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*** 1980's One Hit Wonders . . .​​​​ #1 - LIPPS, INC. - Funkytown *** (1 Viewer)

And while we're not talking about Loverboy, I must confess - their drummer is my anti-model for anything physically to do with playing drums. Not that he's not technically proficient (he's no worse than a slew of other drummers for hit bands through time), I just never wanted to look like he does while he plays. Pretty much any video of theirs will demonstrate what I'm talking about.

I mean, this whole thing - not parody.

 
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Thankfully the band members all kept their shirts on. The fact that there are Loverboy tour dates listed underneath the video is scary in its own right.

 
#38 - BRUCE WILLIS - Respect Yourself (#5 - 3/7/1987 - 14 Weeks)
It's all Top 5 songs the rest of the way. Back when Bruce Willis still had hair. Willis had only appeared in a 2 movies and 3 TV shows in minor roles before he became a household name by appearing in Moonlighting with Cybil Shepherd, which debuted in 1985.

Willis recorded a mockumentary film for HBO entitled The Return of Bruno in 1986/87, where he played Bruno Radolini, a legendary blues singer/musician. The story had his character as a big influence on other famous musicians. Elton John, Phil Collins, Brian Wilson, Grace Slick, Joan Baez, Jon Bon Jovi, Paul Stanley, The Bee Gees, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, and Ringo Starr all appear in the film / show. Willis released a Return of Bruno album as a companion to the film, with Willis covering several R&B songs. Willis had some notable guests to back him including Booker T. Jones, The Pointer Sisters, and The Temptations.

The original version of Respect Yourself was performed by The Staple Singers, which hit #12 in the Top 40 in 1971.

Willis' version of Respect Yourself hit #5 in the States and #7 in the UK. Under The Boardwalk only made it to #59 in the U.S. but was a big hit in the UK, hitting #2 and ranking as the UK's 12th best-selling single of 1987. Why, I don't know, as I think his version is, well, not so good.

Willis also appeared in multiple Seagram's Wine Coolers commercials around that time. He was still a year a two away from hitting a home run with Diehard.

He would release another album in 1989 and had some singing appearances in several of his films. Suffice it to say, Willis will be remembered as an actor way more than his musical career. His films have combined to make $8.5 billion worldwide at the box office.

Coming up, a performer I literally had never heard of before, who was in the band of the guest vocalist that appeared on the track.

 
zamboni said:
Not sure how he can indeed respect himself after this turn.
Click to expand...
I wholeheartedly agree with you, but enough people (with highly questionable taste in music) bought the single to make it a hit. Respect Yourself is no prize, but his version of Under The Boardwalk is just plain unlistenable.

 
Anarchy99 said:
#38 - BRUCE WILLIS - Respect Yourself (#5 - 3/7/1987 - 14 Weeks)
It's all Top 5 songs the rest of the way. Back when Bruce Willis still had hair. Willis had only appeared in a 2 movies and 3 TV shows in minor roles before he became a household name by appearing in Moonlighting with Cybil Shepherd, which debuted in 1985.

Willis recorded a mockumentary film for HBO entitled The Return of Bruno in 1986/87, where he played Bruno Radolini, a legendary blues singer/musician. The story had his character as a big influence on other famous musicians. Elton John, Phil Collins, Brian Wilson, Grace Slick, Joan Baez, Jon Bon Jovi, Paul Stanley, The Bee Gees, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, and Ringo Starr all appear in the film / show. Willis released a Return of Bruno album as a companion to the film, with Willis covering several R&B songs. Willis had some notable guests to back him including Booker T. Jones, The Pointer Sisters, and The Temptations.

The original version of Respect Yourself was performed by The Staple Singers, which hit #12 in the Top 40 in 1971.

Willis' version of Respect Yourself hit #5 in the States and #7 in the UK. Under The Boardwalk only made it to #59 in the U.S. but was a big hit in the UK, hitting #2 and ranking as the UK's 12th best-selling single of 1987. Why, I don't know, as I think his version is, well, not so good.

