great songs by people who only recorded one song.

like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ASWSQPE250

rare acetates and demos are welcome! (one single wonders are okay too. i'm no ogre. what are some of your fave A or B sides by a band with one and only one single...)

This is the only thing released by Sheffield new wave band 2.3 - it was the second record ever released on Fast Product, in 1978.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZcTD9RqLEU

Ultra-mysterious Detroiters of a certain era:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeF0xTdHPfA

can you believe that i owned an original copy of "politicians in my eyes" by Death and i sold it for peanuts. what the hell was i thinking? i found it in the town i live in too! oh well. it sounded so cool. well, not totally peanuts but it sells for a grand these days. i did not get a grand for mine...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d38odidhCmM

A UK number one from 2004

3 of a Kind never released a follow-up to "Baby Cakes", making them one-hit wonders in the UK. A potential follow-up track, "Wink One Eye", was put forward as the second single, but was pulled from the new release listings and never rescheduled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOMSZQ7RacQ

Only single released by these blokes, I believe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtqTAvv2kDA

The first band I know of named Anodyne, they were from Alabama. They had some music label interest at the time (and they did get an unreleased song played on American Bandstand), but no one knew what to do with an American darkwave band in the early Eighties. They did have a YouTube channel about 20 years ago with *loads* of material from them and their later bands, but they had a clip from that AB play on it and it was copyright struck. There's shows on YT from about 10 and 15 years after this single came out, and they suggest that this might have been the best we could have gotten from them. I had this single, which I found in a boutique in Ybor City, and it had a picture sleeve that I've seen nowhere else. It burnt up when my other records were set on fire 2 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX8vVTKOPuk

never forget! #alltime #notjustforserialkillers #shoutouttoalexinnyc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_DVS_303kQ

speaking of horses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdZuVw29PrE

Cross My Palm by Chris Morris, a 1983 UK synth-pop obscurity that somehow got covered by Japanese superstar Akina Nakamori a few years later.

One everyone will be familiar with (at least from 2:20 onwards)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK2EUIYiWXU

god i love this topic

i got a couple of others in this category but the only one i can remember is elizabeth city state

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZI6ySeeXDI

oh wait here's the only recording by bunty pendleton

she had a long career as a singer after this, but never recorded anything else

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTt68J6NxYk

i love this song so much

for a long time the band xalph only had one song released, gya-tei part 1 and 2 on the zeuhl compilation _enneade_, but they've had an archival record released since

I guess this is a slight cheat but The Nerves recorded only one four-song 7” and one of the four was “Hanging on the Telephone,” later recorded by Blondie, Def Leppard, Cat Power, and others.

oh, how about this one, a one-hit wonder who never had any records... this was "bubbling under" for a week in 1979 as a result of pre-promotion, but the single was never actually released... a tape copy surfaced after a serious online search. don't think they ever recorded anything else

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdt_Aer-46Q

NNB only recorded two songs, of which "Slack" is one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AWTGExPigI

Dredd Foole and the Din covered it, and the cover is one of my favorite songs ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Fn1GY3Ygw

The Cinnamon Soulettes released a lone single with this haunting B-side:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skd2ADXkYJY

The Jourbert Singers- Stand on the Word. There have been countless remixes and disco edits. But they just released the one song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9UV58U9DyU

Never knew Hangingonthetelephone was a cover!!

Now I just have to work up the nerve to check out the Def Leppard version...

xp technically speaking The Joubert Singers released their debut album in 2016, though I am not sure how many of the members were original at that point.

According to discogs it was 1985.

Oh nvm. I see what you mean now.

Another bit of a cheat here, a song with a b-side. The descriptively-titled "BUZZZZZZ", by Jimmy Gordon, is a surf-garage instrumental from 1963, dominated by a very loud and early fuzz-guitar riff. My single copy was originally my Dad's, and very much reflects his teenage taste towards obnoxious guitar sounds, and who needs lyrics? ("Wipe Out" and various Duane Eddy titles were others he bought at the time, all of which made great items for preschool me to begin my own record collection with.)
It's a little bit amazing to me that this record which originated in Los Angeles on a small California label would be ultimately picked up for distribution in Canada's Lake Huron region (no surfing there!) on a small domestic label, and it's scarce enough that Discogs has zero copies available (with over 50 wanted)

B-side is totally different, another instrumental with a riff that I *think* was adapted from a Quincy Jones record?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb6cNcFXooU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPBDadRkn78

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV1VKRBnLYA

"Like They Say In L.A." by East L.A. Car Pool, reached #72 on the Hot 100 in 1975 but there was never a follow-up single or album

Lots of things from the 365 days project would probably count, but I've always had a thing for 'Reputation' by Merigail and Don Moreland: https://wfmu.org/365/2003/134.shtml

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHP3O_NQfhk

Star Sign Scorpio - Eskinaut

Kathi Wilcox has been in a bunch of bands but this appears to be her only solo thng?

drat, it seems Kim Thompson was also in the band there's at least one other song on a (Jed-Bindeman-on-Discogs-submitted lol) compilation tape

in my defense, i only ever had the 7" of this minus the LP and sleeve. it just came to mind cause i alway loved the idea of someone's single song being this perfect litle 1-minute-long ditty

This is hard. I can think of several artists with only one A/B single but one side only I can’t think of any.

(one single wonders are okay too. i'm no ogre. what are some of your fave A or B sides by a band with one and only one single...)

Well, I don’t know if it has been mentioned but Stardust only released “music sounds better with you” iirc?

Oh one single wonders are in then these are essential:

The Normal - warm leatherette/tvod
The Phantom - Love Me/ whisper your love
Q Lazarrus - goodbye horses/white lines

Dinosaur - kiss me again

M/A/R/R/S- Pump Up The Volume/Anitina

yeah, one song or one single is fine. i know there are probably tons of great songs on comps of people who never recorded again. live comps are like that. from the punk and new wave era. but i can't think of any right now.

i used to like this comp and it has two or three people on it who never really recorded anything else. i bought it because kissing the pink was on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxhCGlYr_34

a shout-out to Marie Hoy and Friends. one of my fave covers of all time and she made a bunch of music with the nick cave-like ollie olsen but for some insane reason was never ever allowed to sing again on anything. as far as i know. so, not a real band. a song for a soundtrack. but still, so great! she should have had whole albums of sad suicide anthems. i would have bought them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R22jMsKTIt8

Well, I don’t know if it has been mentioned but Stardust only released “music sounds better with you” iirc?

There was a band called "Soul" who's one and only single was released on Cherry Red. John Peel played it a fair bit and I always thought it was by The Cure (this is back when not so many bands wanted to be The Cure then, as such)

So, Tribes. By "Soul"

Difficult to Google!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKVeDZbbf6A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKVeDZbbf6A

Opps

speaking of one-off collaborations, the travis scott and kid cudi of their day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDOF23sd-Bs

Frank Hutton - Old Man Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAYCqYIYf1g

"In The Neighbourhood" was released as a single, along with a music video by Greg Semu. The song peaked at number 6 in the New Zealand singles chart, and charted for 12 weeks.In Australia, "In the Neighbourhood" peaked at number 62 on the ARIA singles chart, and spent 10 weeks in the top 100.
In 1995 the duo performed in all six locations in Australia and New Zealand for the Big Day Out music festival, with "In The Neighbourhood" reaching #2 on Australian radio station Triple J's charts.

They won Most Promising Group at the 1995 New Zealand Music Awards., Unbeknownst to the pair, they were offered an album deal with Sony Music Australia through their producer Alan Janson. In the meantime the duo migrated to America and the album was never recorded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhK8o2lRy5o

If one-off collaborations don’t count then MARRS and Dinosaur don’t count either.

Thought I had one but it turns out Neal Howard released two singles. Still, putting this up anyway because it deserves some love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cEsuge6Dw4

I started a "bands who only ever released one track on a compilation" thread but I can't find it now!

ah here

S/D artists whose entire known output is a single track on a compilation album

NNB only recorded two songs, of which "Slack" is one:

lol, i actually prefer the a-side of their single, "new world"

i got a couple of bootleg live tapes of them, great shows, television covers and suchlike. i think there's also a demo tape they did, but i could be misremembering.

dredd foole and the din's cover of "slack" is fantastic, though, better than the original

respect to scott but to me "one song" and "one single" are really different things, there are thousands upon thousands of groups that only cut the one single... a lot rarer for someone to have just one song.

and oh yeah those old radio station compilations of local bands... jeez there are some gems on there but that's a level of crate-digging that most people probably don't go to, sometimes it feels like it's one step above song-poems. no disrespect meant to any of those local bands. and distribution of those LPs was limited and local and god i can't imagine the challenges reissuing any of this stuff legally...

“Sugar Sugar” technically?

Les Lunours - Nous sommes bi-bi-ba-ba-boum-boum

Marie Hoy sang on some Moler joints in the 90s

she did!? solo singing? i'll look for them.

"respect to scott but to me "one song" and "one single" are really different things, there are thousands upon thousands of groups that only cut the one single... a lot rarer for someone to have just one song."

yeah i know i added that at the last second. i wanted to open it up. some people have just one side of a single! or they have one song and then there is some weird instrumental that they had no part of just so there is a b-side. there are all kinds of weird 45s out there. single-sided 45s!

