Line #16 OneHitWonder/RhythmAndBlues


1	* '''Music/ThreeLW''' hit the Top 40 with "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)" in 2000 but never saw the Top 40 again.
2	* '''Gregory Abbott''' released his first album in 1986. His first single, "Shake You Down", hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 in the U.K., and was the #3 song on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End chart for 1987. It is his only Top-40 single anywhere, although he has released subsequent albums. He remains an educator by trade.
3	* Girl group '''Amari''' had "Callin'(Will you Players Ever Learn)" hold #66 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for 9 weeks in 1998, but never charted again anywhere.
4	* '''Music/{{Amerie}}''' had two Top 40 songs: 2002's "Why Don't We Fall in Love" and 2005's "1 Thing" made for the ''Film/{{Hitch}}'' soundtrack. Today however, she's really only remembered for the latter.
5	* '''Auburn''' is a hip hop/R&B singer whose official debut single "La La La", a retooling of fellow one hit wonder "Around the World (La La La)", reached #51 in 2010. None of her subsequent singles ever charted anywhere.
6	* '''Philip Bailey''', one of the two lead singers of Music/EarthWindAndFire, would only have one hit outside the group - the Music/PhilCollins duet "Easy Lover", which went to #2 in the US and #1 in the UK.
7	* '''Darrell Banks''' scored his only American top 40 hit with 1966's "Open the Door To Your Heart", which reached #27 on the Hot 100. His followup "Somebody Somewhere Needs You" only reached #55. Banks had no further Hot 100 entries after that, and he had fallen into obscurity by the time he was murdered in 1970. In the 1970s, however, "Open the Door to Your Heart" resurfaced on the Northern Soul scene in England, which loved old American R&B records, the obscurer the better. Banks' single had only barely been released in the UK, and as a result it became a so-called "rare groove" that became identified with certain clubs or [=DJs=] lucky enough to own a copy. While "Open the Door to Your Heart" didn't chart in the UK like some other old Northern Soul-associated songs did, it has became an extremely rare collectors item there, with one copy selling for £14,000 in 2014.
8	* '''Fontella Bass''' is remembered for her 1965 smash hit "Rescue Me" and nothing else.
9	* Peabo Bryson is not a one-hit wonder, but his 1992 rendition of "[[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} A Whole New World]]", which hit #1 on the Hot 100, was the only major chart hit for duet partner '''Regina Belle'''. However, she was more successful on the R&B charts.
10	* '''Eric Benét''' had several R&B chart hits in the late 90s and early 2000s, but just one that crossed over to pop: 1999's "Spend My Life With You", a #21 Hot 100 hit. He's now better known as Creator/HalleBerry's ex-husband than as a recording artist.
11	* '''Aloe Blacc''' has several European hits under his belt, but (not counting his uncredited appearance on Music/{{Avicii}}'s "Wake Me Up!") "The Man" was his only hit in North America, reaching #8 on the Hot 100 in 2014. It remains his only solo entry on that chart.
12	* '''Brighter Side of Darkness''', a UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}-based BoyBand, had a big R&B and pop hit in 1973 with "Love Jones" (a.k.a. the song that ''[[Creator/CheechAndChong Basketball Jones]]'' [[ParodyDisplacement spoofed]]) and faded back into the darkness afterwards.
13	* '''Johnny Bristol''' was a lesser-known Creator/{{Motown}} star who had a major R&B/pop crossover in 1974 with "Hang On in There Baby". He did have one other R&B hit two years later with "Do It To My Mind" but other than that, nothing.
14	* R&B/Hip Hop boyband '''{{Music/BROCKHAMPTON}}''' always had a lot of buzz in online circles, with several songs going viral and their albums being commercial successes. Because of their popularity being heavily internet-centric, they could have fairly been considered [[NoHitWonder No-Hit Wonders]], until 2020 and their song "Sugar" (from their album ''Ginger''). It peaked at #61 on the Hot 100, became a radio hit, and their best-selling song by a landslide. It even spawned a remix with Music/DuaLipa (who was reaching new heights in popularity during the pandemic). However, even after releasing another album the following year, they never spawned another hit single like it. BROCKHAMPTON would end up releasing their two last albums within the span of a day in 2022 before immediately breaking up (a result years of turmoil and drama), making it highly unlikely that they'll score another mainstream hit like "Sugar" as a collective.
15	* Despite a prolific musical output over his nearly half-century career, blue-eyed soul singer '''Bobby Caldwell''' is still primarily known for his 1979 crossover hit "What You Won't Do for Love".
16	* '''Blu Cantrell''' had a #2 hit in 2001 with "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops)". Her next-biggest hit, "Breathe", peaked at ''#41'', but was a #1 hit in the UK. That was the last anyone ever heard of Blu Cantrell.
