It's easy to relegate one hit wonders to their one popular song. Sure, there are quite a lot of lousy artists who are one trick ponies. Sometimes, their breakthroughs seem like random strokes of cosmic luck. However, those who lack curiosity might mess around and miss an incredibly rich history from an artist if they don't delve further into their discography. You would be shocked at how many artists dazzle outside of their one hit and prove they have more depth than given credit.
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It's important to distinguish if these artists go underrated by the audience or if they just have a cult audience outside of their singular hit. For instance, Everything but The Girl's "Missing" technically exists a one hit wonder. But this also strips them of their dense catalog across 2 decades or how they saw a resurgence with fans who love their followup dance album. No, this list is reserved for those who fell deeply into a niche audience or only have fragments of greatness scattered across their careers. Maybe then, these artists can have a strong cult following too.
Four One Hit Wonder Artists With Other Great Songs
Foster The People
Foster The People seemed like they became one hit wonders on accident. "Pumped Up Kicks" is a bizarre song that somehow defines pop radio for a strong chunk of the early 2010s. For every bit of pop excess and post-Recession anthems, there were indie oddities increasingly taking up real estate on the charts. Not to mention, "Pumped Up Kicks" is a song about a school shooter baked underneath all the soft harmonies on the hook. In any other universe, this exists as a fan favorite at best, not a countrywide chart topper.
It's even weirder because they have more normal, agreeable songs in their repertoire. Their 2011 album Torches is loaded with them. Take the bombastic drums and quirky synths on "Houdini" or the breezy, sandiness of "Helena Beat." Additionally, they are staples within the FIFA soundtrack space, where indie jams reign supreme. Admittedly, I might stretch the definition I laid out in the intro. Foster the People do have acclaim outside of their one hit. They exist in a tier slightly below MGMT or Cage the Elephant. However, it mostly stays within the bounds of Torches, their followup albums lack the same sort of prestige. Moreover, none of those aforementioned songs, despite their YouTube views, didn't even remotely sniff the Hot 100 charts. But Torches is a great enough record to make an entire career out of, past their one hit wonder status.
Michael Sambello
In a previous list heralding one hit wonders that reached the top of the charts, I marveled at Michael Sambello's magnificent career as a session musician. Any career that sees you as a fundamental fixture to a Stevie Wonder record is one to cherish. That sort of resume puts you in the hall of fame and that's before he floors fans with the frenetic "Maniac." Sambello could've very easily kicked his feet up back to session work or follow the thread he left behind with his one hit wonder.
However, instead, Michael favored the music nerd and got musically dense. Take "Automatic Man," a conceptually bizarre soul record laced with alien synths and digital bleeps and bloops. It's closer to a sci-fi epic than the kind of formal grooves he would pump out with Stevie Wonder. Moreover, it's even further from his one hit. Instead, Sambello wants to croon about cybernetic dreams and a robot as a loose metaphor for a bad lover. What's even stranger is that it's the first song on his album Bossa Nova Hotel. And yet, I'm absolutely entranced, the guitar solo of a lifetime, a killer groove, and a yearning, soulful voice to glue it all together. He was probably always destined to lie in one hit wonder status. But dig a little deeper under the surface and you find a treasure chest of quirky jams.
Eddie Murphy
When you think of Eddie Murphy, you probably think of everything except his music. He was a master in standup comedy, even bigger as an actor. He felt truly unstoppable in the 80s, scratching for Michael Jackson levels of fame and adulation. Eddie could've truly done anything. That's why he said screw it and tried his hand at music with his one hit wonder, "Party All The Time."
It's a sensational song where, in a surprising shift, Eddie doesn't consume the entire song with his presence. Strangely enough, he had an uncanny ability of co-opting another artist's style and becoming one with it like he was doing an impression. Sometimes, it's bad like when he channels Lionel Richie for his debut album. Sometimes, it's great like it is here, where Rick James becomes his muse on his one hit.
It's ironic that someone so dynamic of a performer would be so happy to take the background. For instance, his song "Whatzupwitu" is mostly an exhibition for Michael Jackson. It's a great record just like his one hit "Party All The Time"and he should get more love on those merits. Despite being mostly a wallpaper presence, Eddie always knew what a good record sounded like. Moreover, his discography worth checking out just to see what Eddie looks like without comedy. But it's definitely jarring. Still, you can contrast it with his songs he's done for film and comedy like "Boogie in Your Butt" or anything from Shrek and Dreamgirls.
The Floaters
It shocks me that The Floaters never stumbled past their one hit in "Float On." In fairness, the 70s had an abundance of these kinds of bands. Perhaps they didn't really register as essential to the common listener. However, I love the framing of "Float On," where each group lists out their astrological sign and what they love in a woman. If they fit their descriptions, they invite you to 'Loveland' and serenade you the entire way. The single version of the song runs for about four minutes but they clearly have a ton of fun with the concept on the LP version, running for nearly twelve minutes.
I'm a sucker for a good soul group so perhaps I was destined to love more than just their one hit. Their heftier harmonies on "I Am So Glad I Took My Time" are hypnotizing, albeit par for the course for 70s era soul. I even like their followup album Float Into The Future where they get a little groovier and the tempo gets a little faster. They even dip their toes into genres like Bossa Nova. The Isley Brothers, Earth, Wind & Fire, they are not. But I do think The Floaters deserve their share of fans outside of their one hit.
