One Time Wonders -They Came, They Saw, They… Went
Longevity is indeed an elusive creature and this theory applies a lot more to the music industry than anywhere else. Now there are thousands of artists who are trying to make it big in the music industry; some succeed while most fail. We have compiled a few names of the artists who can best be branded as ‘One Hit Wonders’. They enjoyed their 15 seconds of fame and vanished into thin air. We’re sure you remember at least some of these songs… but do you even recognize these names anymore?
· Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby (1990) - Robert Matthew Van Winkle, aka Vanilla Ice, was a Dallas born American rapper who can top the list of ‘One Hit Wonders’ from all over the world. He is perhaps one of the ‘pioneers’ of the One Hit Wonder movement. His single ‘Ice Ice Baby’ was a major hit in the 90s. The song was the first ever Hip Hop single to have topped the Billboard Charts. He did some cameos in a few films and eventually disappeared completely from the scene.
· Los Del Rio - Macarena (1996) - Los Del Rio is a Spanish music group formed by Antonio Romero Monge and Rafael RuÃz. They originally hailed from the city section of Dos Hermanas in Seville. This musical duo did enjoy success thanks to their smash hit multi-platinum "Macarena". The song sold more than four million copies in the United States of America alone, and did spend a record breaking 14 weeks at the number ONE position. Macarena was and still is the #1 debut single in the history of American music.
· Baha Men - Who Let the Dogs Out? (2000) - Baha men are originally a pop boyband from the region of Nassau in the Bahamas. They played a modernized version of Bahamian music that’s known as Junkanoo. They tasted temporary yet huge success after their song ‘Who Let The Dogs Out?’ started smashing records, all over the world. It topped all musical chart success in several nations, and also became a well-liked song at many US sports events. The song, in fact, won the group the prestigious Grammy Award in the year 2000 in the Best Dance Recording category. The group also won the Billboard Music Awards for World Music Artist of the Year along with the World Music Album of the Year and the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for Favorite Song. Two years later in the year 2002, they also won one more Kids' Choice Award in the Favorite Band category.
· Survivor - Eye of the Tiger (1982) - Survivor was an American rock music band that released the song ‘Eye of the Tiger’ from the album with the same name. They were requested by movie star Sylvester Stallone to record the song for the movie Rocky 3. The single attained the second position on the Billboard Top Pop Singles of 1982 year-end chart. It also topped the charts on the Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles year-end chart. It was voted to be the number one single in UK, Irish and Australian charts. It was certified platinum by the RIA or the Recording Industry Association of America the same year it was released. The band also became proud recipients of the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance. The song received an Academy Award nomination in the Best Original Song category.
· Snow - Informer (1992) - Snow is a Canadian Reggae musician who also aptly fits this list. He achieved global success with a single written by Marvin Prince, called ‘Informer’. The single topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The Guinness Book of World Records acknowledged the single's popularity twice; once as the best selling reggae song in the history of USA and second time as the highest chart topping reggae single in the musical history of mankind! The single sold around 8 million copies from around the world and remained as the number 1 on the US Billboards Charts. It stayed there for seven weeks consecutively.
· Crazy Town- Butterfly (1999) - This LA based Alternative/Nu-Metal band smashed up every chart with their groovy single ‘Butterfly’ taken from their album, ‘The Gift of Game’. The single reached the Numero Uno position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band later vanished into obscurity.
· EMF - Unbelievable (1990) - "Unbelievable" is the smash hit song that was written by the group EMF. Released as a single in the UK in the year 1990, it topped the Singles Chart of the United Kingdom at number three position. It went down in history as the 32nd best-selling single of the year 1990 in UK. In the US, it grabbed the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
When political statements and notes merge
There are songs and then there are songs that carry a political statement which is extremely meaningful. The artists, who write, compose and finally release these songs manifest their angst against the wrong-doings of the society or simply make an attempt to make the masses open their eyes and see through the haze and the blur. Frankly, these songs represent a powerful statement and ask for explanations from the head of the society. These artists wage an intellectually influenced, artistic ‘war’ against what they feel is wrong in the society.