17	* '''The Capitols''' were responsible for the 1966 dance craze "Cool Jerk". Their single hit #7 and they never made it past #65 afterwards. Today, "Cool Jerk"'s legacy lives on, famous for the ''Film/{{Home Alone 2\|Lost In New York}}'' shower scene.
18	* '''Mel Carter''' hit #8 in 1965 with the soul standard "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me". The song was a cover of a 1951 hit by '''Karen Chandler''' who herself was a one-hit wonder.
19	* '''Cassie''' had a #3 Pop and #1 R&B hit in 2006 with her debut single "Me & U". However, its follow-up "Long Way 2 Go" only peaked at #97. She went on a long hiatus after that, but finally returned in 2012 with "King of Hearts"... which failed to chart. She also collaborated with Music/NickiMinaj to make "The Boys", which also failed to chart. Nowadays, she's probably better known for being the longtime girlfriend of Music/SeanCombs than any of the music she's made.
20	* The Italian group '''Change''' reached #40 on the Hot 100 with their debut single "A Lover's Holiday" in 1980. While that was their only top 40 pop hit in America, they had several hits on the R&B chart and around Europe. "A Lover's Holiday" has undergone ChartDisplacement since its release, and it has been eclipsed in popularity by the band's next two singles, "Searching" and "The Glow of Love" even though neither made the Hot 100. Those two songs featured the band's American singer Music/LutherVandross on lead vocals, and he was soon to make a BreakupBreakout and become one of the most popular R&B singers of the '80s, and both of those songs appear on his multi-platinum 1989 greatest hits album ''The Best of Love''.
21	* Although she had a few other hits on the R&B charts, '''Savannah Churchill''''s only successful song on pop was "(It's No) Sin".
22	* British girl group '''Cleopatra''' got to #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998 with their debut single "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ZoJHCefY4 Cleopatra's Theme]]". Their second single "Life Ain't Easy" only got at #81, then they disappeared from the charts. They fared better in their native UK, where both of those songs reached the top five, but they broke up after their second album flopped in 2000.
23	* The fictional title band from '''''Film/TheCommitments''''' appeared on the British charts with their cover of "[[Music/WilsonPickett Mustang Sally]]", and since they were a one-off group compiled for the purpose of the film, they had no other chart entries, despite the soundtrack album going platinum around the world.
24	* '''Arthur Conley''' had a major #2 hit with "Sweet Soul Music" from 1967, co-written and produced by Music/OtisRedding, but only had a few smaller hits after that. Conley was one of the first gay stars in the industry and prejudice often held his career back. He went to the Netherlands afterwards where he lived until his death.
25	* '''The Contours''' had only one Top 40 pop appearance, with their 1962 classic "Do You Love Me", one of the earliest hits on the Motown label. After the song made it to #3 on the pop charts and #1 on the R&B charts, the band never even made the Top 10 of the R&B charts again, and the highest they managed on the Hot 100 afterwards was ''#41'' -- that is, unless you count "Do You Love Me" returning to the Hot 100 in 1988, when a [[RereleaseTheSong re-issue]] stemming from its then-recent appearance in ''Film/DirtyDancing'' made it to #11.
26	* '''Creator/BillCosby''' is of course well known as a stand-up comedian, sitcom star, and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick convicted serial rapist]], but not so much as a singer. But he had a #4 pop and #18 R&B hit in 1967 with "Little Ole Man", a partial re-working of Music/StevieWonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" built around a long Cosby monologue. The song remains his only Top 40 pop hit, although he hit the R&B charts a couple more times.
27	* '''Jimmy Cozier''''s only hit was "She's All I Got," which hit the Hot 100 and the R&B charts in 2001. He had one other minor hit on the Adult R&B airplay charts, but that was it. Fans of Music/AliciaKeys may recognize him as the male vocalist in her song "Mr. Man," but that did not chart on the pop or R&B charts.
28	* Louisiana R&B singer '''Cupid''' had a #21 hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with "Cupid Shuffle" in 2007, which spawned a DanceSensation of the same name. None of his other songs have charted since then. He even went on ''Series/TheVoice'' just so he could audition with his one hit.
29	* '''Ester Dean''' had a hit in 2008 with "Drop It Low", a buzz single from the documentary ''More than a Game''. The song got to #38 thanks to the official single version featuring Music/ChrisBrown. Dean has been ''far'' more successful as a songwriter, penning hits for Music/{{Rihanna}}, Music/ChristinaAguilera, Music/DavidGuetta, Music/KatyPerry, Music/KellyClarkson, among others.
