Bach FAQ 131
Is There a One-Hit Wonder Top 100 for Classical Music Through 2026? Yes… My One-Hit Wonder List…
A one-hit wonder list. Can you find one online? One? No, more like 30. And of course, who tops this list? Wikipedia. However, it only lists – in Germany – one-hit-wonders from German-speaking countries. But there are quite a few of them. Let me start by saying that personal taste is always of the greatest importance when it comes to inclusion in such a one-hit wonder list..
What's so special about this, my one-hit wonder list, right now? On a website about a, or rather the top musician in Classical Music? That's right: It's a mix of oldies, relatively recent super hits, and, of course, Classical Works..
Something hardly anyone suspects: There are actually one-hit wonders among Classical Composers. You’re sure to know one: Maurice Ravel. Who doesn’t know his “Bolero”?! At least by ear. And the “Radetzky March”? By the inventor of the Viennese waltz, Johann Strauss, Sr.? Well, the younger ones among us are less likely to know that one. Because this piece appears only homoeopathically in current feature films. Next up: the Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Anyone who enjoys watching TV can definitely hum along to the first few bars. And finally: “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”. By the one-hit wonder Richard Strauss. Here they are for you: the composers and their respective world-famous works. And if in doubt, please remember: Even in this list, one of several criteria is my personal opinion..
1692 – Marc-Antoine Charpentier – Te Deum
1694 – Pachelbel – Kanon in D-Dur
1812 – James Sanderson – Hail to the Chief
1818 – Franz Xaver Gruber – Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht
1821 – C. M. von Weber – Was gleicht wohl auf Erden
1831– Ben Johnston – Amazing Graze
1848 – Johann Strauss, Vater – Radetzky-Marsch
1852 – Charles Gounod (... & J.S. Bach) – Ave Maria
1858 – Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy – Hochzeitsmarsch
1874 – Bedřich Smetana – Die Moldau
1876 – Emmanuel Chabrier – España
1880 – Luigi Denza – Funiculì Funiculà
1888 – Erik Satie – Gymnopédie Nr. 1
1896 – Richard Strauss – Also sprach Zarathustra
1899 – Nikolai Rimski-Korsakow – Hummelflug
2007 – Puccini – Nessum Dorma
1928 – Jules Massenet – Meditation
1928 – Maurice Ravel – Boléro
1929 – Arthur Freed – I Am Singin‘ in the Rain
1931 – John Stafford Smith – The Star-Spangled Banner
1932 – Lara – Granada
1936 – Carl Orff – Carmina Burana
1936 – Sergei Prokofjew – Peter-und-der-Wolf-Marsch
1939 – Harold Arlen – Over the Rainbow
1939 – Max Steiner – Vom Wind verweht
1941 – Consuela Velasquez – Bésame mucho
1949 – Anton Karas – Der dritte Mann
1951 – Lee Marvin – Wand’rin’ Star
1952 – Harry Warren – That’s Amore
1956 – Charles Dumont – Non, je ne regrette rien
1956 – Ray Evans und Jay Livingston – Que Sera, Sera
1958 – Domenico Modugno – Volare
1961 – Ben E. King – Stand by Me
1962 – Little Eva – The Loco-Motion
1964 – Jerry Bock – Wenn ich einmal reich wär
1964 – Millie Small – My Boy Lollipop
1966 – Carson Parks – Something Stuipd
1966 – Los Bravos – Black Is Black
1967 – George David Weiss – What a Wonderful World
1967 – Scott McKenzie – San Francisco
1969 – Ralph McTell – Streets of London
1969 – Joe Dassin – Les Champs-Élysées
1969 – The Archies – Sugar, Sugar
1969 – Zager and Evans – In the Year 2525
1970 – Gordon Lightfoot – If You Could Read My Mind
1970 – Miguel Rios – A Song of Joy
1974 – Terry Jacks – Seasons in the Sun
1974 – The First Class – Beach Baby
1976 – John Miles – Music
1976 – Julie Covington – Don't Cry for Me Argentina
1978 – Marshall Hain – Dancing in the City
1978 – Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street
1978 – Patrick Hernandez – Born to Be Alive
1979 – The Buggles – Video Killed the Radio Star
1979 – Lipps, Inc. – Funkytown