Willis also appeared in multiple Seagram's Wine Coolers commercials around that time. He was still a year a two away from hitting a home run with Diehard.

He would release another album in 1989 and had some singing appearances in several of his films. Suffice it to say, Willis will be remembered as an actor way more than his musical career. His films have combined to make $8.5 billion worldwide at the box office.

Coming up, a performer I literally had never heard of before, who was in the band of the guest vocalist that appeared on the track.
Click to expand...
Like Seagrams Wine Cooler jingle the best of the lot. Most depth imo

 
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#37 - DEON ESTUS WITH GEORGE MICHAEL - Heaven Help Me (#5 - 4/29/1989 - 16 weeks)
I vaguely remember hearing the song at the time and just assumed it was a George Michael song. Until putting the OHW list together, I had never head of Deon Estus, but he played bass on Wham's albums and tours. He also played bass on George Michael's first two solo albums. I'm guessing this song's success had a lot to do with the notoriety of George Michael, especially at that time.

Estus started in a funk group called Brainstorm. In the mid 80's, he joined a group called Boogie Box High, which only released one album but recorded an almost note for note cover of Jive Talkin'.

In 1989, Estus recorded his only solo album, entitled Spell. He recruited Michael to record Heaven Help Me. Estus did not record another album (not sure why), but he has played bass for the likes of Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner, Frank Zappa, George Clinton, Annie Lennox, Edgar Winter, Aaron Neville, and Elton John.

Up next, another R&B / dance number, this one featured in 2 movies from 1987 (The Pick-Up Artist and Fatal Beauty).

 
I loved "Heaven Help Me."

Deon Estus was also the opening act for George Michael on the Faith tour - or at least the show I went to.

 
#36 - LEVERT - Casanova (#5 - 10/31/1987 - 18 Weeks)
LeVert was an R&B band from Cleveland that was active from 1983-1997. They featured the Levert brothers (Sean and Gerald), who were sons of O'Jays singer Eddie Levert. The group released 7 albums, 6 of which made the Top 10 on the Billboard R&B album chart. They had a string of 17 Top 40 R&B chart hits (including 5 that topped the chart). But Casanova was the only one to crossover to the Top 40.

When the 90's rolled around, Gerald Levert split his time with LeVert and pursuing a solo career. He had another 3 songs as a solo act top the R&B singles chart and another when he was in a group called LSG (Levert Sweat Gill). LSG hit #4 on the Hot 100 singles chart with My Body, which would qualify them as a OHW from the 90's. Gerald Levert ended up recording 24 Top 10 R&B singles combining his time as a solo artists and in various groups. He tore his Achilles in 2005, got hooked on pain killers, and died of a heart attack / overdose in 2006. He won a posthumous Grammy in the Best Traditional R&B Performance category for In My Songs.

Sean Levert didn't fare any better in the health department. After LeVert disbanded, he tried his hand at a solo career but his career did not take off like his brother's did. He had 6 children with his wife, things apparently didn't work out, he fell into financial troubles, and he was sentenced to 22-months in prison for failure to pay child support. He complained that he didn't feel well when he started his sentence in 2008 and died at age 39 after just 6 days behind bars. It was determined that he died from complications from sarcoidosis and also suffered from high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and withdrawal from Xanax. His widow was awarded $4 million in a lawsuit against the prison.

Up next, a British pop band with a goofy name (that was first called Art Nouveau) has a Top 5 hit from their album 1983 White Feathers.

 
#35 - KAJAGOOGOO - Too Shy (#5 - 7/9/1983 - 19 Weeks)
I would think most people would know this one or at least heard it before (although with the FFA crowd, who knows these days).  In 2006, "Too Shy" was ranked #27 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's and #9 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80's.