30	* '''The Deele''', a late '80s R&B group that launched the careers of producers Babyface and L.A. Reid, were quite big on their home format but only crossed over to pop with 1988's #10 hit "Two Occasions".
31	* British singer '''Des'ree''' took "You Gotta Be" to #5 in the US in 1995; It was also a huge adult contemporary radio hit and remains one of the most played music videos in the history of Creator/{{VH1}}. Although that was her only hit in America, she had several others in her native UK, including the #8 hit "Life" from 1998. "You Gotta Be" charted on three separate occasions in the UK, but didn't make the Top 10 until the last one in 1999, whereas it only took one go for it to make the top 5 in the US.
32	* '''William [=DeVaughn=]''''s only notable hit was 1974's "Be Thankful For What You Got".
33	* The late '90s girl group '''Divine''' achieved their sole Top 10 hit with the #1 platinum single "Lately". The following single was a cover of Music/GeorgeMichael's "One More Try", which only reached #29.
34	* '''Eamon''' with "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)", being quite famous for [[ClusterFBomb its many expletives]]. It even earned a listing in the Guinness World Records for most expletives in a #1 song. The only country it didn't top the charts in was the U.S., where it stalled at #16. His follow up "I Love Them Ho's (Ho-Wop)" hit the top 40 in a few countries, but wasn't that big of a hit anywhere. '''Frankee''', with her AnswerSong "F.U.R.B. (Fuck U Right Back)", suffered the same fate: it became #1 in Australia and other places, and then she disappeared without a trace. Unlike Eamon, Frankee didn't chart again, ''period.''
35	* '''Kevon Edmonds''' was a one-hit wonder in 1999 with "24/7," a top 10 hit on the pop charts. His follow-up, "No Love" only hit #25 on the R&B charts and didn't cross over to the hot 100.
36	* Music/{{Rihanna}} is not a one-hit wonder by any stretch of the imagination, but '''Mikky Ekko''', her duet partner on "Stay", is.
37	* '''The Elgins''' were known almost entirely for their 1966 hit "Heaven Must Have Sent You", which made #9 on the R&B charts. It also charted at #3 in the UK in 1971 after it caught on with the Northern Soul scene and was reissued there. A cover version by '''Bonnie Pointer''' in 1979 was also her only hit independently of her far more famous group, The Pointer Sisters.
38	* '''Music/{{Estelle}}''' had a huge hit in 2008 with "American Boy", likely because it featured Music/KanyeWest. She has not seen the Top 40 since, though younger people know her as the voice of Garnet on the animated series ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''.
39	* '''Deon Estus''', the bass player for Music/{{Wham}} and Music/GeorgeMichael, scored a hit of his own in 1989 with "Heaven Help Me", which Michael co-wrote and produced, and added backing vocals. The song was a big hit in the US, reached #5 on the Hot 100 and #3 on both the R&B and adult contemporary charts. Estus' next single "Spell" was minor hit only on the latter of those charts, and he never released any further music, going back to session playing until his passing in 2021.
40	* British girl group '''Eternal''' were very popular in their homeland in the 90's, scoring fifteen top 20 hits. However, their only song to chart stateside was their debut single "Stay", which reached #19 in 1994, though "Angel of Mine" was later CoveredUp by Monica and subsequently became a #1 hit for her.
41	* '''The Exciters''' had a #4 hit in 1962 with the girl group classic "Tell Him". They never had another major American hit. In the U.K., it missed the top 40, as a version by the Kingdom's own '''Billie Davis''' won out instead, becoming a one hit wonder for her as well. The Exciters later scraped the bottom of the UK top 40 in 1975 with the funk/soul song "Reaching for the Best".
42	* '''Dionne Farris''', a former member of the alternative hip-hop group Arrested Development, scored a #4 Hot 100 hit in 1995 with "I Know". The song's mix of pop, soul, alt-rock and R&B made it a massive crossover smash on radio, and it topped Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream airplay chart for 10 consecutive weeks as a result. Unfortunately, Farris never followed the song's massive success. All of her album's other singles flopped, and the only time she ever made another Billboard chart was in 1997 with "Hopeless", a very minor R&B airplay hit. After that she pretty much disappeared from music, and didn't release her second album until 2007.
43	* '''Lisa Fischer''' had a #11 hit in 1991 with "How Can I Ease the Pain". None of her other singles cracked the top 40, and she went back to her day job: touring as one of Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}}' backup singers.
