Can a half hit wonder have a long career? Give examples

[DonJuanDeMarco]

To answer the question, first explain what the difference is between a half hit wonder and a one hit wonder.
What is half a hit?
So far the only bands mentioned are one hit wonders or no hit wonder crap like Enuff Znuff

I think I gave some good examples. Guys that have been around forever but no Top 40 hits or gold/platinum records.

Some non-Sludge guys too:
Southside Johnny
John Eddie
John Cafferty
Gary US Bonds
Willie Nile

[DonJuanDeMarco]

To answer the question, first explain what the difference is between a half hit wonder and a one hit wonder.
What is half a hit?
So far the only bands mentioned are one hit wonders or no hit wonder crap like Enuff Znuff

I think I gave some good examples. Guys that have been around forever but no Top 40 hits or gold/platinum records.

Some non-Sludge guys too:
Southside Johnny
John Eddie
John Cafferty
Gary US Bonds
Willie Nile

[superglide88]

To answer the question, first explain what the difference is between a half hit wonder and a one hit wonder.
What is half a hit?
So far the only bands mentioned are one hit wonders or no hit wonder crap like Enuff Znuff

Guys that have been around forever but no Top 40 hits or gold/platinum records.

Those are no-hit wonders then.
So what is a half hit wonder?

[woblinweebles]

To answer the question, first explain what the difference is between a half hit wonder and a one hit wonder.
What is half a hit?
So far the only bands mentioned are one hit wonders or no hit wonder crap like Enuff Znuff

I think I gave some good examples. Guys that have been around forever but no Top 40 hits or gold/platinum records.

Some non-Sludge guys too:
Southside Johnny
John Eddie
John Cafferty
Gary US Bonds
Willie Nile

I've heard Gary US Bonds on some of those top 40 countdowns on the 80s station on Sirius and he had a bunch of hits in the early 60s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_U.S._Bonds#Singles


Cafferty had the Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack, which went triple platinum, plus two of the songs from it were hit singles, and their follow up had a couple top 40 hits.

[AlexVonHaig]

didnt read the whole thread but George Thorogood is the screaming answer here

[Tommy2Tone84]

Who has 1/2 hit? That’s Enuff Z Nuff

This right here - the only reason they had whatever "career" they had is because they never gave up pursuing what never happened for them ITFP.

I just checked and both New Thing and Fly High Michelle were Top 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart so that’s TWO half hits.

Real fans of the band know those 2 songs are not even their best though.

Good point that “they” never gave up. “They” being Chip. Derek and Ricky are both RIP. Vik is MIA. Donnie gave up many times. Why hasn’t Johnny Monaco re joined the band? I saw that version with him, Chip and Ricky. They sounded fantastic. The Chip version is no good unfortunately but still giving him credit for hanging on.

This is more accurate. I don’t remember at radio but these two songs were all over MTV. They were a two hit wonder and the two hits weren’t top ten. The band and Donnie especially were too erratic. Even if they had been the best of bros and relative choir boys, their Beatles meets glam rock trip still might not have connected with the public at large. At the time I thought I Could Never Be Without You and For Now would make for great singles too.

The fans tastes are weird. I like Animal, Hysteria and Armageddon It much better than PSSOM. But that’s the single that made Hysteria pop. Without that song and single, things might have been very different Def Leppard.

Someone mentioned Chris Issacs. I remember him being a one hit wonder.

I’ll add Cheap Trick. They got a lot of mileage out of Surrender and IWYTWM for about a decade until they made a small comeback in the late 80s with two songs they didn’t write.

[Ale]

I invented the term half hit wonder. Dont hold it against me.
Of course musicians can play and have shows even if they havent ever charted. Hell, Im a musician here, I have a kind of career, I was playing all the time and Ive never even been on the radio a lot. But, I can play to 200 fans in my hometown and thats it and the only time Ive done tours is opening for a big band.

The thing that I guess Im asking is, what people see an ad for a Crash test dummies show in Charleston North Carolina and say: ey lets go see them, theyre gonna play the mmmmm song. Im under the impression that they can fill a venue with their oldest fans and friends in their hometown in a special date celebrating an album or something, and not properly tour.

Enuff Znuff and Tuff and bands like that I can understand a little better cause theres an underground kind of scene in which you pair 5 of these bands and 50 year olds can fill a club and get drunk remembering the 80s.

[Ale]

John Eddie plays the club circuit from where he is around, he doesnt tour cause nobody is going to pay for the expenses, but he has his following in Jersey and he makes a living like this.

Cheap Trick is in the Rock n roll hall of fame, I mean. They open for Rod Stewart, they were almost superstars in the 70s and the manager can pick up the phone and every fair in the states would say yes for a fair -ah- price. You cant compare Cheap Trick to Saliva or Crash test dummies.

[Ale]

I just remember, add Spacehog in the half hit wonder bin.

How can these guys sell tickets, I wonder.

[TheDeadBastard]

Chubby Checker has been doing the twist for about 1,000 years.

Can you name anything else he's sang?

He had two hits

The Twist
Let’s Twist Again