Kajagoogoo started out as a band called Art Nouveau in 1978 but couldn't get a record deal. In 1981, they were in the market for a singer and ended up selecting Christopher Hamill, who decide to use an anagram of his last name and go by the name Limahl instead. For those paying close attention to the OHW countdown, Limahl appeared just outside the Top 100 songs with a song called Never Ending Story.

Limahl was working as a waiter and ran into Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, who co-produced Too Shy and got the song to be released by EMI. The song topped the British Singles Chart (something Duran Duran had not accomplished by that point). Duran Duran would win the battle of British Singles Chart #1 songs by the narrow margin of 2-1.

Kajagoogoo's debut album, White Feathers, generated 3 Top 20 hits in the UK and reached #5 on the UK album chart. As was often the case for these OTW performers, it was all downhill from there. The band released 2 more albums in the 80's that did not sell as well and they only had one other UK hit. They didn't get another one in the U.S.

The original line-up of the band briefly joined forces again on VH1's Bands Reunited in 2003. They put out another album in 2008. They released digital only singles in 2009 and 2011 before calling it a day. Yet somehow they managed to put out 9 compilation / greatest hits collections over the years.

Coming up, we revisit a singer from 5 songs ago, this time for a song from the Footloose soundtrack.

 
Anarchy99 said:
#35 - KAJAGOOGOO - Too Shy (#5 - 7/9/1983 - 19 Weeks)
I would think most people would know this one or at least heard it before (although with the FFA crowd, who knows these days).  In 2006, "Too Shy" was ranked #27 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's and #9 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80's.

Kajagoogoo started out as a band called Art Nouveau in 1978 but couldn't get a record deal. In 1981, they were in the market for a singer and ended up selecting Christopher Hamill, who decide to use an anagram of his last name and go by the name Limahl instead. For those paying close attention to the OHW countdown, Limahl appeared just outside the Top 100 songs with a song called Never Ending Story.

Limahl was working as a waiter and ran into Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, who co-produced Too Shy and got the song to be released by EMI. The song topped the British Singles Chart (something Duran Duran had not accomplished by that point). Duran Duran would win the battle of British Singles Chart #1 songs by the narrow margin of 2-1.

Kajagoogoo's debut album, White Feathers, generated 3 Top 20 hits in the UK and reached #5 on the UK album chart. As was often the case for these OTW performers, it was all downhill from there. The band released 2 more albums in the 80's that did not sell as well and they only had one other UK hit. They didn't get another one in the U.S.

The original line-up of the band briefly joined forces again on VH1's Bands Reunited in 2003. They put out another album in 2008. They released digital only singles in 2009 and 2011 before calling it a day. Yet somehow they managed to put out 9 compilation / greatest hits collections over the years.

Coming up, we revisit a singer from 5 songs ago, this time for a song from the Footloose soundtrack.
Click to expand...
as an avowed metal-head, this song is my secret shame. i like it more than i probably should.

 
Anarchy99 said:
#35 - KAJAGOOGOO - Too Shy (#5 - 7/9/1983 - 19 Weeks)
I would think most people would know this one or at least heard it before (although with the FFA crowd, who knows these days).  In 2006, "Too Shy" was ranked #27 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's and #9 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80's.

Kajagoogoo started out as a band called Art Nouveau in 1978 but couldn't get a record deal. In 1981, they were in the market for a singer and ended up selecting Christopher Hamill, who decide to use an anagram of his last name and go by the name Limahl instead. For those paying close attention to the OHW countdown, Limahl appeared just outside the Top 100 songs with a song called Never Ending Story.

Limahl was working as a waiter and ran into Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, who co-produced Too Shy and got the song to be released by EMI. The song topped the British Singles Chart (something Duran Duran had not accomplished by that point). Duran Duran would win the battle of British Singles Chart #1 songs by the narrow margin of 2-1.

Kajagoogoo's debut album, White Feathers, generated 3 Top 20 hits in the UK and reached #5 on the UK album chart. As was often the case for these OTW performers, it was all downhill from there. The band released 2 more albums in the 80's that did not sell as well and they only had one other UK hit. They didn't get another one in the U.S.

