Ray Columbus and the Invaders were the biggest beat group in New Zealand so rival group The Pleazers covered The Reflections song as a tribute.
Another 1990s one-hit wonder was Dionne Farris, whose hit "I Know" peaked at #4 in 1995. (She had been the female vocalist on Arrested Development's 1992 hit "Tennessee" but wasn't credited on the single.) Farris' follow-up single, "Don't Ever Touch Me (Again)," only got to #121:
The Style Council was a 1984 1 hit wonder group, they hit #29 with their hit My Ever Changing Moods. Sadly, they only hit #76 with their followup You’re The Best Thing. After that they failed to chart. That DX7 Bass (patch SYN CLAV 2) sounds cool though. Rachel Sweet had a hit with Rex Smith, Everlasting Love, which reached #32 on the charts. The follow up hit she had, solo, Voo Doo, didn’t make it as far, only going to #72 Rachel Sweet - Voo Doo Switch, which hit #36 with There’ll Never Be, hit #69 with Best Beat In Town. Switch- Best Beat In Town Jumpin’ Gene Simmons, who had a hit with Haunted House, had a follow up, The Dodo, that only reached #83 on the charts. The Dodo - "Jumpin' " Gene Simmons
Not close to a one-hit wonder in the UK, where they made the chart 15 times, so I wouldn't say they're really one at all. Given they're Paul Weller's post-The Jam band they were quite famous here and I guess any lack of success in the U.S. only mirrors The Jam's lower profile there.
John Fred and His Playboy Band had been together since 1958, and their debut single in 1958 hit #82. They didn't chart again until 1967. In that year they released the album "Agnes English". The first single was "Up and Down". It didn't chart. The next single was the title track, "Agnes English". That hit #125. But the third time was the charm. "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" hit #1. The followup was "Hey, Hey, Bunny" which reached #57. Only one more single hit the Bubbling Under chart, the followup to "Hey, Hey, Bunny" was called "We Played Games", and it reached #130.
I'm in the middle of reading his book right now, and there are several instances where he classifies an artist as a OHW simply because their follow-up single didn't chart quite as high as their big hit. His criteria for what classifies as a OHW is highly questionable.
This is quite astonishing: a band whose greatest songs were covers of British bands! Billy was by Paper Lace (a deserved number one in the UK), and Who Do You Think... by Candlewick Green, another UK hit!
'Fire of Love' - Jody Reynolds (1958 - Billboard #66); the follow-up to 'Endless Sleep (BB #5) song later played live by the MC5
'Oh, What a Fool' - the Impalas (1959 - Billboard #86); the follow-up to 'Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)' (BB #2)
UK One Hit Wonders from the 70s: Simon Park Orchestra - Number One in 73 with Eye Level (in fact released in 72, but a hit in 73 when it was used in the TV series Van der Valk). Their follow-up, High Fi didn't scratch the charts. Waldo de Los Ríos - An enormous hit during 1971 with the cover of Mozart's Symphony nº 40, he waited a whole year to release his next single... went nowhere. Telly Savalas - Not a "one hit wonder" as such, but the follow-up of If (number one in 75, and yes, the cover of the Bread song), You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'made only number 47 (then a Top 50). C.W. McCall - Convoy was a number two hit during early 1976, his follow-up was Classified and went nowhere. Hank Mizell - The perfect example of a re-issue. A non hit during the 60s, Jungle Rock was revived by Charly Records in 1976, made to number 3 (even though nobody knew where he was) and its follow-up Kangaroo Rock (you see the pattern?) only entered the "breakers" (like the Bubbling Under chart). Southern Comfort - The cover of Woodstock made number one in 1970, and never seen again. Typically Tropical - A quintaessentially summer novelty song, Barbados, made number one in the long summer of 75, but Rocket Now, the follow-up, crashed into a sea of indifference. Captain Tobias Wilcock was never seen again. Althia and Donna - Perhaps one of the first reggae songs to go number one, after the juggernaut of Wings's Mull of Kintyre, in early 1978. Unfortunately, after the disaster of their appearance on TOTP with that song, their next single (Puppy Dog Song) was a complete and utter flop. Honorable mentions to... Lena Martell, Clive Dunn (permission to sing, Sir? Hell no! You prevented a number one to Marc Bolan, bugger off!), Anita Ward, Lee Marvin and a lot of singers/bands which were one-hit wonders but I don't have the time or guts to mention.
A rock band going by the name "Black Sabbath" had a hit song with Paranoid, reaching number 4 in the 1970 UK chart. They had another couple of minor chart placings in 78 and 80, but their immediate follow ups sank without trace. I sometimes wonder what happened to that band...
'Heartbreak Ahead' - the Murmaids (1964 - Billboard #116); the follow-up to 'Popsicles and Icicles' (BB #3)
'A Very True Story' - Chris Kenner' (1961 - Billboard #103); the follow-up to 'I Like It Like That' (BB #2) He later had the original 'Land of 1000 Dances' (BB #77; 1963)
Song got to #61 in US. I've heard of them but can't say I've ever heard any of their songs. I don't listen to that rock crap.
it's just like "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet" So much so, that for a second I thought you had posted the wrong clip.
I saw some of them come out with Bruce Sprinsteen to do Double Shot. There's still an active lineup down in Greenwood, SC.
Norman Greenbaum followed up “Spirit in the Sky” with “Canned Ham” which is a great song that went nowhere chartwise. And this is a religious Jewish guy with these 2 songs!
I looked up Gotye, as I was sure he had released at least one more album after Making Mirrors, which "Somebody That I Used to Know" came from. Nope! He never released another album. The only post-Making Mirrors singles he released were in 2013 - a cover of Japan's "Ghosts" and a song called "Quasimodo's Dream".
Making Mirrors was actually his third album. He had a couple of very minor hits before the big one; those two made the ARIA top 100 but not the top 40, so it's probably fair to label him a one-hit wonder. "Quasimodo's Dream" is an Australian song that dates from the early 1980s, written by Dave Mason and originally recorded by The Reels. The song has been recorded by a LOT of artists, which is somewhat surprising, considering it was not really a hit at the time. It's one of those songs that seems to have "legs".
