History OneHitWonder / RockMusic

** Guitarist '''Mike Einziger''' managed to be a one-hit wonder twice, as he played guitar (albeit uncredited) on Avicii's "Wake Me Up". It was the only hit he ever had independent from Incubus on any chart.

* '''Matchbook Romance''' have a fairly large following, but non-fans/the general public know them mostly for "Monsters" because of its appearences in ''[[VideoGame/MaddenNFL Madden NFL 07]]'' and [[VideoGame/GuitarHero Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock]]''.

* '''The Orwells''' made it to #23 on the alternative chart in 2014 with their song "Who Needs You". It was their only chart entry, but they remained a popular touring band afterwards. That is, until four years later, when they broke up following [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor sexual assault allegations]] against three of its five members.

* The only hit for '''Sister Hazel''' was their 1997 debut "All for You", which went to #11 in 1997. They had a few more hits on the rock and adult contemporary charts.

* '''Music/LivingColour''' had many massive hits on rock radio, but their only major pop crossover was 1989's "Cult of Personality," and today it is the only song the group is still remembered for. The song's newfound lease of life in 2011 when professional wrestler Wrestling/CMPunk adopted it as his theme certainly did not help.

* Nu metal band Music/{{Snot}} never charted before the death of their lead singer Lynn Strait in 1998. After his death, the members of the band reconvened as '''Strait Up''' and put out a memorial album to Strait in 2000 featuring some of the top metal vocalists of the day as guests. One of these songs, "Angel's Son" featuring Music/{{Sevendust}} frontman '''Lajon Witherspoon''', made it to #11 on the mainstream rock chart and #15 on the alternative chart. Strait Up was only formed to put out that one album and they never charted again. Neither did Witherspoon, who has never actively pursued a solo career, though his band has twelve top 20 mainstream rock hits.

* Music/TheBlackKeys are not a one-hit wonder on alt-rock radio. However, '''The Arcs''', the side-project of frontman Dan Auerbach, only had one single that got widespread airplay -- "Outta My Mind".

* American band '''The Connells''' had a surprise Top 20 hit in the UK with "'74-'75" in 1995. That was their only song to chart in the UK, but they had four entries on the Billboard Modern Rock chart back home, including three top 10 hits. Interestingly, none of those songs were "'74-'75".

* '''Men Without Hats''' are another band largely remembered as a classic '80s one-hit wonder despite not technically being one. Their memorable 1982 single "The Safety Dance" made it to #3 in the US and #6 in the UK. Despite that song remaining their only Top 40 hit in the UK, they had another hit in the US in 1987 when "Pop Goes the World" reached #20. The band had several more hits in their native Canada, but that was it for them internationally.

* '''Music/{{AWOLNATION}}''' had a huge hit with "Sail" in 2013. The song's mix of alternative, synthpop, noise rock and industrial became a completely unexpected crossover hit in an era where pop, [=EDM=] and hip-hop ruled the airwaves. The song took several years to become a hit, first being released in 2010, not charting on the Hot 100 until the next year, and finally reaching a peak of #17 in October 2013. It actually held the record for the longest time spent on the ''Billboard Hot 100'', with a total of 79 weeks spent on the chart, until it was broken by the 87-week run of Music/ImagineDragons' "Radioactive" (which was also an unexpected crossover hit, albeit less GenreBusting). It's also their only song to enter the ''Hot 100''. Their song "Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)" actually outpeaked "Sail" on the alternative charts, going all the way to #1 in 2015, but it's barely remembered compared to the cross-genre smash that "Sail" was.

* '''Frank Stallone''', Creator/SylvesterStallone's younger brother, scored a #10 hit on the Hot 100 in 1983, with "Far from Over" from the soundtrack of Film/StayingAlive. He had a few more placements on his brother's film soundtracks - and was the repeated subject of Creator/NormMacdonald's punchlines, during his tenure as Weekend Update host on Series/SaturdayNightLive - but never managed another major hit.

* '''Stone Sour''', Music/{{Slipknot}} frontman Corey Taylor's ''other'' band, managed a #39 pop hit with "Through Glass", and never hit the Top 40 again. Both bands have had much more success on the rock charts; in fact, most people will be surprised that Stone Sour were ''more'' successful on rock radio than Slipknot despite being much less famous overall and having far lower album sales, due to a far more consistent album release schedule especially as of the 2010s.