The original line-up of the band briefly joined forces again on VH1's Bands Reunited in 2003. They put out another album in 2008. They released digital only singles in 2009 and 2011 before calling it a day. Yet somehow they managed to put out 9 compilation / greatest hits collections over the years.

Coming up, we revisit a singer from 5 songs ago, this time for a song from the Footloose soundtrack.
Click to expand...
Kajagoogoo's bass player (Nick Beggs) plays an instrument called a Chapman Stick, which is a hybrid stringed instrument that can be played like a bass OR a guitar. The guy is a virtuoso. I saw him live with John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin and it blew me away.

 
Gr00vus said:
And while we're not talking about Loverboy, I must confess - their drummer is my anti-model for anything physically to do with playing drums. Not that he's not technically proficient (he's no worse than a slew of other drummers for hit bands through time), I just never wanted to look like he does while he plays. Pretty much any video of theirs will demonstrate what I'm talking about.

I mean, this whole thing - not parody.
Click to expand...
I thought that was the point of loverboy,  a parody that was a non parody. 

 
#34 - MIKE RENO & ANN WILSON - Almost Paradise (#5 - 7/14/1984 - 20 Weeks)
I thought it was sappy, over emotional pop then and my opinion has not changed after listening to it again. I struggled with this one, too, as Loverboy had 9 Top 40 songs and we already discussed how successful Heart was. But Mike Reno is the one in question here, and he didn't have any other solo charting songs.

The music for Almost Paradise was composed by Eric Carmen, who had 12 Top 40 hits himself and wrote 4 other Top 40 songs for other performers. The Footloose soundtrack was one of the best selling soundtracks of the 80's. It sold over 10 million copies and produced 6 Top 40 songs (Footloose - Kenny Loggins #1, Let's Hear It For The Boy - Deniece Williams #1, Almost Paradise - #5, Dancing In The Streets - Shalamar #17, I'mm Free (Heaven Help The Man) - Kenny Loggins #22, Holding Out For A Hero - Bonnie Tyler #34).

The film featured other songs that were also hits that did not appear on the initial soundtrack (but were later released in an expanded edition): Mental Health (Bang Your Head) - Quiet Riot #31), Hurts So Good - John Cougar (Mellencamp) #2, and Waiting For A Girl Like You - Foreigner #2 (although those last two were hits prior to appearing in the movie). 

Loverboy was pretty big in the 80's (despite their cartoonish hair and outfitting). The Canadian band sold over 10 million albums from their 5 releases in the 80's. They put out another album after a decade, another a decade later, and a couple revival albums in the 2010's. They are another band that went overboard in the compilation / great hits category, as they have released 15 different collections of existing material.

Reno released a solo album in 2002. Besides Footloose, he appeared on other soundtracks including Iron Eagle II, Watchers, and Dream A Little Dream. As noted early, Loverboy is touring as we speak, so if you have a hankering, take a look to see if they are coming to a town near you.  

Moving on, we travel back to 1980 for any of you looking for love (in all the wrong places).

 
[scooter] said:
Kajagoogoo's bass player (Nick Beggs) plays an instrument called a Chapman Stick, which is a hybrid stringed instrument that can be played like a bass OR a guitar. The guy is a virtuoso. I saw him live with John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin and it blew me away.
Click to expand...
He's a fantastic musician.

 
Why Loverboy didn't sing Lovin' Every Minute Of It with ze German accent is beyond ze me.

Ready?! 

Ze aim! 

Fizah!

 
#33 - JOHNNY LEE - Lookin' For Love (#5 - 9/20/1980 - 21 Weeks)
Another song from a movie soundtrack, this one from Urban Cowboy starring John Travolta and Debra Winger. I've never seen the film, so those that have please post whether it is worth investing 2+ hours of time to watch it.

