Top 11 Two-Hit Wonders
- CJ Tiernan
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
By CJ Tiernan
We’ve all heard of the one-hit wonder. A band has a huge hit that everyone loves and follows that single up with…nothing. They never recapture the glory of that one hit. It must be an odd existence to dedicate an entire career to music and only be known for one hit. Meanwhile, John Williams is out here getting nominated for an Oscar every year or two (seriously, he’s been nominated 54 times for scoring films). Well, this list is dedicated to the music artists that managed to achieve that breathtaking feeling of creating a hit not once, but twice. Here’s my list of the Top 11 Two-Hit Wonders I’ve ever heard (They may have had more songs chart, but there are two unquestioned hits for each).
1. Eve 6 - Inside Out & Here's to the Night
Formed by a few guys who signed a record deal while still in High School, and named after a character in an episode of The X-Files, Eve 6 was a flash of light in the mid-90s. I absolutely love both of these songs. In fact, I created a parody song called “I’m the Dark Knight” that follows the plight of a lowly billionaire playboy through the nights of Gotham City across three Christopher Nolan movies. You can access my music page here.
2. Golden Earring - Twilight Zone & Radar Love
First thing I think of when I think of Golden Earring? Slappin’ da bass! The bass guitar interlude in Twilight Zone is wonderous! These are two ‘80s rock staples (correction: "Radar Love" came out in 1973. Ah, who we kidding. It's timeless). Enjoy them with maximum volume! Disclaimer: Twilight Zone the song is not related to The Twilight Zone TV show.
3. Spin Doctors - Two Princes & Little Miss Can't Be Wrong
I’m pretty sure if one was forced to craft a desert island scenario of ‘90s bands, you’d have to let the Spin Doctors on the raft. Both of these songs are so quintessential ‘90s. I love it! I’ve never seen them so I’m just picturing DJs with stethoscopes. Thoughts?
4. Fastball - The Way & Out of My Head
Do not look into the back story that inspired “The Way.” It is way sadder than one would expect from a song they’ve heard (and sung along to) a hundred times on FM radio. Jeez. Alright, fine. I’ll tell you. It’s about an elderly couple that went missing on a 15-mile journey and were found weeks later in a ravine, hundreds of miles from their destination. One of them had recently had brain surgery and the other was showing signs of dementia. Any relation? Who knows? It’s a mind-bending mystery. Obviously, it didn’t end well for the couple, but you can still appreciate the romanticized spin on the unsolved mystery by the band. Surprisingly, they threw a curveball.
5. Paula Cole - Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? & I Don't Want to Wait
Alright, the jig is up. I love me some 90s songs. You happy now? “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" is a send up of classic gender roles but, as is a common occurrence when people write the opposite of what they mean, it was largely received at face value. To be fair, I try to avoid using my brain when listening to music so that it gets to my ears faster and unfettered. Oh, and her other song? It became the theme song for Dawson’s Creek. nbd.
6. Blues Traveler - Run-Around & Hook
“Hook” is another song that is used as commentary on music. Substance is for the birds, they say; “the ‘Hook’ brings you back.” I mean, it’s not wrong. I love me a good hook. Let that be a lesson to all you prospective musicians out there, if you start in on the social commentary, you’re going to max out at two hits (with no minimum guarantee).
7. Dido - White Flag/Thank You
If you don’t know Dido, you’re missing out. Or, more likely, you know her as the artist sampled by Eminem in his song about a fan: “Stan.” She is a singer/songwriter whose full name is Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong. I can’t imagine why she would have shortened it to Dido. Even initials would have been longer. If you had to slap that name on the back of a sports jersey, they’d have to bend it around the number so dramatically it’d form a circle.
8. Five for Fighting - 100 Years & Superman (It's Not Easy)
I’d argue that it’s less of an upset that Five for Fighting is on this list than it is that they have multiple songs. Hand up, these two songs congeal in my head to form one super piano-laden soft rock hit track. Speaking of upsets: Five for Fighting is not a group of five people. It’s a dude named Vladimir. Am I the only thinking that Vladimir sounds more like a vampire that’ll span centuries than a mortal with 100 years to live.
9. Tone Loc - Wild Thing & Funky Cold Medina
Tone Loc churned out not one but two hits that lead to what I’ve decided to refer to as “involuntary boogieing.” Go ahead. Try and listen to either song and keep your shoulders (or booty) from shaking and shimmying. And if that doesn’t do it for you, this dude was a ‘90s movie staple. Seriously, I don't think Hollywood would let you make a kids movie between '93 and '95 without throwing this guy in. He played Juice in Blank Check and a cop in both Surf Ninjas and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Juice? No thanks, I’m not thirsty.
10. Finger Eleven – Paralyzer & One Thing
Fun Fact: these guys changed their name to Finger Eleven from Rainbow Butt Monkeys. That’s too bad because that very well may have made the Top 11 Band Names List you know is coming. Finger Eleven is named to symbolize going against the grain and ignoring outside noise. I’m not sure what Rainbow Butt Monkeys symbolizes, but it’s hilarious. It reminds me that I haven’t used the phrase Butt Monkey as a pejorative in far too long.
11. The Presidents of the United States of America – Lump & Peaches
I have often cited the song “If” by the band Bread as the shortest combination of characters between the band name and the song title. This band may fall on the other end of the spectrum. They have the largest difference between number of characters in the band name and song title. Believe it or not: I actually wrote a parody song to Peaches as well (Weird Al had beaten me to the song Lump). Again, link to my music here.
Final Thoughts
You know what’s better than a none-hit wonder? A one-hit wonder. And a two-hit wonder is mathematically twice as good. These are great music artists. They churned out some great jams. Some even managed to piece together a greatest hits album. These are my favorites that I feel qualify for this list. Please let me know if I missed any that you think qualify (I know there can be some debate on the subject). I actually pulled Corey Hart and Natasha Beddingfield off the list as I was creating it because I think they had too many hits to make the list (even though I’d only heard two from each). Thanks so much for taking the time to read this! Here’s a list of my favorite two-hit wonders that just missed my Top 11.
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