Acceptable registrations in the queue through March 16 at 11:00a ET have now been activated. Enjoy! -M.W.

Terms of Use have been amended effective October 6, 2019. Make sure you are aware of the new rules! Please visit this thread for details: https://www.mibuzzboard.com/phpBB3/view ... 16&t=48619

1980s 1 hit wonders

A place where record store snobs and casual listeners can unite as one! Discuss latest releases, all-time favorites, and deep cuts.
Deleted User 15835

Re: 1980s 1 hit wonders

Post by Deleted User 15835 » Thu Sep 01, 2022 1:02 am

matt1 wrote:
Mon Aug 29, 2022 1:07 am
Scritti Politti "Perfect Way" (late 1985)


I was trying to figure out who did this one. I want to say they only had 1 hit in The USA and but might of had others in different countries.



MotorCityRadioFreak
Posts: 6408
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2020 6:26 am
Location: Warren, MI

Re: 1980s 1 hit wonders

Post by MotorCityRadioFreak » Thu Sep 01, 2022 3:51 am

This is still one of the most haunting songs that came out from the 80's. Not sure if it was written with drug OD's in mind or HIV, but either way...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvdLovAaYzM

Martika "Toy Soldiers"


They/them, non-binary and proud.

Remember that “2000 Mules” was concocted by a circus of elephants.
The right needs to stop worry about what’s between people’s legs. Instead, they should focus on what’s between their ears.
Audacity sucks.

ChrisWL1980
Posts: 813
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2019 2:36 am

Re: 1980s 1 hit wonders

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Thu Sep 01, 2022 4:49 pm

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote:
Thu Sep 01, 2022 3:51 am
This is still one of the most haunting songs that came out from the 80's. Not sure if it was written with drug OD's in mind or HIV, but either way...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvdLovAaYzM

Martika "Toy Soldiers"
Your first guess is correct. Martika wrote the song about several friends of hers who died from drug overdoses.

Technically she wasn't a one-hit wonder, as her debut album also gave her another Top 20 hit ("More Than You Know") and she got another Top 10 hit in 1991 ("Love... Thy Will Be Done"). But this is definitely the only song she's remembered for.



ChrisWL1980
Posts: 813
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2019 2:36 am

Re: 1980s 1 hit wonders

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Thu Sep 01, 2022 4:54 pm

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote:
Wed Aug 31, 2022 8:52 pm
ChrisWL1980 wrote:
Wed Aug 31, 2022 8:42 pm
MotorCityRadioFreak wrote:
Wed Aug 31, 2022 12:19 am
ChrisWL1980 wrote:
Tue Aug 30, 2022 9:21 pm
"Really gay"? Is that a bad thing?

Assuming our criteria of "one hit wonder" is only one Top 40 Pop hit (though other songs of theirs may have reached the Hot 100 or even the Top 50, or may have been hits on Country, R&B or other charts), here are some favorites of mine. Some of these were songs I discovered listening to Premiere's AT40 reruns. (For the record, a few of the artists already mentioned had other Top 40 hits.)

Baby Love - Regina (1986) (not a Supremes remake)
If The Love Fits Wear It - Leslie Pearl (1982)
Turning Japanese - The Vapors (1980)
10-9-8 - Face to Face (1984)
Breakin'... There's No Stoppin' Us - Ollie & Jerry (1984)
Should've Never Let You Go - Dara Sedaka's duet with her daddy, Neil (1980)
Friends and Lovers - Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson (1986) (both one-hit wonders)
Soul City - Partland Brothers (1986 Canada, 1987 U.S.)
Fascinated - Company B (1987)
Beat's So Lonely - Charlie Sexton (1986)

Country stars with only one crossover hit:
Baby I Lied - Deborah Allen (1984)
What Are We Doin' in Love - Dottie West (duet with Kenny Rogers) (1981)

One-almost-hit wonders:
The Way To Your Heart - Soulsister (1989) - just missed the Billboard Top 40 at #41, but charted Top 40 Radio & Records
Midnight Blue - Louise Tucker & Charlie Skarbeck (1983) - made Top 50 pop and Top 10 AC

Then you had artists like Tracy Chapman and Enya, who ended the decade as one-big-hit wonders but managed to get another (and even bigger) hit some years later. Or Kate Bush, who managed to pull off a "Sheriff" this year with "Running Up That Hill" 37 years after it first charted. Not to mention major artists like The Grateful Dead who aren't usually thought of as "one hit wonders" but were as far as the Top 40 went.
No, being gay is fine. I'm bi myself. I was trying to proactively counter the snickers of such bigots.

The "Turning Japanese" song reminds me that there were several anti Asian songs in the 80's for whatever reason. Bowie's "China Girl" being another.
tc wrote:
Tue Aug 30, 2022 12:35 pm
Living In A Box - By Living In A Box
I literally just heard this yesterday on my 80's Oblivion CD.
Gotcha. I'm gender-queer myself. Thanks for clarifying.
Speaking of Asian cultural appropriation/racially insensitive content in early '80s music... there was this in 1981, which managed to get to #1 in the UK and in several other European countries. She is Scottish, not Japanese. And she could be considered a one-hit wonder as her only other chart record in the UK peaked at #50, according to Wiki. No way in hell would this fly today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyTruRHZsFQ
That’s awesome. I meant zero offense. I have several GQ and trans friends. Just know that down in Pol Pot, I was attacked for being bi. It’s great that you are here, both on the board and in general. :)
Thanks!! It probably was more my fault than yours, I tend to be a little oversensitive about things sometimes. I know homophobia/transphobia etc. tends to run rampant in online communities like this one (although there are also many open-minded and supportive folk). Most of my very close friends are gay or lesbian as well. It's always nice to meet "family" online.



ChrisWL1980
Posts: 813
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2019 2:36 am

Re: 1980s 1 hit wonders

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Thu Sep 01, 2022 4:58 pm

Speaking of LGBTQ+ people... Sam Harris, the original Star Search winner, took this song to #36 in 1984. The songwriters would later win a lawsuit against Madonna for plagiarizing "Sugar Don't Bite" for "Papa Don't Preach."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkwH_wQxtuA



matt1
Posts: 2945
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2016 12:53 pm

Re: 1980s 1 hit wonders

Post by matt1 » Fri Sep 02, 2022 3:07 am

Singer Martika was on the TV show "Kids Incoroporated" in 1989 - 1991. Also Jennifer Love Hewitt, Scott Wolf & singer Fergie also were on that show.



matt1
Posts: 2945
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2016 12:53 pm

Re: 1980s 1 hit wonders

Post by matt1 » Fri Sep 02, 2022 3:08 am

Also Detroit rapper Eminem did "Like Toy Soldiers" (which contained a sample of Martika 1989 song "Toy Soldiers").



Deleted User 15835

Re: 1980s 1 hit wonders

Post by Deleted User 15835 » Sun Apr 16, 2023 1:32 am



I heard this at Petco today.



stopnswop2
Posts: 3106
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:08 pm
Location: Novi, MI
Contact:

Re: 1980s 1 hit wonders

Post by stopnswop2 » Sat Apr 22, 2023 2:45 am



Music is my life.

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic