One Hit Wonders

It can be difficult to decide what constitutes a 'one-hit wonder'. A band popular in one country may be considered to have only been a one-hit wonder in another. Also a group may have had a string of top-ten hits at the time they performed but only one extremely popular song which gets airplay years after it is released.

The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles defines a one-hit wonder as one number 1 and no other chart entry, before or after, but include artists that may have had entries in another guise. For example, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee is considered a one-hit wonder even though both artists have had solo hits, or as part of another act.

Deutsche Grammophon and Vox Records have both released albums of classical one-hit wonders. Many of the works on the CDs are from composers who have two or more works that are popular in classical music circles but have a single work that has become popular outside these circles. The works will be familiar to most people because they have been used in commercials or in movies and television shows.