The biggest one-hit wonder from each year since the '60s

We're all familiar with the one-hit wonder—that artist who storms onto the music scene with a smash hit, only to disappear as soon as they arrived. Some one-hit wonders continue making music for years, but never manage to produce another successful song. Others leave the industry altogether after releasing their megahits, cashing in their earnings and quitting while they're ahead. A few artists on this list may have gone on to release more hit songs had their lives not been cut short.

Some one-hit wonders released recordings before their big hits, but these lesser-known tracks garnered little or no attention. And in rare cases, an artist may have been prematurely dubbed a one-hit wonder before releasing a similarly popular track later in their career. Take, for example, Hozier. The Irish artist had a smash hit with "Take Me to Church," which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 2014. None of his songs reached the top 40 for the next decade until "Too Sweet," which has been dominating airwaves and streaming charts. It actually outdid "Take Me to Church," landing at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2024.

Ultimately, what's important in defining a one-hit wonder is that whatever else they did, nothing came close to achieving the success—charts-wise or in the minds of their fans—as that one career-defining hit. It shaped careers and is what the performers will always be remembered for.

In celebration of the beloved "one and done" artists of the world, Stacker has rounded up a list of the most iconic one-hit wonders of the past 50-plus years. You'll learn which 1976 smash hit made a major comeback with its feature in Will Ferrell's "Anchorman," which country-pop ballad was originally offered to Cher, and which of these one-hit wonders was written for a 1980s blockbuster film that made $214 million at the worldwide box office.

Note that the last entry on this list is 2017 in an attempt to avoid deeming more recent artists from 2018 to 2024 one-hit wonders prematurely. Scroll through and you'll likely see some of your favorites, and you may just recognize a handful of these from a school dance or two.

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