The Ultimate Two-Hit Wonder

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Except for another #1 on the Rock chart & an additional pair of top 10 Rock tracks.

That's where it gets tricky about looking at more than one chart I think, or not looking at more than one chart.

Garth Brooks had Hot 100 songs at 5,11 and 46 ... and 18 Country #1's

I had been thinking the same with Dolly Parton. Too many top 40 hits (6) for our purposes, but only 1 #1 (9 to 5) and one other top 10 (Here You Come Again, #3). Of course she's had 20 country #1s.

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Eurythmics

Sweet Dreams are made of This (83) - 1 (1)
Here Comes the Rain Again (84) - 4
Would I Lie To You (85) - 5

101 + 98 + 4 - 361 -96....

And Missionary Man at #14. Love that song.

Originally Posted by Qwikshot

Sadly, Fly Robin Fly was the #1 hit the day I was born. I did the facebook app and everyone else was getting cool songs...and I got /this/? I was mortified.

I actually like Fly Robin Fly...

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Extreme is almost a perfect definition to me -- two top 4 hits, one song barely charted and nothing else.

Just seeing this thread...

To me, Extreme is a ridiculous example. The only reason they charted was because the songs were ballads. They were a huge and hugely successful hard rock band for over a decade (and are back together).

I guess what I'm saying is that it's hard for me not to factor in genre here as the sole reason they could qualify. How their songs charted really has no bearing on how popular they were, to the point where calling them a "2-hit wonder" doesn't really fit, IMO. I'm not sure the Billboard singles chart is really the best arbiter of what I think of when I think of a 1 or 2-hit wonder. Those terms suggest artists who hit it big one or two times but had no success otherwise.

I'd suggest at least a cursory review of the album charts to differentiate some of these artists. Extreme had 2 top 10 albums, 3 in the top 40, and 5 in the top 80. That's a band that was popular and sold well for quite some time. It's just that their individual songs didn't chart particularly well because of their genre. And I still contend that if grunge hadn't taken over the world by the time 3 Sides... came out, that Tragic Comic would have been another huge ballad hit for them. Brilliantly written lyrics. But I digress.

My .02...

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

And Missionary Man at #14. Love that song.

He's got God on his side....Don't mess with him!

[cartman]

Santana was another I thought might qualify. He did have a long time between top ten songs (1970-Black Magic Woman #4, 1999-Smooth #1) but he had a few other top ten songs before and after.

[Daimyo]

Playing loose with the rules, if you combine Cee Lo and Gnarls Barkley together you get a contender... (and most people wouldn't know the difference anyway)

Crazy: #2 + 4 international #1's, 2006
F*ck You: #2 + 1 international #1, 2010
Going On: #88, 2008

85 + 2 * 82 - 0 + 16 - 13 = 264

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I'm not sure the Billboard singles chart is really the best arbiter of what I think of when I think of a 1 or 2-hit wonder.

QuikSand, please immediately adjust your game's criteria to suit what Ksyrup thinks of when he thinks of a 1 or 2-hit wonder, so that he doesn't destroy this thread like he does every single other music thread in FOFC's history.

[Ksyrup]

Damn, dude save the vitriol for something more meaningful in your life.

Just an opinion. A "wonder" in the context of musical hits means a flash in the pan. The idea of bands like Extreme or Santana scoring highly as 2-hit wonders doesn't really work, iMO. Please put me on ignore so you don't fell compelled to spout off unprovoked. Fuck dude.

[Daimyo]

LMFAO:

Party Rock Anthem: #1 + 8 international #1s (2011)
Sexy and I Know It: #1 + 3 international #1s (2011)
Sorry for Party Rocking: #49 (2012)

108 + 2*103 - 52 = 262

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

LMFAO:

Party Rock Anthem: #1 + 8 international #1s (2011)
Sexy and I Know It: #1 + 3 international #1s (2011)
Sorry for Party Rocking: #49 (2012)

108 + 2*103 - 52 = 262

LMFAO is the name of the group? Ha! I thought you were just laughing at something.

[Scarecrow]

Bump

The shit you think of when your daughters are talking about TV shows...

Someone will have to do the math for me (and I don't think she's been mentioned), but what about Janis Ian?