44	* '''The Five Stairsteps''', made up of [[BandOfRelatives the Burke siblings]] from Chicago (four brothers and a sister, with a fifth brother briefly joining at one point), were discovered by Curtis Mayfield in the mid-'60s. Under his supervision, the group released ten singles, all of which charted but none of which made the either the Top 40 on the Hot 100 or the Top 10 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. When Mayfield got too busy, they were reassigned to Stan Vincent, who gave them the poppy "O-o-h Child", which he wrote for his son. Their twelfth Hot 100 entry, it finally became the Stairsteps' long-awaited breakthrough, hitting #8, but they couldn't sustain its success, and it ended up as their lone Top 40 out of a whopping ''fifteen'' chart entries. Interestingly, it wasn't their biggest R&B hit; that was "From Us to You" in 1976, which reached #10 (but only made ''Billboard'''s Bubbling Under chart, peaking at 102). The four Burke brothers later formed The Invisible Man's Band, whose "All Night Thing" got to #9 on the R&B chart (but only 45 on the pop chart) in 1980.
45	* '''The Floaters''' had a #2 hit in 1977 with "Float On" and quickly faded into obscurity, though the song's "smooth jam" sound and memorably gimmicky structure (where the "verses" are each of the group's singers announcing their zodiac signs, introducing themselves and talking about the kind of women they like) made it a ripe target for parodies and homages (like Creator/CheechAndChong's OdeToFood "Bloat On" and ''Series/SesameStreet'''s "Gimme Five").
46	* The British duo '''Floetry''' reached #24 on the Hot 100 in 2003 with their single "Say Yes". Their Gold-selling debut album ''Floetic'' was critically acclaimed for its mix of neo-soul, hip-hop and spoken word poetry, and they were nominated for three Grammys that year, but they never had another Top 40 pop hit before they disbanded in 2005.
47	* The '''Force [=MDs=]''' were a big name on R&B radio in the mid-80s, but their only pop hit was the #10 "Tender Love".
48	* '''Inez and Charlie Foxx''' charted several songs on the R&B charts, but the only one to make an impact (and the only one to make Top 40 on the Hot 100) was their 1963 debut "Mockingbird".
49	* '''Ghost Town [=DJs=]''' are known only for the R&B dance cut "My Boo", which hit #31 in 1996 and #27 in 2016 following the Running Man Challenge. It was also the [[OneBookAuthor only song the group ever recorded]]: "My Boo" had been recorded specifically for a compilation for the record label So So Def, and Ghost Town [=DJs=] never even released a full album.
50	* '''Larry Graham''', the legendary bassist of Music/SlyAndTheFamilyStone and uncle of rapper Music/{{Drake}}, would go on to be a double one-hit wonder, first scoring a hit in 1975 with "Your Love" alongside his band '''Graham Central Station''', and then in 1980 had a solo hit with "One in a Million You". Despite not having more hits he stayed active in the music business, doing several collaborations with Music/{{Prince}} (and reportedly being the one who convinced Prince to become a Jehovah's Witness).
51	* '''Macy Gray''' had the #5 hit "I Try" in 1999. Record industry executives wanted to make her into a consistent R&B/pop crossover hitmaker, if not a superstar, essentially a DistaffCounterpart to Music/RKelly or Music/{{Usher}}, and they tried to make her one over the next few years by way of WolverinePublicity, mostly through collaborations with artists like Music/{{OutKast}}, Music/{{Santana}} and Music/FatboySlim, as well as through cross-promotion in things like ''[[Film/SpiderMan1 Spider-Man]]'' (in which she made a cameo). General audiences, however, found her and her music to be uninteresting. Come a decade later, and aside from being featured on Music/TheBlackEyedPeas' song "Request Line" way back in ''2001'', she has never touched the pop charts since. She was dropped by Epic Records after her third album became an AcclaimedFlop, debuting at #44 with only 134,000 copies sold, and went indie after a failed comeback under Geffen Records.
52	* '''Music/CeeLoGreen''' is a one-hit wonder on the US Top 40 three times over with each of his major projects: His original group, '''Goodie Mob''' made #39 in 1995 with "Cell Therapy" (three more of their songs charted on the Hot 100 but failed to make the Top 40). Then in 2006, '''Gnarls Barkley'''[='=]s "Crazy" made #2 (another song scraped the bottom of the Hot 100 later on, but they had more success on the Alternative chart). Finally in 2010[=/=]2011, he himself managed a solo #2 hit with "Fuck You". In 2005, he was a featured artist on Trick Daddy's top 20 hit "Sugar (Gimme Some)", but since it wasn't ''his'' hit and is forgotten today, it isn't really an example that can disqualify "Fuck You"'s one-hit wonder status. In 2014, a series of controversial tweets about sexual assault effectively killed his chances of scoring another hit. However, he did appear as himself on ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' in the four-part ''The Night Begins to Shine'' special in 2017 with his own version of the titular song.
