4 One-Hit Wonders I Honestly Can’t Believe Were Ever Released

Some one-hit wonders are so undeniably catchy, so inarguably groovy, that it’s easy to see how they burst onto the scene the way they did. However, this does not pertain to all one-hit wonders. And in fact, I would go so far as to say it’s downright surprising that some of these one-hit wonders were ever released.

Indeed, the fact that these one-hit wonders exist at all supports two theories. One, we’re all a lot weirder than we give ourselves credit for. And two, the right melody and rhythm can make virtually any subject matter tolerable.

“Centipede” by Rebbie Jackson

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a big ol’ baby about bugs, so I’m certain the first entry on this one-hit wonders list is a lot more “me” than “this song.” Still, did Michael Jackson—yes, that Michael Jackson—or his older sister, Rebbie Jackson, ever stop to consider that maybe, just maybe, a bug was not the ideal metaphor for such a sexy, silky track? I don’t know how to hear the lyrics “I feel a longing for your touch, like you crawled into the bathroom window” in this context without being grossed out.

“Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex

The United States going absolutely hog wild over a redneck line-dance song written and performed by a Eurodance group from Sweden is one of the most niche cultural moments to come out of the mid-1990s. As someone who has done the Cotton Eye Joe at many a school dance and wedding reception, I still have to ask, why? That’s rhetorical, obviously. I know the real reason is that as absurd as this song is, it’s also ridiculously catchy. It’s an earworm, not a sonata, you know?

“Dead Skunk” by Loudon Wainwright III

Once again, Loudon Wainwright III proved that a good melody and catchy rhythm can mask even the foulest of subjects with his 1972 one-hit wonder, “Dead Skunk”. The jaunty folk ditty is a straightforward track, something you could easily imagine him writing while driving down the road, which he did. Most of us don’t prefer to sit and ponder the sights and smells of a dead skunk in the middle of the road, yet American audiences pushed this one all the way to No. 16 on the Hot 100.

“Johnny Are You Queer?” by Josie Cotton

I know it was a different time, but that doesn’t make it any less surprising that the 1981 one-hit wonder, “Johnny Are You Queer?” did so well on the charts. It’s not the music or the quality of Josie Cotton’s performance. I think it has more to do with my disbelief in the confidence one would require to assume, “Oh, then you must be gay,” when someone doesn’t reciprocate their feelings. Though initially met with some controversy, later critics defended the song, arguing that the ironic humor of the woman’s arrogance is the point, not the irrelevant detail of Johnny’s sexuality.

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