Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Great One Hit Wonders

For years, all I wanted was to hear Tarzan Boy. I'm not talking about some kind of bizarre desire to hear a Neanderthal-esque boy make grunts in the jungle. Although that could be interesting. Weird, and interesting. Sounds like something Yeti might want to get a call about. ;)

No, I'm talking about that famous Listerine commercial where bottles of Listerine fly through the jungle, giving a whole new meaning to personification, to Baltimora's one and only hit-"Tarzan Boy." I finally (hooray!!) found this song on Hype Machine, which in case I did not mention, is a great site, and can't stop listening to it. It made me think of other great one hit wonders.

So here you go!

Not in any particular order. All equally great and probably embarrassing to most.

1) Your Love-The Outfield. Josie's on a vacation far away, indeed.
2) Tarzan Boy-Baltimora. ohh ohh oha! I love it.
3) Rock Me Amadeus-Falco. I'll never forget the video. What a weird guy! And cool.
4) Lipps, Inc.-Funkytown. Won't you take me to? FUNKYTOWN!
5) Come on Eileen-Dexy's Midnight Runners. My roommate Lynn was appalled when she learned that the lyrics were sexual. I was equally shocked when I realized that 'She Bop' was not a dance. ;)
6) Turning Japanese-The Vapors. I've said before that this is an all-time fave. I've never wanted to turn Japanese so much in my life. ha
7) Tainted Love-Soft Cell. An 80's classic, if there ever was one. Who else thinks of that commercial where the guy starts singing this in the operating room? Wow, I watch way too much TV. ha
8) The Safety Dance-Men Without Hats. Probably my #1, if I were ranking these. I remember listening to my brother's 45 repeatedly.
9) Too Shy-Kajagoogoo. Admit it! You like it!
10) Der Kommissar-After the Fire. No idea what it's all about, but love it.
11) White Horse-Laid Back. If you wanna ride, you ride the white horse. Oh, yeah.
12) In a Big Country-Big Country. Another of Lynn's faves. Good taste, that girl has.
13) 99 Luftballoons-Nena. The German version is the best!
14) Never Ending Story-Limahl. His hair may have been gay, but he had a nice voice.
15) In My House-Mary Jane Girls. Pure Cheese. Great!
16) Keep Your Hands to Yourself-The Georgia Satellites. Rednecks make good music too!
17) Spirit in the Sky-Doctor and the Medics. I'm seeing John Travolta from 'Michael.'
18) I Wanna Be A Cowboy-Boys Don't Cry. "And you can be my cowgirl." Well, I don't know about THAT.
19) Let's Go All the Way-Sly Fox. Ahh, the 80's. Sex, drugs, and sex. Sheesh. I'm glad I was an innocent teen.
20) Lean on Me-Club Nouveau. Way funkier than the original.
21) Beds are Burning-Midnight Oil. Okay, I change my mind. THIS is my #1.
22) I Melt With You-Modern English. Stop the world!
23) What I Am-Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. My friend Ann and I got so tickled at the 'shove me in the shallow water' lyrics, we nearly lost it. I'm not sure why it was so funny; but we were pretty silly as teens.
24) I Touch Myself-The Divinyls. Alright, I KNEW what this was about. Still think it's a great hook.
25) The One and Only-Chesney Hawkes. Freshman year of college memories....
26) One of Us-Joan Osborne. My argument was always, "But God IS one of us!" But I know what she meant.
27) Life is a Highway-Tom Cochrane. I love the original. Nice to see a cover in 'Cars.'
28) What is Love-Haddaway. Think Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan from SNL. :)
29) Rock Steady-The Whispers. First song I danced to with a guy.
30) Back for Good-Take That. Lynn loves these Brit bands. I think about hot guys in the rain. Yum!
31) Macarena-Los Del Rio. Mock if you must! But you know you did The Macarena too.
32) Bitch-Meredith Brooks. I don't consider her a one hit wonder, since 'What Would Happen' is a classic and one hell of a great makeout song, and was a minor hit, I thought. But, she's considered a one-hit. That whole album was really good.
33) Bittersweet Symphony-The Verve. Too bad this band is no more. One of my brother's faves.
34) Tubthumping-Chumbawumba. "I get knocked down! And I get up again!"
35) You Get What You Give-The New Radicals. Threatening to kick Courtney Love's ass in a song is bold. Considering she's my favorite wacko.
36) If I Can't Have You-Yvonne Elliman. I think I've mentioned my love of the Bee Gees before, probably many times. This is my very fave.
37) In the Middle-Jimmy Eats World. Alternative music in the 2000's got a little bland at times, but these stand out.
38) Move Along-All American Rejects. Let's hope they have another hit. I love this song. It's especially great for workouts.
39) I Can't Wait-Nu Shooz. Anybody who spells their name 'Shooz' gets bonus points. ;)

If readers think of any I missed (I'm sure there are some...), let me know!

Have a great day!

4 comments:

ThursdayNext said...

99 Luftballoons is one of my favorites from this list! Its just so catchy! Great collection, Martypants! ;)

Marty said...

Thursday!

I know! For a song about the Cold War, pretty catchy. :)

David said...

I prefer the German version of 99 Luft balloons. This is a really fun list. My two favorite songs from the 80's are "In a Big Country" and "Come on Eileen." No Doubt does a great ska cover of "Come on Eileen." I would argue that The Outfield had a couple of minor hits after "Your Love"--- "Say it Isn't So" and "Everytime You Cry". Maybe I'm sympathetic because I remember seeing them live as a kid (opening for Journey!) Many bic lighters were lit when they sang "Everytime You Cry."
Here are a couple of more 1 hit wonders...
"Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone"--Glass Tiger
"The Future's So Bright (I've Got to Wear Shades.)

David said...

Oh, it wasn't really a hit, but Men Without Hats had another great song in "Pop Goes the World." One of my faves.