78s had that a lot too. one person singing on one side. someone else doing a fiddle instrumental on the other side.

no, BVs.

ah yeah. its weird. how does someone hear that cover and not sign her up for a record? such a cool voice.

god i love this topic

i got a couple of others in this category but the only one i can remember is elizabeth city state

📹

A four-song EP may be too long for this thread, but I love the fact that the lead singer pops up in the comments to say 'We sucked!' They didn't. Produced by Kim Gordon and Don Fleming:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y54dxNJ5Fh4

Doesn't sound like they sucked at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLTI7iKRTb4

yah that's Julie from Pussy Galore who def does not suck

xxxp moka, i never knew that about that Sisters Underground song

it also was the soundtrack to one of the 3 TV stations here in the late 90s, early 2000s - all the little interstitual bits advertising the station fading out on that "all riiiight" burned into my brain. hopefully they got paid pretty well for that.

listening in with fresh ears it kind of sounds like it could be on Mellow Gold. the video even looks a bit Loser or Beercan...

The original version of "Cecilia Ann," by The Surftones (Steve Hoffman and Charles "Frosty" Horton)

I discovered Hey Bastard by STP in the great Rough Trade Shops Rock N Roll comp, one of my favourite comps:

https://www.discogs.com/master/535505-Various-Rough-Trade-Shops-Rock-And-Roll-1

Apart from some guest narration on a few Alan Parsons and Manowar tracks, I'm pretty sure this is the only thing this guy ever did:

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

Peter Ustinov's one and only single ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHfseN9nSVE

p.s. not that Anthony Hopkins

Some people might challenge this as being "great," but Hooty Sapperticker by Barbara & the Boys. I think it's great; you don't have to think it's great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn1KWDn_jXo

Qualifies for the "one song" criteria because the b-side, Cobra, is simply recorded by The Boys, sans Barbara.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTrK1xDl2QE

lol “Hooty Sapperticker” was one of my introductions to the whole Las Vegas Grind/Strummin’ Mental etc. world of weirdo 45s. I love it. Once you go down that rabbit hole the joys are endless.

I’m kind of obsessed with “Rock The Blues Away” by Jack and the Knights. Almost Shaggs-like in its ineptness, apparently 1:37 was all they could hold it together. And I picture the singer being about 70 years old.

I know someone who actually tracked Jack down, but he didn’t want to talk about this record at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNkScEqF2Ko

Red Turns To released one 12" on Factory then never did anything else AFAIK, it's a lovely piece of New Order/OMD electropop and is produced by Stephen Morris

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DULb_avoVI

Banbarra released just the one single Shack Up with part 2 on the b side. Nothing else from them and beyond the song itself being great, the breakbeat (at 1:41 in the below video) is huge. Also covered by A Certain Ratio a few years later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R--YJKG3MWQ

Steve Martin Caro from Left Bank recorded these 2 songs for a soundtrack and they became a promo single, they are amazing:

https://www.discogs.com/release/6807985-Steve-Martin-Two-By-Two-Im-Losing-You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtPid0OfFH0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOJpv1wnJzg

also this, Stilllife, a LAMFS adjacent project (Dennis Duck, Tom Recchion)
Can/Steve Reich vibes in 80's LA:

https://www.discogs.com/release/900486-Stillife-Rubrica

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsOtHTpbeP8

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

If Orson Welles and Peter Ustinov can be in this thread, then so can Reginald Bosanquet (UK newsreader) and his single released in 1980 - 'Dance With Me'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm6ugAK6l14

"wno needs bananarama ?"

didn't they get a cover on the NME as well ?

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

The Baltimores only released one single, and the B side is alright, but the A side is an all-timer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4KF6pCME10

afaik this is willy Roy’s entire oeuvre but … it contains multitudes

https://open.spotify.com/track/0tGz3HU0LA2S53XzR6lRYe?si=V5AXr5vkTOyRV-K5T9qT8g

xp Huh, so there are almost as many songs recorded about The Baltimores as there are songs recorded BY The Baltimores.

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

posting this work of absolute genius here again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkEBQsK4jt8

Fatal Microbes - Violence Grows (they did also do a split EP with Poison Girls but it's the same two songs from this 7")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G_qf1M8LQQ

Ah, I taped "pepsi cola/beautiful pictures" off John Peel, and some thought it was something we'd recorded backing my sister (we'd done a song called "Capital Radio" that sounded similar).

B-side is totally different, another instrumental with a riff that I *think* was adapted from a Quincy Jones record?

Ok, I remember now, not Quincy at all but "Flying Home" by Benny Goodman's sextet

I've talked about this song before, it's one of my favourites of all time. There is a b-side, so the band technically recorded two songs.

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

The b-side is also very good.

So sick, thanks 4 the share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsxrVHP7TS4