The soundtrack produced 6 Top 40 singles and featured Mickey Gilley's version of Stand By Me (which was in this OHW countdown at #142 . . . even though Gilley had 17 songs top the Billboard Country chart), All Night Long by Joe Walsh, Nine Tonight by Bob Seger, Could I Have This Dance by Anne Murray, Lyin' Eyes by the Eagles, The Devil Went Down To Georgia by Charlie Daniels, Look What You've Done To Me by Boz Skaggs, and Love The World Away by Kenny Rogers.

Lookin' For Love was co-written by 4-time Country Songwriter of the Year and Nashville Songwriters HOF inductee Bob Morrison. Johnny Lee has now been a popular country singer for over 40 years and has released 22 alums and has had 19 Top 40 country hits, but Lookin' For Love was his only crossover hit. Sadly, his son Johnny Lee, Jr. died of a drug overdose a few years ago at age 23.

Old timers here may remember the classic Eddie Murphy sketch from SNL as Buckwheat singing his greatest hits including Wookin' Pa Nub.

Coming up next, an English language remake of a song originally recorded in German (that only reached #72 on the US chart).

 
Anarchy99 said:
Coming up next, an English language remake of a song originally recorded in German (that only reached #72 on the US chart).
Click to expand...
:excited:  (for the original version that didn't make the cut for this countdown)

Rick James should be getting royalties from someone for "borrowing" his Super Freak bass line - given that both songs were released in 81, it's amazing how quickly they coopted it. 

 
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Anarchy99 said:
Urban Cowboy starring John Travolta and Debra Winger. I've never seen the film, so those that have please post whether it is worth investing 2+ hours of time to watch it.
Click to expand...
I feel it's o.k. to skip this one. Scott Glenn turns in a solid heel performance though.

 
Gr00vus said:
:excited:  (for the original version that didn't make the cut for this countdown)

Rick James should be getting royalties from someone for "borrowing" his Super Freak bass line - given that both songs were released in 81, it's amazing how quickly they coopted it. 
Click to expand...
The original didn't hit the Top 40, but the German artist went on to log a #1 song and another Top 20 single in the States in 1985. So the German performer wasn't making this list no matter how you slice it (even if the original version of the song had made it to the Top 40). You might want to add that to the heavy rotation 80's MTV songs that didn't sell thread.

 
Anarchy99 said:
The original didn't hit the Top 40, but the German artist went on to log a #1 song and another Top 20 single in the States in 1985. So the German performer wasn't making this list no matter how you slice it (even if the original version of the song had made it to the Top 40). You might want to add that to the heavy rotation 80's MTV songs that didn't sell thread.
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Oh, I get why the original artist didn't make this list, I didn't mean to give you a hard time. I just like the original better and am somewhat sad that the cover was the one to go to number 5 in the U.S. - granted that it's a pretty good cover as far as covers go.

 
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#32 - AFTER THE FIRE - Der Kommisar (#5 - 4/30/1983 - 21 Weeks)
After The Fire was a band active from 1974-1982 and again from 2004-2013. Nothing like a 22 year break between friends. Keyboardist Peter Banks was the only one that was in all 10 incarnations of the band over that time.The group released 9 albums and 3 EPs. Their only other song that remotely did anything in the States was Dancing In The Shadows, which was the immediate follow up to Der Kommisar and hit #85 on the Hot 100. Can't say I remember it, though. Pete King, the drummer from ATF, died a handful of years later from cancer.

The original version of Der Kommisar was released the year prior by Falco. Interesting enough, neither version was a hit in the UK. The Falco did not chart at all and the ATF version only hit #47. Falco's version hit #1 in 6 countries and hit the Top 15 in at least 15 countries. The ATF version really was only popular in the US and did not get much fanfare or attention anywhere else. It does not appear the members of ATF did much outside of the band.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame released a pretty similar version with his first band Option 30 in 1983.

