Our next selection of One Hit Wonders take through the higher reaches of the Top Twenty from No.’s 11-15
“Saturday Night” (15) is a song by Italian Eurodance project Whigfield, fronted by Danish-born Sannie Charlotte Carlson. It was first released in 1992 in Italy and November 1993 in Spain through Prodisc. In 1994, it was released in the rest of Europe, and experienced worldwide success. The song is written by Italian producers Larry Pignagnoli and Davide Riva, and produced by Pignagnoli. The single entered at number one in the UK, making Whigfield the first artist to enter at the top in the UK with their debut single. It also reached number one in Germany, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland, and it became a top-10 hit in Austria, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. In Spain the single spent 11 weeks at the top position. Outside Europe, it peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard. The song contains a sample of Rockets song “One More Mission”, published in 1980.
“Ring My Bell” (14) is a 1979 song written by Frederick Knight. The song was originally written for then eleven-year-old Stacy Lattisaw, as a teenybopper song about kids talking on the telephone. When Lattisaw signed with a different label, Anita Ward was asked to sing it instead, and it became her only major hit. “Ring My Bell” went to number 1 on the Billboard chart, the Disco Top 80 chart and the Soul Singles chart. It also reached number 1 in the UK. It also garnered Ward a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1980 Grammy Awards.
“Kung Fu Fighting” (13) is a song by Jamaican vocalist Carl Douglas, written by Douglas and produced by British-Indian musician Biddu. It was released in 1974 on the cusp of a chopsocky film and rose to the top of the British, Australian, Canadian, and American charts. It received a gold certification from the RIAA in 1974 and popularized disco music. It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song uses the quintessential Oriental riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture. “Kung Fu Fighting” was rated number 1 in the UK Channel 4’s Top 10 One Hit Wonders list in 2000.
“Who Let the Dogs Out” (12) is a song composed by Allan Hartz and performed by Bahamian junkanoo band Baha Men. The song, released in July 2000, became the band’s first and only hit in the United Kingdom and the United States, and it gained popularity after appearing in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie and its soundtrack album. “Who Let the Dogs Out” peaked at No. 2 in the UK, as well as topping the charts in Australia and New Zealand, and reached the Top 40 in the United States. In Britain, it was championed by DJ John Peel and went on to be the fourth biggest-selling single of 2000, and one of the highest-selling singles of the decade not to reach No. 1.
“Sugar, Sugar” (11) is a song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It was originally recorded by the cartoon band the Archies. This version reached No. 1 in the US on the Billboars chart in 1969 and remained there for four weeks. It also reached No. 1 in the UK in that same year for eight weeks. The song became a hit again in 1970 when rhythm and blues and soul singer Wilson Pickett’s version was listed on music charts.
