Hello fellow bored quarantined music lovers! I understand that this whole thing is different for many of you, but I have been doing this thing for the past eight years, so I’m kind of old hat at this stuff. And even though my wife is here as well trying to educate her students via the worldwide inter-web, the key to surviving is to stake out areas of your living quarters for yourself. While my wife gets the rest of the house, I get the smallest room for my music room, but I’m cool with it.
As you gathered from the creative title to today’s blog, this represents the second day of a ranking of my favorite 300 one-hit wonders. Allow me a moment that people often play wild and loose with the term “one-hit wonder.” Technically, I have always felt that a one-hit wonder meant that the artist only had one song that entered Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. But, then, I used to believe that it meant only songs that went into the Top 40, but that left out songs that grew in stature over the intervening years. While, there are others who cherry-pick only big hits, thus allowing those to have The Knack’s “My Sharona” (while ignoring that the forgotten but fantastic “Good Girls Don’t” was a huge hit too.) or “Harden My Heart” by Quarterflash (even though they had another Top 10 song, regardless of whether I remember the title of it or not – they had two more Top 20 songs!). So, you won’t find those outstanding songs on my list. Nor will you find the Grateful Dead’s “Touch of Grey” on the list, though I really should put it on here because it IS one of the great anomalies of Top 10 music of all-time. However, so many of their older songs have become standards on the radio, I decided against including them.
On the other hand, I did ignore Frank Zappa’s terrific “Dancing Fool” hitting the lower reaches of the Hot 100 in order to include another of his ditties. Likewise, many of you probably did not know that Tommy Tutone hit number 38 with “Angel Say No” a full year-and-a-half before they told us about Jenny’s phone number. So, I ignored that glitch too. And some of you chart historians might find other glitches such as these interspersed throughout my chart. Please feel free to list my omissions and questionable inclusions. I really would love to one day have an accurate representation of the songs that have played such an important part in this portion of rock history.
So, with all of that legalese out of the way, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this thing and do another 50 songs on my list, beginning with the song at number 250.
250. Paul Mauriat – “Love Is Blue” (1968)
249. Montel Jordan – “This Is How We Do It” (1995)
248. Rusted Root – “Send Me on My Way” (1994)
247. When in Rome – “The Promise” (1988)
246. Terror Squad – “Lean Back” (2004)
245. Shoes – “Too Late” (1979)
244. Paperboy – “Ditty” (1992)
243. Technotronic – “Pump Up the Volume” (1990)
242. Young MC – “Bust a Move” (1989)
241. Animotion – “Obsession” (1984)
240. The Vines – “Get Free” (2002)
239. Sisqò – “The Thong Song” (1999)
238. Paul Lekakis – “Boom Boom Boom Let’s Go Back to My Room” (1987)
237. Afroman – “Because I Got High” (2001)
236. Baltimora – “Tarzan Boy” (1985)
235. Starland Vocal Band – “Afternoon Delight” (1976)
234. Jigsaw – “Sky High” (1975)
233. Eddie Murphy – “Party All the Time” (1985)
232. Vangelis – “Chariots of Fire” (1981)
231. Peter Schilling – “Major Tom (Come Home)” (1983)
230. Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt Kickers Five – “Monster Mash” (1962)
229. Toadies – “Possum Kingdom” (1994)
228. The Rembrandts – “I’ll Be There for You” (1995)
227. Climax – “Precious and Few” (1971)
226. Bobby McFerrin – “Don’t Worry Be Happy” (1988)
225. The Lemon Pipers – “Green Tambourine” (1968)
224. Jump ‘n the Saddle – “The Curly Shuffle” (1984)
223. Murray Head – “One Night in Bangkok” (1985)
222. Tal Bachman – “She’s So High” (1999)
221. Kriss Kross – “Jump” (1992)
220. Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne – “You’re a Friend of Mine” (1985)
219. Carl Douglas – “Kung Fu Fighting” (1974)
218. EMF – “Unbelievable” (1990)
217. Taco – “Puttin’ on the Ritz” (1983)
216. Bobby Bloom – “Montego Bay” (1970)
215. Soul Asylum – “Runaway Train” (1992)
214. The Cardigans – “Lovefool” (1996)
213. Haddaway – “What Is Love?” (1993)
212. Ben Folds Five – “Brick” (1997)
211. The Fabulous Thunderbirds – “Tuff Enuff” (1986)
210. Autograph – “Turn Up the Radio” (1984)
209. Tim Curry – “I Do the Rock” (1979)
208. The Knickerbockers – “Lies” (1966)
207. The Verve Pipe – “The Freshman” (1996)
206. The Proclaimers – “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” (1988/1993)
205. Edie Brickell & New Bohemians – “What I Am” (1988)
204. Nick Gilder – “Hot Child in the City” (1978)
203. Rednex – “Cotton Eye Joe” (1994)
202. Dead or Alive – “You Spin Me ‘Round (Like a Record)” (1985)
201. The Youngbloods – “Get Together” (1969)
And that’s Day 2. See you tomorrow for more one-hit wonders!
If My Records Could Talk 