100 Greatest One Hit Wonders (Music Database :: Dave Tompkins) (2024)

FAQs

What is the #1 one-hit wonder of all time? ›

So that's a grand total of 60 one-hit wonders in the roughly 50 or so years under review, or a little more than one per year. It's funny how tightly bunched they can be—there were only two between 1994 and 2006, then three in 2006 alone.

Seal made five LPs with Horn – one remains unreleased – which turned the rave-era one-hit wonder into a global star.

According to Guinness World Records, Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" (1942) as performed by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies.

This song had a estimated earning of $65 million. After 120 years, 'Happy Birthday', is sill the richest and most profitable song of all time. It was written by the Hill Sisters in 1893 because they needed a song that they could sing to their kindergarten class on someone's birthday.

His impressive career kicked off when “l*ttle Stevie Wonder,” as he was first known, was only 13 years old. The song “Fingertips” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963 when he was that age—making him, still, the youngest ever to do it (as of this writing).

American rapper Jay-Z is the wealthiest music artist in the world, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $2.5 billion in 2024.

For nearly 50 years, the longest song to top the Hot 100 was Don McLean's “American Pie (Parts I & II),” which runs 8 minutes and 37 seconds. Finally, in 2021, Taylor Swift scored the new longest No. 1 when the 10-minute-and-13-second “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)” made it to No.

Who has most #1 hits ever? ›

The Beatles have the most No. 1 hits among all acts in the chart's history, with 20.

According to a former executive from MCA/Universal Music, a band with just one hit song can still rake in between $10,000 and $50,000 a show. And even better, the band itself keeps between 85 and 95 percent of that, sharing the rest with their manager.

"Macarena" by Los del Río (1995)

According to VH1, "Macarena" is the best one-hit wonder of all time — and it's hard to disagree. Los Del Río's original version of the song didn't make any waves, but once the Bayside Boys remix was released, the world was never the same.

It gave him a Top 5 hit on the Hot 100 and officially made him a one-hit wonder for mainstream, non-country fans.

You might have already guessed it, but the best-selling is the art-pop masterpiece 'Somebody That I Used To Know' by Gotye featuring New Zealander Kimbra.

The Beatles have the most No. 1 hits among all acts in the chart's history, with 20.

1 hits have managed to rule the Billboard Hot 100 for double-digit weeks. Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" holds the all-time record with 19 weeks atop the chart. Mariah Carey, Drake, and Boyz II Men have the most songs on this list with three apiece.

English musician Tony Burrows sang the lead vocal on five one-hit wonders: Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" (February 1970); White Plains' "My Baby Loves Lovin'" (March 1970); the Pipkins' "Gimme Dat Ding" (April 1970); the First Class' "Beach Baby" (July 1974); and "United We Stand" (1970) by ...