Falco later topped the singles charts in 8 countries (including the US) with Rock Me Amadeus in 1987. Rock Me Amadeus was ranked #87 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s and #44 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders. (I don't make those lists, so send your angry texts, tweets, and emails to VH1.) The follow up song Vienna Calling hit #18 on the Billboard singles chart. Falco released 10 albums. He died at aged 40 in 1998 in a car accident.

I was going to say that our next artist played on Foreigner's best selling 4 album, but that line was used in one of the other OHW threads. So instead I will say some other notable appearances included: 1) playing in David Bowie's band for Live Aid, 2) appearing on Def Leppard's Pyromania, 3) serving as keyboardist for Roger Water's Live In Berlin show in 1990, and 4) session work with the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Peter Gabriel, and Joe Walsh.

 
Anarchy99 said:
#32 - AFTER THE FIRE - Der Kommisar (#5 - 4/30/1983 - 21 Weeks)
After The Fire was a band active from 1974-1982 and again from 2004-2013. Nothing like a 22 year break between friends. Keyboardist Peter Banks was the only one that was in all 10 incarnations of the band over that time.The group released 9 albums and 3 EPs. Their only other song that remotely did anything in the States was Dancing In The Shadows, which was the immediate follow up to Der Kommisar and hit #85 on the Hot 100. Can't say I remember it, though. Pete King, the drummer from ATF, died a handful of years later from cancer.
Click to expand...
a cleaner version too much love for this tune, it deserves better than sounding like K-Tel speakers submerged in a boggy swamp wrapped with electrical tape during a hurricane  :D

 
Shankopotamus said:
Maybe it was just me, but the Falco version with him running in front of the police lights seemed to get much more play on MTV back in the day. 
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As cheesy/goofy as it is, it could have been a zillion times worse if Falco didn't do it with conviction. Guy was a really good performer.

 
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#31 - THOMAS DOLBY - She Blinded Me With Science (#5 - 5/14/1983 - 22 Weeks)
This song clearly benefited from the MTV craze, at is was played repeatedly. Dolby's mix of British synth pop and quirky videos fit right in. Dolby's real name is Thomas Robinson, but he was always tinkering with keyboards, tapes, and effects and got the nickname Dolby (after the noise reduction process). He started out as a session musician, playing keyboards on several popular albums from the era . . .

Foreigner – 4
Def Leppard – Pyromania
Malcolm McLaren – Duck Rock
Joan Armatrading – Walk Under Ladders
Thompson Twins – Set
Belinda Carlisle – Heaven on Earth

Dolby's debut album was entitled The Golden Age of Wireless, and somehow She Blinded Me With Science was the fifth single released from the album. Europa And The Pirate Twins was a minor hit and One Of Our Submarines (the 6th single) also got a fair amount of radio airplay. (I still have the album (as in the physical album) sitting in my garage.) Dolby made the Blinded By Science video himself, directing and filming it on his own.

Dolby never had the same success, possibly due to his involvement with Howard The Duck (not many people attached to that movie did a lot afterwards). He formed Dolby's Cube and recorded with other artists, Dolby ended up releasing 5 studio albums and 3 live albums.

He's had guest stints and appearances with a broad range of performers and has stayed active in the music biz as a producer. He's also developed tons of ring tones (of all things). He's also composed music to utilize virtual reality and other technologies.

Next up, a blind man who lost his eyes to cancer follows a song with blinded in the title (the one by Dolby), singing a song with eyes in the title.

 
Anarchy99 said:
So instead I will say some other notable appearances included: 1) playing in David Bowie's band for Live Aid, 2) appearing on Def Leppard's Pyromania, 3) serving as keyboardist for Roger Water's Live In Berlin show in 1990, and 4) session work with the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Peter Gabriel, and Joe Walsh.
Click to expand...
Except that it was Eddie who was the session man:

"Close But No Cigar" (would have been an MTV hit if it had come out in 1985 instead of 1992)

"Eastern Bloc"

 
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