When you think of one-hit wonders, you don't think of the artist's entire discography. However, many artists with one big hit have a lot of fantastic music worth listening to. To find out what artists they're missing out on, one music lover turned to social media.
1: Warren Zevon
“Warren Zevon,” wrote u/rabid_boater. “Most people would only know him as The “Werewolves of London” guy.”
They added that Zevon's cover of “Knockin' On Heaven's Door” is particularly haunting. The song is said to have been recorded in Billy Bob Thorton's basement with Zevon's friends singing backup after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer.
For u/rabid_boater, the song, “has a haunting pleading quality unmatched by Dylans [version].”
2: Semisonic
u/JournalofFailure shared, “Semisonic recorded three brilliant albums, but most people remember only ‘Closing Time.' “
3: Harvey Danger
u/squawkingood replied, “All three Harvey Danger albums are great in completely different ways. The first album is more grunge influenced, the second is more psychedelic rock, and the final one is Beatlesque pop rock.”
4: Nada Surf
u/jbazildo responded, “Nada Surf. They have an excellent body of work and their main hit ‘popular' is a stylistic outlier. They haven't made a bad album imo, but I'd encourage anyone to check out their albums Let Go and the Weight is a Gift in particular.”
5: Gary Numan
u/kissmeetsthephantom answered, “Gary Numan.”
“In what world is Gary Numan a one-hit wonder? He has multiple gold albums and multiple charted singles and very respected and
successful career for decades!” asked u/Cacutec_1.
“In the United States. ‘Cars' was the only Numan song to hit the Top 100,” replied u/ral315.
6: Carly Rae Jepsen
u/ihitrockswithhammers suggested, “Carly Rae Jepsen. I still skip “Call Me Maybe,” but I love that album, and some of the others too. She's awesome, if you like cutesy girly music that is.”
“Anyone not listening to her stuff is doing themselves a disservice,” added u/funkme1ster. “She's bringing disco back and having fun doing it.”
7: Thomas Dolby
u/Prestigious_Water336 said, “Thomas Dolby. The Golden Age of Wireless is an excellent album. There's
not a bad song on that album but they say his one hit was She Blinded Me with Science.”
8: Toadies
u/CanolaIsAlsoRapeseed responded, “Toadies. They sorta had other hits, but Possum Kingdom is really the only song most people know. But they have been making absolute bangers for three decades.”
9: DEVO
u/Blooper8r said, “no one mentioned DEVO?”
“Yeah and their hit isn't all that great compared to the other stuff,” replied u/KingCourtney__.
10: Rick Astley
u/eBICgamer2010 suggested, “Rick Astley,” who's famous for his hit song ‘Never Gonna Give You Up.' “Highly recommend his other works like Beautiful Life, Every One of Us, Dance.”
11: Gotye
u/findthefish14 responded, “Gotye. Somebody That I Used To Know wasn't really reflective of his style. I love his songs like Save Me and I Feel Better.”
12: Prefab Sprout
u/YteKnight696 shared, “all of Prefab Sprout's albums are great though no one really heard of them from ‘Appetite'.”
13: Motorhead
u/wotsname123 answered, “Motorhead. 22 albums, each with a minimum of 3 absolute bangers, people only know Ace of Spades.”
Maya (she/they) is a queer entertainment and culture journalist. They cover interviews, reviews, roundups, news, and more. She loves horror, history, and creativity. They hope their writing both entertains readers and inspires them to think critically. Her favorite pastimes include needle felting, gaming, and drawing.
