Tuesday Top Ten: One-Hit Wonders By Year - 1980s

Previous one-hit wonders by year lists:
-1960s
-1970s

We have reached the midway point in our trek through my favorite one-hit wonders from each year between 1960 and 2009, which means we have reached the 1970s.  If there was ever a decade for one-hit wonders, it was the decade of decadence.  Every genre had one-hit wonders, and it some of the most beloved songs of the decade were artists' only big hits.  I could honestly do a top ten one-hit wonders from each of the years between 1980 and 1989.  Perhaps another time.  

As a reminder, here are my rules:

• The song must have been in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.  There might be a couple songs that are #21 or #22, as not every year had a ton of one-hit wonders with Top 20 songs to choose from (or one-hit wonders with Top 20 songs that I like).  Also, I'm focusing on the American charts, since that's where I've lived my whole life.  Plus, a look at one-hit wonders on the Dutch charts would require a lot more work.  There are certainly songs and artists who may be one-hit wonders here who have been successful in other countries, and vice versa.
• The band or artist cannot have any other song that broke into the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.  And just so you know I'm trying to keep everything on the level, I am truly focused on artists who didn't have a bunch of Top 40 hits.  For instance, if an artist had one Top 10 song and then five or six other Top 40 songs, I don't necessarily consider that a one-hit wonder.  On the other hand, if there is an artist who had one big hit and then another song that isn't as well know that happened to go to #21, I'm considering that artist.
• The band or artist cannot be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or have a band member who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  For instance, technically, The Clash fit within my one-hit wonder rules, as 1982's "Rock the Casbah" was the band's only Top 20 hit, reaching #8, but obviously, they are Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and one of the most influential punk bands ever.  Also, artists who may have had one Top 20 song as a solo artists, but then another Top 20 song as a duet are excluded, so for instances, Lita Ford's "Kiss Me Deadly" reached #12 in 1988 and was her only solo Top 20 hit, but the next year, her duet with Ozzy Osbourne, "Close My Eyes Forever," hit #8.  Neither counts.
• For the year, I am counting the year a song was released, regardless of when it charted.  This avoids having to deal with a situation where a song may have been high on the charts at the end of one year and the beginning of another.  Unfortunately, this also hurts songs that didn't become hits until a few years after their release, as I'm not going to choose a song as my favorite one-hit wonder from a particular year if the song didn't really become big until years later.  One that comes to mind is Billy Vera & The Beaters' "At This Moment," which was originally released in 1981, but reissued in 1986 and became a #1 song in early 1987 after it was featured prominently in several poignant episodes of Family Ties.  Same goes for Sheriff's #1 song "When I'm With You," which topped the charts in 1989, six years after it was released.

So those are the rules.  With those in mind, here are my favorite one-hit wonders from each year in the 1980s, chronologically by year of release, with the peak chart position on the Billboard Hot 100 noted.

1.  1980:  "Whip It" by Devo (#14)
Devo was so weird, with their flower-pot helmets and catchy, synthy new wave art pop songs.  "Whip It" is an iconic song (and video) with nonsensical lyrics that have often been assumed to be about sexual bondage, but really, it's about overcoming your problems.


2.  1981:  "Key Largo" by Bertie Higgins (#8)
A yacht rock classic, Bertie Higgins's "Key Largo" is a tribute to the 1948 Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall film of the same name, which Higgins apparently believes is the epitome of a romantic relationship, as the chorus indicates "We had it all / Just like Bogey and Bacall."  The video showcases Higgins's lack of chest hair despite having a full beard and cig smoking prowess.


3.  1982:  "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (#8)
This is another iconic one-hit wonder, and one of the most recognizable new wave songs, originally sung in 1965 by R&B artist Gloria Jones.  The extended version also goes into a cover of The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?"


4.  1983:  "99 Luftballons" by Nena (#2)
German band Nena's German-language song about the release of 99 balloons causing a massive war became such a massive international hit that she re-released an English-language version the next year, which went to #1 in the UK and Canada.


5.  1984:  "Round and Round" by Ratt (#12)
Sunset Strip hair band rockers Ratt are beloved by many hard rockers and even had their own turn on VH1's Behind the Music, but despite having four platinum albums in the '80s, they only had one Top 20 song, 1984's "Round and Round."  The video features Hollywood legend (and notoriously well-hung) Milton Berle, whose nephew was the band's manager at the time.


6.  1985:  "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" by John Parr (#1)
John Parr's theme song for the Brat Pack film St. Elmo's Fire was a chart topper, and it's one of the feel-good songs of the '80s.  It always puts me in a good mood, and I always picture it being the backdrop for a movie montage scene of a group of friends working hard together to get something done.


7.  1986:  "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" by Timbuk 3 (#19)
I was about to go with Cameo's "Word Up," but then apparently they had a collaboration with Mariah Carey 15 years later that hit #2.  Cameo's loss (i.e., commercial success) is Timbuk 3's gain.  The band was comprise of the husband-and-wife team of Pat and Barbara MacDonald, and 1986's "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" was their biggest hit.  Though it has a catchy, uptempo feel, it's actually about a nuclear science student foretelling a "bright" future because of the likelihood of a nuclear war.


8.  1987:  "Pump Up the Volume" by M/A/R/R/S (#13)
M/A/R/R/S was a collaboration between electronic group Colourbox and alternative rock band A.R. Kane, and they only made two songs together, one of which was a classic hip hop and British acid house track, "Pump Up the Volume."  This is one of those songs that immediately takes me back to listening to Z-95 in my room on my boombox while I was doing my homework at night.


9.  1988:  "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin (#1)
The '80s were such a weird, diverse time for music that an a cappella song by jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin could top the charts and win multiple Grammy Awards without anyone batting an eye.  It was the first a cappella song to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with its positive theme about letting shit roll off your shoulders.


10.  1989 (tie):  "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground (#11), "So Alive" by Love and Rockets (#3), and "Just a Friend" by Biz Markie (#9)
I really struggled with 1989 because I love all three of these songs, so rather than try to choose just one, I'm giving you all three.  "The Humpty Dance" is a parade of fantastic one-liners.  "So Alive" is a sneaky good alternative post-new wave pop song.  "Just a Friend" is a DIY hip hop classic that served as a warning to anyone in a long-distance relationship with someone named Blah Blah.