* '''Music/PapaRoach''' is hardly considered a one-hit wonder, having numerous hits on rock radio and headlining many rock festivals, especially in their early-'00s peak. However, they technically only had one Top 40 hit: their #15 "Scars" in 2005. Despite their rock radio mainstay status, many outside their audience would only be able to recognize one song from them, but [[ChartDisplacement it's not "Scars"]]. 2000's "Last Resort", despite only peaking at #57, is easily their best-known song, and one of the most iconic songs of the NuMetal era.

** Bennington also helped another underground turntabalist, in this case '''Z-Trip''', score their only hit when he provided lead vocals on the single "Walking Dead", a #17 alternative hit in 2005. While Z-Trip has been in demand as a remix producer since, "Walking Dead" remains his only charting single anywhere.

* Bassist Corey Lowery (brother of Music/{{Sevendust}} guitarist Clint) has had the misfortune of playing in ''two'' one-hit wonder rock groups, namely '''Stereomud''' ("Pain") and, alongside his brother, '''Dark New Day''' (with the appropriately titled "Brother"). He later joined {{supergroup}} Saint Asonia (who have had three Top 10 hits, and is now the guitarist for Music/{{Seether}} (who have had plenty of rock hits).

* '''Music/{{Shinedown}}''' has had plenty of #1 singles on Mainstream Rock radio, but their only crossover hit was in 2009 with "Second Chance", which peaked at #7. None of their other singles reached the Top 40, although "If You Only Knew" almost made the mark peaking at #42. Today, "Second Chance" is seen as the swan song of crossover mainstream rock music, as it was released just before the EDM-pop-rap takeover of TheNewTens that killed ''all'' forms of harder rock in the mainstream, making it unlikely they'll ever be able to produce another crossover hit.
* South African rock band '''Music/{{Seether}}''' have had seven #1 hits on the Mainstream Rock charts, yet only one of their songs crossed over to the pop Top 40: 2004's "Broken". It reached #20 and marked their only song to successfully travel to non-rock audiences. Proving that one can be a star of their own format but a one-hit wonder on another. Additionally, it featured frontman Shaun Morgan's then-girlfriend '''Amy Lee''', which became her only hit independently from Music/{{Evanescence}}.

* '''Music/{{Apocalyptica}}''' themselves are often seen as one by American audiences for "I Don't Care". While the Finnish cello metal band is very popular in Europe, they only experienced brief popularity stateside before falling off the map. As it stands, despite having three Top 10s on mainstream rock (the others being collaborations with [[Music/{{Slipknot}} Corey]] [[Music/StoneSour Taylor]] and Bush's Gavin Rossdale) and a fourth minor hit with Shinedown's frontman (but would be re-recorded with Hoobastank's lead singer due to a dispute with Shinedown's label), "I Don't Care" is the only one American audiences still remember them for.

* '''Kajagoogoo''' had a top 10 hit all around the world in 1983 with their debut single "Too Shy". Despite making #5 in the US, the band never had another hit there. In their native UK, where "Too Shy" went all the way to #1, Kajagoogoo had four more top 40 hits, including two top 10s, but their success was fleeting at home as well. At the height of their fame, the band fired its lead singer Limahl and [[TheBandMinusTheFace continued on without him]] for two more albums that weren't as successful as their first. After his ouster, '''Limahl''' had a hit in both the US and UK in 1984 with ''Film/TheNeverEndingStory'' theme. He had another Top 20 UK hit with his 1983 solo debut "Only For Love," but it didn't come close to the heights of "Never Ending Story" and did not make the Top 40 in the US. Bassist Nick Beggs, who took over as the band's frontman from Limahl, later had a long career as a session musician and is a stalwart on the ProgressiveRock scene.

* '''Matthew Wilder''' had a Top 5 hit in both the US and UK in 1983 with "Break My Stride". Wilder never had another big hit in either country; Although "The Kid's American" scraped the Top 40 in the US the next year, it topped out at #33 and was quickly forgotten. He had a CareerResurrection in the 1990s as a record producer and songwriter, most notably producing Music/NoDoubt's breakout album ''Tragic Kingdom'' and working on the soundtrack of ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' (he co-wrote "[[Music/ChristinaAguilera Reflection]]" and was the singing voice of Ling).

* Device was also project for Holly Knight, who is not a one-hit wonder as a songwriter (continuing the Animotion theme, she wrote their earlier Top 10 hit "Obsession"), but she too, is a double one-hit wonder. Knight played keyboards in '''Spider''', whose "New Romance (It's a Mystery)" (which she also wrote) scraped the bottom of the top 40 in 1980. Spider are probably better known nowadays for "Better Be Good to Me", which was CoveredUp by Music/TinaTurner. The band's drummer, Anton Fig, later became known as a member of the house band on ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman''.

* Arty/progressive new wavers '''[[Literature/StrangerThanFictionTheLifeAndTimesOfSplitEnz Split Enz]]''' were pretty successful in their native New Zealand as well as Australia, where they had nine Top 40 hits. In the UK and US, however, their only song that became a hit was "I Got You". The song was a #12 hit in the UK and a #53 hit in the US, but the two countries didn't see any real hits from them ever again. Split Enz's eye-catching and distinct music videos were all over early Creator/{{MTV}}, with four of their videos being played a cumulative seven times in the network's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_music_videos_aired_on_MTV first 24 hours]], but their popularity on the channel did not translate to any other American hits apart from "I Got You". Despite this, however, lead singer Neil Finn [[BreakupBreakout would have more success]] in both countries as the frontman for Music/CrowdedHouse.

* '''Music/{{Korn}}''', the creators of NuMetal, barely qualifies under the standard definition of a one-hit wonder. They had a #38 Hot 100 chart entry with "Did My Time" in 2003, which was their only Top 40 hit and they achieved the feat with no pop radio airplay (largely due to crossover promotion with ''[[Film/LaraCroftTombRaider Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life]]''). [[ChartDisplacement It's not even among their best-known songs]].

* American band '''The Connells''' had a surprise Top 20 hit in the UK with "'74-'75" in 1995. That was their only song to chart in the UK, but they had four Top 40 hits on the Billboard Modern Rock chart back home, including two songs reaching the top five. Interestingly, none of those songs were "'74-'75".

* '''Music/TheKnack''' scored a #1 smash in 1979 with their debut single "My Sharona". However, they were almost immediately hit with an immense HypeBacklash, and broke up two years later. Today, "My Sharona" is seen as a quintessential example of a one-hit wonder.

* The '''Music/NewRadicals''' released one album, ''Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too'', and managed one hit single, "You Get What You Give" (which only peaked at #36). The single itself only found success because of a media firestorm over the closing lyrics of the song, [[TakeThat which bashed]] Music/{{Beck|Musician}}, Music/{{Hanson}}, Music/MarilynManson and Music/CourtneyLove, though frontman Gregg Alexander claimed he had written this section for the song as a test to see whether the media would focus on the important political issues mentioned in the prior lyrics, or the petty celebrity-dissing. Manson responded by threatening to crack Alexander's skull open because he didn't want to be used in the same sentence with Courtney Love, while Alexander later reportedly apologized to Beck for the lyric when they met each other by chance in a supermarket. Also, Gregg Alexander was getting frustrated by the fact that no one would play any other singles chosen by the band, and broke it up to avoid becoming a one-hit wonder (which, poetically, then solidified the band's reputation as a one-hit wonder). Their second single, "Someday We'll Know", had minor success, but it did not chart and they're usually considered a "one-hit" instead of "two-hit". That's probably because the version of "Someday We'll Know" sung by Mandy Moore and Jonathan Foreman, made for the ''Film/AWalkToRemember'' soundtrack is [[CoveredUp more well-known]]. Gregg Alexander went on to find success as a producer/songwriter, writing the #5 hit "The Game of Love" for Music/{{Santana}} and Music/MichelleBranch, and nabbing a Oscar nomination for the song "Lost Stars" from ''Film/BeginAgain'' (which he co-wrote with fellow New Radicals member and former child actress Danielle Brisebois).

* '''Swirl 360''', a band led by twin brothers Denny and Kenny Scott, made it to #47 on the Hot 100 with their 1998 debut single "Hey Now Now". Despite the song's success, particularly on radio, the band never scored a follow-up hit due to Creator/MercuryRecords (a then-[=PolyGram=]-owned company) merging with Universal Music Group, who then proceeded to [[ScrewedByTheNetwork stop promoting their album and then dump them shortly afterwards]].

* '''Music/TheKnack''' scored a #1 smash in 1979 with their debut single "My Sharona". Their next two singles both made it into the Top 40, but they were almost immediately forgotten and criticized for being thinly veiled re-writes of "Sharona". By 1980, the band were has-beens with a rock-bottom reputation, and they broke up two years later.

* '''Hoobastank''' was fairly popular with rock fans in the early '00s, but the only time they crossed over to pop territory was with their massive hit "The Reason" which topped many charts and went #2 on the ''Hot 100''. In fact, they didn't even have much success on the rock charts afterwards, as it was their final ever top 10 on both mainstream and alternative rock, and so even the biggest rock fans today only know them for that song (only their earlier hit "Crawling in the Dark" still gets radio rotation --- on the alternative format only, and even then much less so than "The Reason"; Also, two of their other songs appeared in the video game ''[[VideoGame/TestDrive Test Drive: Eve of Destruction]]''). This is also an example of how one's biggest hit is [[BlackSheepHit not representative of their normal material]].

* Irish musician '''Music/{{Hozier}}''' scored a surprise crossover hit with "Take Me to Church" in late 2014-early 2015, which peaked at #2 behind Music/TaylorSwift's "Blank Space". On the rock/alternative side, it fared even better, where it topped the Billboard Rock Songs chart for a whopping 23 weeks. However, the song only found success because its GayAesop music video went viral. In addition, it's success was also very left-field, and his style of music is too 'rock' to have consistent crossovers on pop. The closest he's come to the top 40 with a solo song since was 2023's "Eat Our Young", which made it to #67, and later that year, he managed to return to the top 40 (even if briefly) with a remix of Noah Kahan's "Northern Attitude", which debuted at #37, but quickly fell to the lower parts of the chart, and it's too soon to say if it will become a true hit. The exceptions are in his native Ireland, where most of his follow-ups have charted well, and Billboard's adult alternative chart, which he topped in 2018 with "Nina Cried Power".

* '''The Swingers''', a band from New Zealand fronted by former Music/SplitEnz co-founder Phil Judd, scored a massive Australasian hit in 1981 with "Counting The Beat", topping the Australian and New Zealand charts with its EarWorm "la da de da, la da de da" chorus. Although they were featured in the 1982 Australian cult musical ''Starstruck'', none of their follow-up singles matched the success of "Counting The Beat"; their follow-up reached #4 in New Zealand and did not chart in Australia, and the band virtually fell off and fizzled out by 1982. Bassist Bones Hillman went on to join Music/MidnightOil shortly before the release of their international breakthrough ''Diesel And Dust'' (although he did not play on it). "Counting The Beat" later got a second life being overused in Kmart commercials on both sides of the Tasman.

* '''The Swingers''', a band from New Zealand fronted by former Music/SplitEnz co-founder Phil Judd, scored a massive Australasian hit in 1981 with "Counting The Beat", topping the Australian and New Zealand charts. Although they were featured in the 1982 Australian cult musical ''Starstruck'', none of their follow-up singles matched the success of "Counting The Beat"; their follow-up reached #4 in New Zealand and did not chart in Australia, and the band virtually fell off and fizzled out by 1982. Bassist Bones Hillman went on to join Music/MidnightOil shortly before the release of their international breakthrough ''Diesel And Dust'' (although he did not play on it).

* '''Double''' (pronounced "Doo-blay") became the first musical act from Switzerland to notch a Billboard Hot 100 entry when their sophisti-pop tune "The Captain of Her Heart" reached #16 in 1986. The song was also a Top 10 hit across Europe, including #8 in the UK, #3 in Italy and #11 in their native country. The band never had another major hit anywhere and they amicably broke up in 1989; they later reunited to record a new album, but never completed it before Felix Haug died in 2004. The tracks were later included on a solo album by the other member, Kurt Maloo.

* Arty synth pop collective '''Music/{{Yello}}''' have a devout fanbase and have been cited as influential on several future acts including Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood and Music/{{Erasure}}, but "Oh Yeah" was their only charting single in the US. The song had actually only gotten to #51 and thus wouldn't technically count as a hit, but after it turned up in ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'' and ''Film/TheSecretOfMySuccess'', it has since been a staple of 80s throwback stations and albums. Over in the UK, they were a TwoHitWonder, although those two hits were "The Race" at #7 and "Of Course I'm Lying" at #23, [[ChartDisplacement while "Oh Yeah" didn't even chart]].

