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February 21, 2007
The 59 Best One Hit Wonders Ever: #14-12
14. Digital Underground - "The Humpty Dance" (1989) Besides the fun rap and the character adopted by the lead rapper, this song just has a great bass line. I mean, an awesome bass line. One of my favorite rap songs ever.
13. Martin Briley - "The Salt In My Tears" (1983) Pure power chord AOR. But with the video being so relatable to so many of us (wow, is it familiar), and with a good set of lyrics to back up the power pop, this song still stands up; you could release it today and I still think it'd be a hit. Throw in a good bridge and a pretty good guitar solo, and you have a classic OHW by a guy who's written hits for about a dozen other artists but never managed to score another one for himself.
12. Shakespear's Sister - "Stay" (1992) This was the song that inspired me to do this countdown when I thought of it again for the first time in a while. I'd always liked the song even when it came out 15 years ago; I thought the first of the two women in the group (Marcella Detroit) had a really pretty voice, and the juxtaposition of her beautiful voice in the first verses with the sinister, almost evil growl of the second woman in the band (Siobhan Fahey), made for a really interesting song. The backstory on the song -- Fahey's struggles to reconcile the two sides of her personality while suffering from severe depression -- made it one I identified with during the years before I knew what I had. And then when I saw the video - with its themes of resurrection, of good and evil fighting over a soul, of that good and evil possibly being two sides of the same person - I just really got into this song. It's a freaking weird video, with Fahey becoming the glam demon woman from hell in it to represent the more sinister elements within, but one I find compelling from an artistic standpoint anyway. And the pipes it took for Detroit to hit that high note after the bridge has ended and just before the final choruses... wow. Great song, if an odd one. While this was Shakespear's Sister's only US hit, it was a raging success in the UK; to this day, no other song by a female group has ever stayed at UK #1 longer. Not the Supremes, not the Carpenters, not anyone. Nice distinction.
Comments
this trio can't suck enough. c'mom Mudge......dont get cute with this list
Posted by: Marquette Hoops at February 22, 2007 02:35 PM
Cool - you've solved a huge mystery for me - because I always wondered where French and Saunders got the inspiration. THANKS
Posted by: Philip at February 22, 2007 02:35 PM
will you pleeeeeeeeeeeease write something other than a list? you're killing me here.
Posted by: Sarah at February 22, 2007 04:39 PM