53	* '''Music/{{Guy}}''' was one of the top bands of the NewJackSwing movement, scoring a ton of top 10 hits and one #1 on the R&B charts. It also famously introduced Teddy Riley, known for his work in Blackstreet and as a prolific record producer. However, they had only one top 40 hit on the Hot 100, when "Dancin'" reached #14 in 1999. The song was the group's first single since 1992 and was intended to be a comeback for them, but its momentum was shortlived. To make matters worse, "Dancin'" hit years after the New Jack Swing movement died, and sounded nothing like their old songs. Guy only released one more single before calling it quits in 2000.
54	* '''Wilbert Harrison''' is almost entirely known for "Kansas City", with which he hit #1 in 1959. Although he also cracked the top 40 with "Let's Work Together", that song was later CoveredUp by the rock band Canned Heat.
55	* '''Jonn Hart''' is known for "Who Booty" (featuring French Montana) and nothing else.
56	* '''Leon Haywood''' with "I Want to Do Something Freaky to You." The song was already a big hit upon release, but became even more well known when Music/DrDre sampled the song for his "Nuthin' But a G Thang."
57	* '''Joe Henderson''' (not to be confused with the jazz saxophonist) had a big hit in 1962 with "Snap Your Fingers", but nothing else of note. It also didn't help that he died only two years later. "Snap Your Fingers" was later CoveredUp by Music/RonnieMilsap.
58	* '''Jennifer Holliday''' had only one pop hit, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from ''Theatre/{{Dreamgirls}}'', the most famous song from the musical. She is also viewed as a one-hit wonder from an acting standpoint.
59	* '''Eddie Holman''' was known for being an on-and-off member of the Stylistics and the Delfonics when, in 1970, he struck gold with his own falsetto-heavy ballad "Hey There Lonely Girl". It hit #2 on the Billboard ''Hot 100'', but follow-ups failed to gain traction and he didn't release any more music until 1977.
60	* '''Hot''' were one-and-done with their 1977 single "Angel in Your Arms".
61	* '''Adina Howard''' scored a a hit with "Freak Like Me", making it to #2 on the Hot 100. None of her other singles have made it that far since, with her only other Top 40 single being a cover "What's Love Got to Do With it?" with Warren G.
62	* '''[=ILoveMakonnen=]''', an apprentice of Music/{{Drake}}'s, hit #12 at the end of 2014 with "Tuesday", thanks to a guest appearance by the rap superstar. Given that the song is mostly associated with Drake rather than Makonnen, it is not surprising that he didn't score another followup hit. Another one of Drake's labelmates, the production duo '''Majid Jordan''', have likewise to date only charted once: as a featured artist on his hit "Hold On, We're Going Home".
63	* [=IMx=], also known as Immature, are not one-hit wonders. However, in 1996, they recorded "Watch Me Do My Thing" for the soundtrack to the TV show ''Series/AllThat'' with '''Smooth''' and ''All That'' cast member Creator/KelMitchell, who performed in-character as '''Ed from ''Film/GoodBurger''''' (and was actually credited on the charts as such). The song reached #32 on the Hot 100 and was both guests' only chart appearance. Smooth had a few minor entries on the hip-hop charts and in the UK, but none were successful. Mitchell has continued to hold various acting roles well into the 21st century, but has made no other chart entries in or out of character.
64	* '''Innerlude''', like fellow Asian R&B group Kai mentioned below, only charted once with "I Don't Wanna Go On" at #95 in May 1998.
65	* British Virgin Islands singer '''Iyaz''' had a #1 hit in the UK and a #2 hit on the Hot 100 in 2009 with his debut single "Replay", which turned out to be his only Top 10 hit on both sides of the pond. He attempted a comeback in 2015, but it got zero interest.
66	* '''J-Shin''' had a hit with "One Night Stand" and completely vanished afterwards. The female vocalist was [=LaTocha=] Scott of Xscape, who are not one-hit wonders. Scott is one as a solo singer, however.
67	* '''Rebbie Jackson''', the eldest child of the Jackson family (Music/{{Michael\|Jackson}}, Music/{{Janet\|Jackson}}, et al.) had a #24 hit with "Centipede" in 1984. She never saw the Hot 100 again, but had a few minor R&B chart entries in the rest of the 1980s.
68	* '''Joe Jones''' is known almost solely for his Top 5 pop and R&B hit "You Talk Too Much".
69	* '''Oran "Juice" Jones''', one of the first artists ever signed to Def Jam, only had one hit in his career, with 1986's "The Rain". Afterwards, Jones didn't do much, and retired in 1997, becoming a music composer and blogger instead.
70	* '''Junior''', a British R&B singer, had a #30 hit in 1982 with "Mama Used to Say".
71	* '''Kai''', [[IAmNotShazam an Asian-American R&B group]] (not to be confused with the featured vocalist on Flume's "Never Be Like You"), only had one charting single, "Say You'll Stay", at #59 on the Hot 100 in 1998. With the preceding "Something Inside Me", and the following three singles, "Every Little Thing", "It Might Be You", and "Last To Know", failing to penetrate any of the charts, the group retired in 2001.
72	* '''Kelis''' is almost solely known for her 2004 Top 5 hit "Milkshake", specifically for the line "[[MemeticMutation my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard]]". She also had a Top 20 hit in 2006 with "Bossy", but it's almost completely forgotten today. She fared better in the UK, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff where she is hugely popular]], and she has since gained a cult following after signing on to Ninja Tune (a UK entity) and going [[IndiePop indie]].
73	* '''KP & Envyi''' reached #6 with "Swing My Way" and [[OneBookAuthor never collaborated again]], nor did the individual artists achieve any hits of their own, their only appearances since then being as guest vocalists.
74	* '''Natalie La Rose''' is a Dutch R&B singer who had a #10 in 2015 with "Somebody", featuring Jeremih. Radio executives wanted to make her into a consistent R&B-dance-pop hitmaker, if not a superstar; essentially a DistaffCounterpart to Jason Derulo. Audiences, however, found her and her music incredibly bland. Her follow up, "Around the World", featuring the red-hot Fetty Wap, got zero public interest and was D.O.A. at radio upon its release, and La Rose [[ReclusiveArtist vanished off the face of the Earth and was never heard from again]].
75	* '''Denise [=LaSalle=]''' had one hit in 1971 with "Trapped by a Thing Called Love", her only #1 on the R&B charts and only top-40 on the Hot 100. Fourteen years later, she also became a one-hit wonder in the UK with her cover of Rockin' Sidney's "My Toot-Toot" (see the Country subpage).
76	* '''Labrinth''' is quite big in the UK but his only American hit to date is "Beneath Your Beautiful", which hit #34 for a week and vanished the next week.
77	* While never having a hit on his own, Cuban-American R&B-funk musician Ish Ledesma was involved in ''three'' one-hit wonder groups:
78	** His first group was '''Foxy''', a Latin disco group he formed with the son of legendary band leader Tito Puente. They had a top 10 hit with "Get Off" in 1978, which also topped the R&B charts. After a minor top 40 follow-up with "Hot Number", they never charted again. However, they did provide the backing track to Music/{{ABBA}}'s "Voulez-Vous", the only song of theirs ever recorded outside of Sweden.
79	** Ledesma's next group was the palindromic '''Oxo''', who had a 1983 hit with the novelty dance song "Whirly Girl", a tribute to his wife Lori. Oxo are also notable for being one of the only one-hit wonders to have a feature-length movie made about them: ''Frank and Cindy'' is a 2015 biopic about the group's bassist Frank Garcia (portrayed in the film by Oliver Platt), directed by the real Garcia's stepson.
80	** Finally there was '''Company B''', the freestyle group behind the 1987 hit "Fascinated". While Ledesma wasn't actually part of the group, Lori Ledesma, the "whirly girl" herself, was. They had a few more dance hits but none of them crossed over to pop.
81	* '''[=LeVert=]''', an R&B group fronted by brothers Gerald and Sean Levert (the sons of Eddie Levert of the O'Jays), were one of the biggest forces in R&B music throughout the late '80s and early '90s, but they only had one crossover pop hit: 1987's "Casanova", which hit #5. Gerald went on to have some minor pop hits of his own after the group split, although nothing to the extent of "Casanova", and later formed '''LSG''' with Keith Sweat and New Edition's Johnny Gill, who became a one-hit wonder as well with "My Body", which reached #4 on the Hot 100 in 1997. The song also reached #1 on the R&B charts, but it was LSG's only Top 40 hit there, too. Sean wasn't so lucky. Sadly, both Gerald and Sean died tragically young, in 2006 and 2008 respectively.
82	* Canadian R&B singer '''Glenn Lewis''''s only song to achieve significant success was "Don't You Forget It" in 2002.
83	* British group '''Loose Ends''' reached #43 on the Hot 100 with "Hanging on a String (Contemplating)" in 1985. The song was the first in a series of hits for the band on both the UK pop charts and on the American R&B chart, where it went to #1. However, they never made it to the Hot 100 again, even with 1986's "Slow Down", which also topped the R&B chart.
84	* Music/BarryWhite's backing vocalists, collectively known as Love Unlimited, had a few minor hits in the 1970s. But the orchestra that backed them on their hits, the '''Love Unlimited Orchestra''', had a rare instrumental #1 hit in 1973 with "Love's Theme". That track also became a RealSongThemeTune for Creator/{{ABC}}'s golf coverage for the next 20 years. None of their other songs made much of an impact.
