National One-Hit Wonder Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about One-Hit Wonder

Steve Rosen, a music journalist, proclaimed September 25 as National One-Hit Wonder Day in 1990 to honor artists who once had their five minutes of renown but have since been forgotten. Regardless of how forgettable the artists are, we will always remember their hit compositions. Even if you neglect your best friend’s birthday, you will always be able to sing along with the chorus of ‘Ice, Ice Baby’. These songs are associated with particular instances in our past, and remembering them allows us to revisit our former selves.

The background of National One-Hit Wonder Day

Andy Warhol, an American artist and producer, was not far off the mark when he stated, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” From ‘It’s Raining Men’ by The Weather Girls to ‘Harlem Shake’ by Baauer, a number of artists have briefly achieved global fame; however, only their hit singles continue to flourish.

Steve Rosen, a music enthusiast and journalist, proclaimed September 25 National One-Hit Wonder Day in 1990 to honor and commemorate long-forgotten artists and their hit songs. This was also the manner in which he celebrated his birthday.

This act of remembering and reviving artists and their successful singles from the past gave rise to music and radio programs that played only one-hit wonders. The American cable network VH1 premiered the documentary series “Where Are They Now?” on June 7, 1999, with the premiere episode focusing on one-hit wonders. They tracked down celebrities who disappeared from the spotlight after a brief period of prominence. Several one-hit wonders such as The Weather Girls, Starland Vocal Band, Frank Stallone, Rupert Holmes, Animotion, T’Pau, Rex Smith, Terry Jacks, Soft Cell, The Vapors, House of Pain, EBN-OZN, and Tracy Ullman were featured in this episode. VH1 also published a list of 100 one-hit wonders in 2002 via their countdown show “VH1’s 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders.” It presented a list of performers whose careers were limited to a single American hit single.

Some vintage radio programs also feature songs by artists who once topped the charts but never returned to the top 10. The weekly radio program “Dan Sweeney’s One Hit Wonders” debuted in 2017 and features neglected ‘Top 40 American Hits.’ This program, hosted by Dan Sweeney, provides life updates and trivia about the singers/acts behind the songs.

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5 OUTRAGEOUS FACTS ABOUT ONE-HIT WONDERS

The Bayside Boys’ rendition of ‘Macarena‘ is the greatest one-hit wonder song of all time, according to VH1.

The song ‘I’ll Be There For You’ by The Rembrandts, better known as the “Friends” theme song, was initially 0:45 seconds long, but it was re-recorded and released as a three-minute single due to the show’s popularity.

Among all one-hit wonders, ‘Somebody That I Used to Know‘ by Gotye feat. Sia is the most popular. Kimbra was awarded the unofficial blue ribbon for having over 810 million Spotify streams.

‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ was the first acapella song to reach number one on the Billboard and was composed by jazz conductor Bobby McFerrin.

4 Non Blondes didn’t actually use the words ‘what’s up’ anywhere in their song ‘What’s Up’ because they didn’t want it to be misconstrued with Marvin Gaye’s iconic ‘What’s Going On.’

NATIONAL ONE-HIT WONDER DAY DATES