The 80s: Biggest “One-Hit Wonders”
Since pop music first began, there have been many, many recording artists who hit it big with a great song, only to find that none of their follow-up attempts could make it back into the Top 40. On this week’s Top 3 at 7 Countdown, you get to hear some of the biggest “One-Hit Wonders” of the 80s. TV stars who dabbled in pop music, English synthesizer bands who had many hits in their home country but only one here in the USA, film and TV music score composers who created an amazing theme song, even former members of popular groups who went solo to score one big single.
In 1983, this band from Birmingham, England, who had already been successful on the U.K. pop charts, created this great sing-along song, “Come On Eileen,” which replaced “Billie Jean” at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for one week, and then was replaced by Michael Jackson’s next big single, “Beat It,” the following week.
In 1984, British-American singer, actress and comedienne, Tracey Ullman, introduced herself to USA audiences with this cover of the Kirsty MacColl song, “They Don’t Know.” She gave it the 60s girl group sound and took it into the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. This pop chart success eventually led to her 90s HBO television series, Tracey Takes On…
The biggest blockbuster in movie theaters during the first half of 1985 was Beverly Hills Cop, starring Eddie Murphy as Detective Axel Foley. Composer Harold Faltermeyer scored the music for the film, including the infectious theme song, “Axel F,” which you hear throughout the film. The theme was released as a single and made it into the top 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
You would think a group called “Baltimora” would be from Maryland in the USA. But no, they’re from Italy, and they scored a big European hit with “Tarzan Boy” in 1985. The following year, this song would reach #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1987, an English pop/rock group scored a string of Top 40 hits in the United Kingdom. One of those songs, “Heart And Soul,” became a top 5 single in the USA. They took their name, T’Pau, from the sci-fi series Star Trek, and the Vulcan elder of the same name. Their debut single reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, but none of their follow-up singles would chart in the States.
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