Let’s be real — there’s no shame in being a one hit wonder. With 99.9 percent of bands never getting TV or radio play at all, creating a single song that captivates the entire world, if just for a few moments, is a legitimate achievement. We fondly remember these 15 bands who infiltrated the mainstream chart only once, but remain beloved decades later.
Blind Melon’s massive success was short-lived in the grunge era, but thanks to the gorgeous “No Rain,” the Los Angeles band sold four million copies of their self-titled debut album. Blind Melon’s second album, Soup, received decent reviews, but the 1995 death of singer Shannon Hoon ended the band’s hopes of reclaiming their early fame. Still, the kid in the bee suit remains an iconic image in music video history.
“I’m not sick, but I’m not weeeeeeeeelllll.” You already know the song. Anti-rock stars Harvey Danger scored a massive hit with “Flagpole Sitta” in 1998. Even though it was their only cut to grace the Top 40 chart, the song is still on fairly heavy rotation on alt-rock and ’90s radio. “Flagpole Sitta” actually wasn’t an overnight success, taking the better part of a year to invade the airwaves and land them on late night TV.
If you want to talk about a perfect ’90s alt-rock song, you’ve got to include Marcy Playground’s “Sex and Candy” in the conversation. Singer John Wozniak had the perfect apathetic delivery for a decade when fans couldn’t get enough bleak, borderline suicidal music. “Sex and Candy” still stands the test of time, having reached as high as No. 8 on the Billboard Top 40 chart.
Check out the 15 Greatest One Hit Wonders in Rock + Metal in the Loud List above.
Best Metal Song of Each Year Since 1970