Chinese authorities asked Jimmy Pursey to censor his set, a la Bob Dylan... assuming anyone would go to see Sham 69 in China

They asked him to shut the fuck up and not play the gig at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kpGNGhqtW8

"Do you find it frustrating having to sing Jimmy's lyrics?
"That's like asking a vicar if he finds it frustrating having to read the Bible."

Please disregard Billboard and chart positions for the remainder of this thread as they are irrelevant to the producers of vh1-talking-head programs.

Except for maybe the metal show on VH1 Classic.

that first PUSA album is the kind of thing i'd probably still bump and enthusiastically tell people about if i wasn't sick of those 2 songs and people didn't already know them and have their minds made up about them because of those songs.

― absolutely steen hooses (some dude)

now I don't feel so embarrassed for my 9th grade love for PUSA (I haven't heard any of their full albums since)

but maybe I should be embarrassed that me and my friend would listen to this on the school bus while splitting one set of ear phones

BTW the Merrill Bainbridge song is the one that goes "would it be so bad, if I could turn you on", yadda yadda yadda. It was really famous and I'm guessing most of you have heard it at some point. Kinda wonder whatever happened to her.

got boned by a terrible contract iirc, but did put out a second album and a grip of singles. I bought every single one of them* because of collecting the work of her co-writer and producer based on his former band, and I did not like and cannot remember ANY OF THEM AT ALL except that I really liked Mouth and there was a cover of Being Boring on its b-side.

*2nd-hand, from 33c and up

Anyway, being a freak and liking girls with the boom, there is only one way I could vote

#1 Crash Test Dummies Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm
#2 The Verve Bittersweet Symphony
#3 Joan Osborne One of Us

#Honorable Mentions: House of Pain Jump Around, Imani Coppola Legend of a Cowgirl, Belly Feed the Tree, The Proclaimers I'm Gonna Be, Blind Melon No Rain

#MOST ANNOYING
#1 Chumbawumba Tubthumping (STAY DOWN)
Len Steal My Sunshine (don't give a shit about your flower power)
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Impression That I Get (bleh)
Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2UUvG-XuQs

"Wiggle It" 2 in a Room
"Tom's Diner" DNA
"People Are Still Having Sex" LaTour

"Stay" Shakespear's Sister
"Three Little Pigs" Green Jelly
"Slam" Onyx

"Short Dick Man" 20 Fingers feat. Gillette
"Get Ready for This" 2 Unlimited
"I Got 5 on it" Luniz

"Missing (Terry Todd Mix)" Everything but the Girl
"In the Meantime" Spacehog
"The Distance" Cake

"Let Me Clear My Throat" DJ Kool
"C'est La Vie" B*Witched
"We Like to Party" Vengaboys

Michael Penn - "No Myth"
Jude Cole - "Baby It's Tonight"
Chesney Hawkes - "The One and Only"

Babylon Zoo - Spaceman

Oh no - "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)"

Babylon Zoo - Spaceman

I didn't list this due to the thread being US-centric. UK one-hit wonders of the 90s deserve their own thread, with "Tease Me" by Chaka Demus & Pliers front and centre.

4. Los Del Rio Macarena 1996
5. Chumbawumba Tubthumping 1997
6. Semisonic Closing Time 1998
8. Duncan Sheik Barely Breathing 1996
11. New Radicals You Get What You Give 1999
15. Blind Melon No Rain 1993
19. Len Steal My Sunshine 1999
20. Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch Good Vibrations 1991
21. Imani Coppola Legend of a Cowgirl 1997
25. Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Impression That I Get 1997
26. Lou Bega Mambo #5 1999
30. The Verve Bittersweet symphony 1998
31. Crash Test Dummies Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm 1994
34. Des'ree You Gotta Be 1995
35. Marcy Playground Sex and Candy 1998
37. Merrill Baingridge Mouth 1996
38. Heights How Do You Talk To An Angel 1992
40. Tag Team Whoomp There It Is 1993

So many memories. I liked some of these one hit wonders better than the 90s long term artists.

more zeitgeisty stuff:

Scatman John - "Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)"
The Breeders - "Cannonball"
Stereo MCs - "Connected"

also, not sure if it's a hit but I would nominate Salt - "Bluster"

SALT!--I had that album; it was pretty cool, like a more-grungey Elastica. You might dig it, some dude.

I'm not sure if Breeders qualify for wonder status or not--"Divine Hammer" went kind of big, did it not? At least as big as "Bluster"

I would've already mentioned "Connected" already but could not remember the name of the group...

A couple more:

dog's eye view, "Everything Falls Apart"
Eagle Eye Cherry, "Stay Tonight"

The Nixons, "Sister"

Who was the pop band from the early 90s that covered "Sukiyaki"?

Speaking of Salt...

Veruca Salt - Seether

...also, a contenter for my fave 90s one hit wonder:

Shampoo - Trouble

Veruca Salt had Volcano Girls (which couldve been on the Blender list of momentum-killing follow-up singles poll that we just did)

Here's an obscurity:

Susannah Hoffs - My Side of the Bed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smye7LXn7hw

I don't remember it. Was it a hit?

xpost

i'm really glad that "Whoomp there it is" is by some dudes named Tag Team

based the Breeders nom on my never hearing "Divine Hammer" on the radio; the youtube does nothing to jog my memory

"Volcano Girls" was def. a hit

"Shutterbug" was really what killed the mo imo

I don't remember it. Was it a hit?

#32 in the spring of '91. I bought the single cuz I was a Hoffs...enthusiast.

btw Volcano Girls >>> Seether

xp to lbj: Really? I def. remember hearing Divine Hammer on the radio (though admittedly I had the album by then). In fact I even heard Saints on the radio a couple of times...

Pillbox u r so wrong

Tyler Collins - Girls Night Out

And one of my favorite songs of any genre:

Natural Selection - Do Anything

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0v_icbtspE

Divine Hammer probably counts, I remember people talking about it but I don't remember hearing it on the radio / seeing the video (thought it was just another album track)

fyi the Chaka Demus & Pliers song that had some amount of traction in the US was this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-av7F1JBmj4

I'm still bitter that nobody seemed to like the http://i54.tinypic.com/11l4yvn.gif Demus & Pliers dn I had at one point. :(

oh crap lol

lol

oh man, I was going to bring up Case's "Touch Me, Tease Me" but apparently he had 3 other hits I didn't know about...?

got boned by a terrible contract iirc, but did put out a second album and a grip of singles.

Heheh, just gave the second album a listen out of curiosity, it's not that bad!! "Big Machine" is one I can't get enough of. I think it's about some S&M device. I'm not too sure about that. Kind of disposable garbage pop but you know, it's not too bad. They even get Shaggy to do a duet on the last song! He sounds like a frog!!

Speaking of which how was there no mention of Shaggy in this thread??

Wait that came out in 2000??

could have sworn it came out in like 1998...ok quadpost complete

also Shaggy had no fewer than FOUR huge top 5 U.S. hits

He scored two hits.

xpost and some dude corrected me

lol my fellow members of the Chart History Mafia had me covered

As unbelievable as this sounds, I think I heard "Angel" far more than "It Wasn't Me."

man, if you had asked me to guess Shaggy's 4th top 5 hit, I totally would have said "Luv Me, Luv Me" and not "In the Summertime"

I have a very good friend who got married right around the time "Angel" came out who told us that she was considering playing "that Shaggy single" for her music when she walked down the aisle; of course at the time she was the only one who had heard "Angel" out of the people in the conversation.

She ended up going more traditional but I still lament that I have never gotten to see a bride come down the aisle to "It Wasn't Me".

I would have suggested "The Thong Song."

Whatever happened to the non-Shaggy dude on "It Wasn't Me"??? I thought he was primed to have a big career but he's at a "$2,000 question on Jeopardy" level of obscurity now

but I still lament that I have never gotten to see a bride come down the aisle to "It Wasn't Me".

or even better, 'Church Heathen'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dxq25Toh7k

dammit, was playing presidents of the usa in honor of the other thread and now have to play "seether" instead.

"seether is neither loose nor tight"

Greatest song ever to use the word "NOR?"

Still like this a lot but it's behind "Feed the Tree" for me in its genre. Obviously both are crushed by "Cannonball," but "Cannonball" is not actually the same kind of song.

Y'all, don't forget "Boombastic!" "It Wasn't Me" was dude's comeback hit.

"Boombastic" was dude's comeback hit.

"Oh Carolina" ftw.

here:

1 Shaggy Oh Carolina Feb 1993 Notes
5 Shaggy featuring Rayvon In The Summertime Jul 1995 Notes
1 Shaggy Boombastic Sep 1995 Notes
11 Shaggy featuring Grand Puba Why You Treat Me So Bad Jan 1996 Notes
21 Shaggy featuring Wayne Wonder Something Different / The Train Is Coming Mar 1996 Notes
7 Shaggy featuring Marsha Piece Of My Heart Jul 1997 Notes
31 Shaggy It Wasn't Me (import) Feb 2001 Notes
1 Shaggy featuring Rikrok It Wasn't Me Mar 2001 Notes
1 Shaggy featuring Rayvon Angel Jun 2001 Notes
5 Shaggy Luv Me Luv Me Sep 2001 Notes
19 Shaggy Dance And Shout / Hope Dec 2001 Notes
2 Shaggy & Ali G Me Julie Mar 2002 Notes
10 Shaggy Hey Sexy Lady Nov 2002

and his hit albums;

37 Shaggy Boombastic Oct 1995 Notes
1 Shaggy Hot Shot Feb 2001 Notes
20 Shaggy Mr Lover Lover - The Best Of - Part 1 Feb 2002 Notes
22 Shaggy The Best of Shaggy - The Boombastic Collection Sep 2008 Notes

Shaggy: one of the 90's most enduring stars!

TBH I had no idea all these songs were under his name, I just kinda thought all those hits were somebody else featuring Shaggy

that Shaggy/Ali G duet went to #2 in the UK cuz I don't remember it, and I kinda want an excuse to 'lol Britain'...

I would have suggested "The Thong Song."

Well it's true that Sisqo only had one number one hit. Strangely enough it was "Incomplete" and not The Thong Song.

Also Thong Song was 2000.