85	* '''Lumidee''' had only one major hit with her 2003 debut single "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)", which hit #3 on the Hot 100, #9 on the R&B charts, #2 in the UK, and #1 in the Netherlands. Her next biggest hit, a cover of "She's Like the Wind", fell just short of the top 40 in 2007. While she had no other success on any of these charts, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff this song would be the first of three #1 hits for her in Belgium]].
86	* '''The Marvelows''' were one-and-done with their 1965 doo-wop hit "I Do". They released only one other single under the name The Mighty Marvelows before disappearing, and "I Do" was later CoveredUp by the J. Geils Band.
87	* Gospel group '''Mary Mary''' has had several hits in gospel and R&B, but their only crossover was their 2000 debut single "Shackles (Praise You)", which got to #28 on the Hot 100.
88	* "Yes I'm Ready" managed to be a one-hit wonder two times over. In 1965 it was the sole hit of '''Barbara Mason''', and one of the first self-penned R&B hits by a female. She had three minor top 40 hits afterwards, but none are remembered. Then, at the turn of the 1980s '''Teri [=DeSario=]''', a disco singer, scored a #2 duet with the song with KC from the Sunshine Band.
89	* '''Lol Mason''' was a member of two bands who were one-hit wonders in two countries. In 1978, his band City Boy had its lone U.S. hit with "5-7-0-5" (the band's one-hit wonder status was averted in their native U.K. when "What a Night" snuck in at #39 later that year). Four years later, Mason was in the Maisonettes, whose lone hit, "Heartache Avenue", peaked at #7 for that band's lone appearance in the UK Top 40 (however, the band didn't make the Top 40 across the pond).
90	* '''MFSB''', a collective of UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} session musicians who played on practically every big soul hit to come out of the city in TheSeventies, eventually started releasing their own records, and became notable for scoring a #1 pop hit with their only top 40 hit, "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)", a collaboration with non-one-hit-wonders The Three Degrees, which was popularized as the RealSongThemeTune to ''Series/SoulTrain''.
91	* '''Debelah Morgan''' had a major international hit with "Dance with Me" in 2000, peaking at #8 in the US, but never scored another hit on the pop charts; the closest she came was with the preceding single "Yesterday", which landed at #56. After these, she left the mainstream to focus on gospel music.
92	* '''Mark Morrison''', a German-born British singer, was the first act to have five UK top-10 singles off a debut album. However, the only one that made any impact across The Pond was the title track of said album, "Return of the Mack", which peaked at #2 stateside in addition to being his only UK #1. While it was released in the UK in 1996, it didn't make it to the US until 1997 — by which time Morrison was in regular trouble with the law. He hasn't made the US top 40 again, only sniffing the charts two more times. "Moan & Groan", another single off the debut album, stalled out at #76 in 1997, and he was a featured performer in 2021 on Music/GEazy's "Provide" (which sampled "Return of the Mack"), which reached #64.
93	* '''Creator/EddieMurphy''', primarily known as an actor and comedian, had a big hit in 1985 with "Party All the Time", but his musical career was seen as a joke at best and a vanity career at worst, and otherwise failed to impress.
94	* '''The Nite-Liters'''[='=] only hit was 1971's "K-Jee". The group later evolved into the New Birth, a fairly more successful act.
95	* '''Freddie North's''' only chart hit was "She's All I Got" in 1971. The song has the dubious honor of being CoveredUp twice — Johnny Paycheck had a successful country version the same year, and Music/TracyByrd covered ''him'' up in 1997.
96	* '''Music/ColbyODonis''' only had one song as a lead artist that even entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: "What You Got" (a collaboration with Akon). The song peaked at #14, and all subsequent singles he released didn't even enter the ''Hot 100'' or any other chart for that matter.
97	** To the general public, he's better known for his guest verse in Music/LadyGaga's megahit "Just Dance". The song was a massive chart-topper that made Gaga one of the biggest artists in the world, but since it wasn't ''his'' hit, nor did it do anything to help his career, it doesn't discredit his status as a one-hit wonder.
98	* '''Olivia''' had her only solo hit in 2001 with "Bizounce". While she never had a solo entry on the top 40 again, she was also featured on Music/FiftyCent's #1 hit "Candy Shop" four years later.
99	* Soul singer '''Billy Paul''' topped the Billboard charts in 1972 with "Me and Mrs. Jones". His follow-up single "Am I Black Enough For You?" (though [[VindicatedByHistory appreciated better in retrospect]]) was deemed "too militant" for white-oriented pop radio, and seriously slowed his career momentum, though he did score a few other entries on the R&B charts.