* Irish musician '''Music/{{Hozier}}''' scored a surprise crossover hit with "Take Me to Church" in late 2014-early 2015, which peaked at #2 behind Music/TaylorSwift's "Blank Space". On the rock/alternative side, it fared even better, where it topped the Billboard Rock Songs chart for a whopping 23 weeks. However, the song only found success because its GayAesop music video went viral. In addition, it's success was also very left-field, and his style of music is too 'rock' to have consistent crossovers on pop. The closest he's come to the top 40 since was 2023's "Eat Our Young", which made it to #67. The exceptions are in his native Ireland, where most of his follow-ups have charted well, and Billboard's adult alternative chart, which he topped in 2018 with "Nina Cried Power".

* '''Zager and Evans''' were a psychedelic-tinged duo from Lincoln, Nebraska who modeled themselves on Music/SimonAndGarfunkel: Rick Evans was the songwriter and lead singer, Denny Zager did harmonies and shaped their musical sound. Their dark TechnoDystopia-themed "In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)" had a fascinating history: it was written in 1964, then recorded in 1968 at a small studio in Odessa, Texas owned by Tommy Allsup, best known as the Music/BuddyHolly guitarist who lost a coin toss to Music/RitchieValens for the final seat on the plane that crashed. A high school orchestra was brought in to back the duo. Zager & Evans released "In the Year 2525" on a small Midwestern label, and it became a sizable local hit, prompting Creator/RCARecords to pick it up for national distribution in 1969 It succeeded in becoming a SleeperHit of massive proportions, reaching #1 on both the US and UK charts. But they hold the dubious honor of being the only artist to accomplish that feat without ever making either chart again. The immediate follow-up, the disturbing "Mr. Turnkey" (built around a first-person confession of a rapist) was a huge bomb that never got past the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under chart, and a string of other singles and albums by the duo attracted little interest, leading them to split up in TheSeventies. Zager eventually became a guitar maker, with a huge list of famous clients.

* '''Zager and Evans''' were a psychedelic-tinged duo from Lincoln, Nebraska who modeled themselves on Music/SimonAndGarfunkel: Rick Evans was the songwriter and lead singer, Denny Zager did harmonies and shaped their musical sound. They recorded the dark TechnoDystopia-themed "In the Year 2525" in 1968, released it on a small Midwestern label, and it became a sizable local hit, prompting Creator/RCARecords to pick it up for national distribution the next year. It succeeded in becoming a SleeperHit of massive proportions, reaching #1 on both the US and UK charts. But they hold the dubious honor of being the only artist to accomplish that feat without ever making either chart again. The immediate follow-up, the disturbing "Mr. Turnkey" (built around a first-person confession of a rapist) was a huge bomb that never got past the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under chart, and a string of other singles and albums by the duo attracted little interest, leading them to split up in TheSeventies. Zager eventually became a guitar maker, with a huge list of famous clients.

* The Kingston Trio are not one-hit wonders, but group member '''John Stewart''' had his only major hit with "Gold", a #5 hit in 1979. Stewart also wrote "Daydream Believer", a #1 hit for Music/TheMonkees in 1967, and recorded his own version in 1971, but it was not a hit.

* While they never reached mainstream popularity, indie rock band '''Giants of Industry''' has only one song at least known to the public, "Here We Go", all because of [[RevivalByCommercialization its usage]] in the VideoGame/{{Roblox}} Anthem Video.

* Arty synth pop collective '''Yello''' have a devout fanbase and have been cited as influential on several future acts including Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood and Music/{{Erasure}}, but "Oh Yeah" was their only charting single in the US. The song had actually only gotten to #51 and thus wouldn't technically count as a hit, but after it turned up in ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'' and ''Film/TheSecretOfMySuccess'', it has since been a staple of 80s throwback stations and albums. Over in the UK, they were a TwoHitWonder, although those two hits were "The Race" at #7 and "Of Course I'm Lying" at #23, [[ChartDisplacement while "Oh Yeah" didn't even chart]].

* '''Hum''' went to #11 on modern rock with 1995's "Stars". Three years later, Creator/RCARecords dropped them after [[AcclaimedFlop their follow-up album bombed, despite critical acclaim]].