1979 – The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays
1980 – Richard Sanderson – Reality
1982 – Dexys Midnight Runners – Come on Eileen
1982 – Peter Schilling – Major Tom
1982 – The Weather Girls – It's Raining Men
1983 – Fiction Factory – (Feels Like) Heaven
1983 – The Flying Pickets – Only You
1983 – Ryan Paris – Dolce Vita
1983 – Kajagoogoo – Too Shy
1984 – Opus – Live Is Life
1984 – Leonhard Cohen – Hallelujah
1986 – Desireless – Voyage Voyage
1986 – Berlin – Take My Breath Away
1987 – B. Medley & J. Warnes – The Time of My Life
1988 – Bobby McFerrin – Don't Worry, Be Happy
1988 – Kate Yanai – Summer Dreamin‘
1989 – Kaoma – Lambada
1990 – Israel Iz Kamakawiwo'ole – Over the Rainbow
1990 – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet
1991 – Marc Cohn – Walking in Memphis
1991 – M. Python – Always Look o.t. Bright Side of Life
1992 – Los del Río – Macarena
1992 – Haddaway – What Is Love
1992 – Whigfield – Saturday Night
1990 – Sinéad O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2 You
1995 – Fools Garden – Lemon Tree
1997 – James Horner – My Heart Will Go On
1997 – Natalie Imbruglia – Torn
1999 – Lou Bega – Mambo No. 5
2000 – ATC – Around the World
2002 – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song
2010 – Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP – No Speak Americano
2011 – Capital Cities – Safe and Sound
2012 – Psy – Gangnam Style
No More One-Hit Wonder Since 2012?..
And why are there absolutely no one-hit wonders at all after 2012? Wasn't a single mega-hit composed during that time that wasn't followed by any other similarly cool song?..
No, that doesn’t rhyme at all! Let’s take the last one-hit wonder artist on my list … as an example … Psy. He’s synonymous with an incredible viral sensation that swept the globe. The over one billion views of digital content related to this hit are mind-blowing. But … his follow-up “hit” wasn’t even close to generating the same level of enthusiasm as Gangnam Style. After that, we didn’t hear a thing from him. Except, of course, in South Korea. And he released new works for fans who are specifically interested in him and like his music. But … and now comes the really big “but”. There’s no reason to believe he won’t succeed in releasing another hit, at least one or two levels below his 2012 success. That could be next year, or in three or five years. Then … he’d be removed from my one-hit wonder list. And he’d then join the “Hall of Fame” of those who were able to turn their debut hit into lasting success. Like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. So I’m already “on thin ice” with Psy (... on my list) and his “Gangnam Style.” However, in my view, it’s highly unlikely that another “smash hit” will follow. From Psy..
But this becomes even more extreme with each passing year. Take Ed Sheeran and his 2021 summer hit, Bad Habits: Ed Sheeran simply can’t be included in the list above because he’s just too consistently super-successful. It’s the same with Pink and her hit Cover Me in Sunshine: She, too, was, is, and remains far too successful for our list..
In addition, it’s generally true that while some songs may be the biggest hits of the year, they’re by no means destined to be one-hit wonders. And that also applies to songs that reach or have reached the top of the charts in just one country..
Let’s wrap up this chapter with the smash hit Jerusalema by composer Master KG from 2019. In 2020, the song “went viral.” This was partly because more and more people of all ages were posting and watching dance videos featuring the song online. So why isn’t Master KG a one-hit wonder? Because we don’t know if Master KG will “deliver” a second smash hit next year. And then another one every two years after that. But this is really just my own take on things. You’re entitled to see it completely differently..
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