Gimme shelter- The Rolling Stones: The iconic British rock n roll band, THE ROLLING STONES sing about a turbulent time that was faced by America in the year 1969. The same year, US were warring with Vietnam, there were several race riots going on and the infamous Charles Manson was apprehended. THE ROLLING STONES frontman, Mick Jagger sings of a particular need for ‘shelter ‘from all this turbulence. Incidentally, "Gimme Shelter" is also the name of the film that documented The Stones 1969 tour, as well as the memorable Altamont concert where a fan was stabbed to death by a Hell's Angels security guard.
Bullet the blue sky – U2: This is a political song that in a way criticizes the US foreign policy for promoting turbulence in Central America. The lyrics were motivated by U2 vocalist Bono's trip to Central America in the year 1985. He was there as a part of the Amnesty International. His band mates Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, and The Edge, were responsible for the music. The band along with Bono wanted to draw concentration to the fact that the US was doing a severe degree of damage in other countries.
Fight the Power- Public Enemy: Public Enemy have always been one of those artists, whose very songs sent shiver down the spine of the corrupted society. “Fight the Power” is one song that actually is their mission statement. From the Thomas “TNT” Todd quotation that starts the song to Public Enemy member Flavor Flav’s lyrical takedown of both Elvis Presley and John Wayne, this is a song that is challenging and expressive at the same time. Public Enemy was always mad and pissed off at the current state of affairs, the track “Fight the Power” laid out a platform for the band’s outrage which was absolutely indisputable. Perhaps, the best part of the song was that it wasn’t didactic and incorporated an infectious groove that no one could get out of their heads.
"Blowin’ In the Wind” and “The Times They Are A-Changin'-Bob Dylan: The artist known as Bob Dylan is one of the greatest musical poets known to mankind. He executed finesse and his grasp of words so as to showcase his signature political songs. He relied on subtlety and proved that you needn’t be angry to express the discontent that you feel inside. Both of the songs, luminous in their deceiving simplicity, expressively described the turbulent '60s and have earned the tag of being ‘ageless’.
This Land Is Your Land-Woody Guthrie: Woody Guthrie is a legendary American folk-protest singer. His songs primarily dealt with political causes. Most of the stuff that the present society describes as the populist American dream, has its roots in the folksy collectivism that was practiced by Guthrie. He has immortalized many songs, but perhaps no song summarizes his vision like “This Land Is Your Land,” This is a song that depicts a scenario where each and every citizen having an equivalent right to the bounty of the United States. Woody was one of those artists, who had ‘had been there done that’. His guitar had a label that read “this machine kills fascists”.
The Star-Spangled Banner-Jimi Hendrix: The US national anthem was stripped down to its bare bones, reconstructed and redesigned by the guitar god known as Jimi Hendrix. Hats off to Mr. Hendrix for showing us all the exciting and even dangerous side of the song that is sure to piss off traditionalists. The song’s extreme inventiveness and raw, unadulterated emotion purify something indispensable about the real American spirit.
Killing in the Name-Rage Against The Machine: With a name like Rage Against the Machine, you can expect that each and every subtlety would be thrown out of the window, and a seething rage would explode all over the system in which we dwell. RATM is one of the most politically charged up bands who knew what they were doing. Their songs reflected a certain virtuous resentment with negligible introspection. This song dealt with corruption and racism and is covered by bands all over the world, even after 18 years of its official release.
California Uber Alles- The Dead Kennedys: The Dead Kennedys always embraced a political message in their songs. Jello Biafra and his band mates nailed rapidly and artistically on everything from customer trends to the military-industrial compound. The song “California Uber Alles,” aimed directly at the fearful freak-out predicting Jerry Brown totalitarianism. This is one song that epitomizes a major instance of the fuming political attitude that defined the punk rock movement.
Strange Fruit-Billie Holiday: This wasn’t just any political song, but it also reflected the act of bravery by the artist. After her record label refused to even record the song, she went on to a new label. She also performed the song “Strange Fruit” in concert, though at times fearing retaliation for doing so. This song actually brought the dreaded concept of racism to the forefront of the nationwide awareness. “Strange Fruit” is evidence to the authority of the ideal pairing of a singer and a song to create an ineffaceable political declaration.
Imagine-John Lennon: Perhaps a list of ‘political statement songs’ wouldn’t be complete without this classic from ex-Beatles John Lennon. The song depicted of an Utopian state of affairs, where the line “all the people/ living life in peace” would ring truth and where there wouldn’t be any boundaries of nationality or religion forcing us to choose.
---- Kabya Ghosh
