And so we reach the Top Ten of UK One Hit Wonders and I wonder what musical gems await us today.
“Macarena” (10) is a Spanish dance song by Los del Rio about a woman of the same name. Appearing on the 1993 album A mi me gusta, it was an international hit and dance crazy in the latter half of 1996 and part of 1997. The song got the group ranked the “No. 1 Greatest One Hit Wonder of All Time” by VH1 in 2002. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. In 2012, it was ranked No. 7 on Billboard‘s All Time Top 100. It also ranked at No. 1 on Billboard’s All Time Latin Songs.
“Cotton Eye Joe” (9) is a song by Swedish Eurodance group Rednex from their debut studio album, Sex & Violins (1995). Based on the traditional American folk song “Cotton Eyed Jooe”, it combines the group’s style with traditional American instruments such as banjos and fiddles. The vocal verses are performed by Annika Ljungberg, while the “Cotton Eye Joe” chorus is sung by Göran Danielsson, who never appears in the video. In 2002, “Cotton Eye Joe” was remixed in a dance version, and was released from Rednex’s greatest hits album, The Best of the West.
“Don’t Leave Me This Way” (8) was covered by American singer Thelma Houston in 1976. Originally assigned to Dian Ross, it was intended to be the follow-up to her single “Love Hanover”, but was reassigned to Houston instead. Houston’s version topped the US soul singles chart and, nine weeks later, the Billboard for one week in April 1977. The song peaked at number 13 in the UK. The song peaked at number one on the disco chart. In 1978, “Don’t Leave Me This Way” won the Grammy award for Bes R&B Vocal Performance Female. Houston’s version was revived in 1995 in several remixes, which reached number 19 on the US Billboard dance chart and number 35 in the UK. This version got Houston ranked number 86 on VH1’s “100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders”.
“Ice Ice Baby” (7) is a hip hop song by American rapper Vanilla Ice, and DJ Earthquake. It was based on the bassline of “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie, who did not receive songwriting credit or royalties until after it had become a hit. Released on his debut album, To The Extreme, it is his best known song. “Ice Ice Baby” was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard. Outside of the United States, “Ice Ice Baby” topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom, thus helping the song diversify hip hop by introducing it to a mainstream audience.
“Nothing Compares 2 U” (6) is a song written and composed by Prince for his side project, The Family; the song featured on their eponymous 1985 debut album. The song’s lyrics explore feelings of longing from the point of view of an abandoned lover. In 1989, Irish singer Sinead O’Connor recorded a version of the song for her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got. It was released as the album’s second single in early 1990 and became a worldwide hit. O’Connor co-produced the record with Nellee Hooper, and its music video, directed by John Maybury, received heavy rotation on MTV. In December 1990, Billboard named “Nothing Compares 2 U” as the “#1 World Single” of 1990 at its first Annual Music Awards]
