I Get Knocked Down…

Most of my favorite bands are one-hit wonders.

And honestly? There’s nothing wrong with being a one-hit wonder. After all, aren’t 99.9% of bands zero-hit wonders?

One-hit wonders don’t typically follow the That Thing You Do script of finding brief success and immediately breaking up. Most continue making music, playing concerts, and building fanbases.

I’ve found there are two types of one-hit wonders. Some try to replicate their success by making the same song over and over, while others look toward the future and aim to grow as a band.

The one-hit wonders I gravitate to create art meaningful to them, without pandering to cultural trends. As a result, their crowds might be smaller than what you’d find with your Top 40 mainstays, but their fanbase is far more passionate (like me, writing about them right here).

One of my favorite bands of all time, Harvey Danger, is a “one-hit wonder.” You might know them from their 1998 debut song “Flagpole Sitta” (aka the “I’m not sick but I’m not well” song). 

They later released two albums that sounded nothing like their hit, focusing on heartbreaking ballads and blues-tinged tongue-and-cheek bangers that, in my opinion, far surpass their most famous song. 

I also still listen to Chumbawamba (yes, I am a music nerd, and you will be going on this journey with me). You know them from their 1997 smash hit, “Tubthumping” (the “I get knocked down” song). 

“Tubthumping” was actually a single off the band’s eighth studio album. Before that, they had a reputation for melodic but bracing anarchist punk pop. They followed up their success with songs that ranged from traditional dirges to, um, songs about Ebay. By the time they retired in 2012, they had released 14 albums on reputable labels. 

And while the Austin, Texas band Fastball technically isn’t a one-hit wonder, not many remember “The Way” or “Are You Ready for the Fallout?” 

Instead, most recognize Fastball thanks to the chorus of their 1999 track “Out Of My Head” (1.5 million YouTube views) being used as the melody and chorus for “Bad Things” by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello (450 million YouTube views).

Fastball is a trio of multi-talented musicians who have stayed together since they started writing music together in 1995. They’ve recorded with Billy Preston and Brian Seltzer (on the same song), and just released their eighth album this year. 

Part of why these bands resonate with me (I even went to Harvey Danger’s last concert) is that they didn’t let success distract them. After breaking through, they all focused on their vision more than their fame, and they didn’t change their creative approach trying to chase after a previous hit. 

Instead of trying to duplicate their biggest hits, they rose above the derisive identity of being a “one-hit wonder.” They remained wonders, even after their hit.