At Seventeen (1975) - #3
Society's Child (1967) - #14
The Man You Are In Me (1974) - #104

For those that care, apparently there is a character on Mean Girls named Janis Ian.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

For those that care, apparently there is a character on Mean Girls named Janis Ian.

My first thought was, "Wait... a Mean Girls character is a hit singer?"

[stevew]

Is this thread about Suge Knight?

[cthomer5000]

Psy had songs at 2,5,26.... and will likely never be heard from again (in the USA).

[stevew]

They include YouTube in the top 100 formula now. If he can make anything viral again, obviously a huge if, it would likely crack the top 10.

[cuervo72]

Quick, someone name three Eddy Grant songs!

[Umbrella]

Nice thread recovery. I remember this one the first time around, and always thought Greg Kihn would qualify, though his 2nd biggest song wasn't top 10. I can't think of a third one.

ETA: I guess he had a song called Lucky, which I just listened to, and I still don't remember.

I did a quick bit of research, and there is a guy named Jimmy Jones, who hit #2 with Handy Man, #3 with Good Timin', and never charted again in the US.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Rufus (Chaka Khan funk band)

74 Tell Me Something Good 3 (0)
75 Sweet Thing 5 (1)
75 Once You Get Started 10 (0)

64 + 74 + 4 - 10 - 91 = 142 - 101 = 41

Chaka Khan solo

84 I Feel for You 3 (3)
78 I'm Every Woman 21 (1)
81 Whatcha Gonna Do for Me 53 (1)

67 + 2 + 24 - 0 - 48 = 93 - 48 = 45

Close race!

You Got The Love - probably like that better than any other Rufus song.

(Son heard and liked Obsession the other day, asked me if Animotion had any other songs. Reminded me of this thread. Also, where is the "songs without the title appearing in the lyrics" thread hiding??)

[CrimsonFox]

Men Without Hats

THe Safety Dance

And

Pop Goes the World

[CrimsonFox]

man I hate seeing a thread that I think I've never seen before only to realize I've posted in it and don't remember doing so

[cuervo72]

Hah! Yeah, sorry about that.

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

(On the US chart)

10cc

1975 - I'm Not in Love #2
1977 - The Things We Do for Love # 5
1977 - People in Love #40

(Although technically, in 1970 under the name "Hotlegs" they had a #22 song in Neanderthal Man.)

My match sucks + it won't win anyway...

No one ever added this up!

This is their top 3 in the US (Dreadlock Holiday only hit #44). They had 3 #1s in the UK: Rubber Bullets, I'm Not in Love, and Dreadlock.

Anyway, this score:

(11-2)^2 + 2*(11-5)^2 + 4*2 - 0 - (101-40) = 100 on the nose.

[britrock88]

Cream, for another ancient group:

This from the US Billboard...

'68 - Sunshine of Your Love - #6
'68 - White Room - #5
'69 - Crossroads - #17

(11-5)^2 + 2*(11-6)^2 + 4*0 - 0 - (101-17) = 2.

As the Byrds calculation illustrates, for purposes of this formula, it's most important to have a HUGE pair of hits. (Especially the second one.) After that, the farther away you can keep the riff-raff, the better.

[britrock88]

Hang on. JESUS JONES.

'90 - Right Here, Right Now - #2
'90 - Real Real Real - #4
(Error 404)

(11-2)^2 + 2*(11-4)^2 + 4*0 - 0 - 0 = 179.

I thought they might do better for not having a third single that charted.

[Grammaticus]

Obviously there is something wrong with the process when Cream, a legitimate hall of fame band is in a discussion for ultimate 2 hit wonder.

[QuikSand]

Agreed, what a fuckup. Let's make sure nobody posts anything like this again.

[Maple Leafs]

#TrustTheProcess

[Grammaticus]

#FightTheProcess will prevail.

[Julio Riddols]

Fuck you Donaldhem.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

Fuck you Donaldhem.

+1111111111111111111111111

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by Grammaticus

Obviously there is something wrong with the process when Cream, a legitimate hall of fame band is in a discussion for ultimate 2 hit wonder.

Lol. I love Cream, but I don't consider them to have been a huge singles group. And I was basically playing around with the limits of the formula at that point.