“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” ~ Andy Warhol
I must confess my fascination with one-hit wonders. Particularly those artists who at some point inexplicably spat out — possibly channelled — a morsel of unequivocal genius, a sonic masterpiece where rhythm and melody fuse into something vital… like a portal into a hitherto unknown universe… 3–5 timeless minutes that hover with esoteric intelligence as if heaven reached down and caressed a human voice… a song that brushes close enough to the divine to leave us believing in a force greater than our flesh and bones.
But then the artist can never repeat it. Try as they may — and trust me, they do — they will never taste the nectar of the celestial again.
What is it like to feel that magic — once — and then be forced into the purgatory of chasing the dragon for the rest of your life? I shudder to think. Sounds like an episode of “Black Mirror,” a modern version of a Faustian pact.
Just for reference, here are my 10 favorite one hit wonders:
- “Take On Me” by a-ha
- “867–5309/Jenny” by Tommy Tutone
- “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass
- “I Melt with You” by Modern English
- “Come On Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners
- “Too Shy” by Kajagoogoo
- “Smoke from a Distant Fire” by Sanford-Townsend Band
- “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell
- “Fantasy” by Aldo Nova
- “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves
I can sing every word of all of those songs but can’t name another song by any of those artists. Can you? Now, forty or fifty years later, some of these people are still singing their hit song to half-empty lounges, usually at the end of their sets so audiences don’t go home early.
Would you trade your life for a flash of renown, a sparkle of recognition followed by the world’s most pain-staking, unanticipated fade-out?
Regard this second list of world-class songwriters and performers:
- Brad Delp (Boston)
- Stuart Adamson (Big Country)
- Elliott Smith
- Chris Cornell (Soundgarden)
- Chester Bennington (Linkin Park)
- Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
- Michael Hutchence (INXS)
- Wendy O. Williams (Plasmatics)
- Nick Drake
- Naomi Judd
What do they have in common?
They all committed suicide.
It’s obviously unnecessary to mention Jim Morrison, John Bonham, George Michael, Prince, Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, and Amy Winehouse. Who knows what genius songs they would have conjured if they hadn’t been tempted to over-indulge?
Some of the one-hit wonders listed above are grateful for the freedoms that their singular song’s riches provided them (especially when rights to that song are sold to films and TV soundtracks). Others are resentful that audiences don’t find their deep cuts to be of equal merit.
But think about it… aren’t many of us one-hit wonders in some way?
I’ve worked with so many artists and musicians who seem to have peaked too early… and then have to reinvent themselves entirely…
Don’t many of us have a “claim to fame”, maybe a viral tweet or TikTok video? And yet most of us do not wish to rest on our laurels.
I remember being stopped in the East Village in the 1990s after a film I wrote played on television and I was interviewed about it. The passer-by said, “Hey! I saw you on TV last week. Your film made me think!” For me that was tantamount to winning an Academy Award: my art caused another human being to consider something new, something different.
Watch the documentary “The Story of Anvil” if you want a primer in artistic grace: after influencing countless bands and playing the Monsters of Rock festival, the heavy metal band Anvil shuffled into utter obscurity. Years later lead singer Steve Kudlow was asked if he would do it all over again. His answer is priceless. It embodies what Nietzsche wrote 1888: “On this perfect day when everything is ripening and not only the grapes are becoming brown, a ray of sunshine has fallen on my life: I looked behind me, I looked before me, never have I seen so many and such good things together. Not in vain have I buried my forty-fourth year today; I had the right to bury it….How could I not be grateful to the whole of my life?”