100	* Former Music/OneDirection member '''Liam Payne''' aimed to branch out into a more adult-oriented image with his debut single "Strip That Down", which topped the charts of Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK and peaking at #10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. His next single "Get Low", a collaboration with Music/{{Zedd}}, charted on the US dance charts at #11, but only reached #91 on the Hot 100, while his next solo single "Bedroom Floor" only reached #98. Subsequent singles haven't reached the top 40 in the US since.
101	* '''The Penguins''' are today known only for "Earth Angel". It reached #8 on the Hot 100 and topped the R&B charts upon its release in 1954, making it one of the first records to cross over from the R&B charts to the pop charts; it remains acclaimed as one of the greatest early R&B songs and a foundational song of the nascent doo-wop genre, and saw a revival in popularity after it was prominently featured in ''Film/BackToTheFuture1''. Despite this, the Penguins never charted another R&B hit, let alone a pop hit.
102	* '''Jesse Powell''', an R&B singer from Gary, Indiana and brother of the below-mentioned Trina & Tamara, had a singular hit in 1999 with "You", which not only reached the #2 spot on the R&B but also went top 10 on the Hot 100. That was the last time Powell experienced success on either radio format.
103	* '''Profyle''' was an R&B group who had a hit with "Liar." After that, nothing.
104	* '''Corinne Bailey Rae''' is a critically acclaimed R&B singer, but she is known to mainstream audiences for 2006’s "Put Your Records On" and not much else.
105	* '''Rag'n'Bone Man''' is the stage name of British blue-eyed soul singer Rory Graham. He first got attention with "Human", a song that topped the British charts, did the same on the United States' alternative rock charts, and hit #74 on the all-genre ''Hot 100''. While he had a couple of other hits in his native UK, including a collaboration with Music/CalvinHarris, he wasn't so lucky stateside.
106	* '''The Tony Rich Project''' (actually just a solo act with an idiosyncratic name) had a cross-genre hit with "Nobody Knows" in 1996. The song was a #2 pop hit, a #2 adult contemporary hit and a #11 R&B hit. His followups weren't nearly as successful: "Like a Woman" fell just short at #41 on the Hot 100 and wasn't a particularly big hit on the other two formats. His third single "Leavin'" scraped the bottom of the Hot 100 and that was last time he charted. CountryMusic fans know "Nobody Knows" more through the cover version by '''Kevin Sharp''', who qualifies in his own right -- his take on the song spent a month at #1 on the country charts, and while he had two more Top 10 hits, neither is remembered.
107	* '''Minnie Riperton''', a female R&B vocalist best known for her extreme vocal range, had her only hit with "Lovin' You" in 1975. Her impressive vocal skills were displayed on many other songs, but she never had another top 40 hit on any chart, and she died of cancer in 1979. She managed to have a few more hits on the R&B charts, including three which became hits after she died, but never hit the pop top 40 again. In addition to her music, Riperton is known today as the mother of comedian Creator/MayaRudolph.
108	* '''Sylvia Robinson''', as just Sylvia (again, not to be confused with the country singer) had her only big hit in 1973 with "Pillow Talk". She was a bit more successful on the R&B charts and as the owner of pioneering HipHop label Sugar Hill Records, but "Pillow Talk" was her only Top 40 on the Hot 100.
109	** Robinson was a One-Hit Wonder twice, as a member of '''Mickey & Sylvia''', whose 1957 single "Love Is Strange" peaked at #11 on the Hot 100.
110	* '''Ruby and the Romantics''' hit #1 in the US on their very first release with "Our Day Will Come" in 1963. While the group kept charting until 1966 (with a very minor comeback in 1969), that song is pretty much the only thing they are remembered for today. It was also their only hit in the UK at #38.
111	* '''Ruff Endz''' went to #5 with "No More" in September 2000. Afterwards, they never made the top 40 again; their only other charting single, "Someone To Love You", peaked at #49 in June 2002.
112	* '''Patrice Rushen''' reached #23 on the Hot 100 in 1982 with "Forget Me Nots", which was later interpolated by Creator/WillSmith for his 1997 smash "Men in Black". Rushen had several more hits on the R&B chart, but never returned to the pop Top 40. Before and after her hit, Rushen was primarily known as a jazz pianist who occasionally released R&B songs, and she has a remained a prominent figure in the jazz scene.
113	* '''Emeli Sande''' is by no means a one-hit wonder in her native UK, but in the US, her only hit was "Next to Me" in 2013, which hit #25 on the hot 100. She appeared again with Labrinth on "Beneath Your Beautiful," which hit #34, but "Next to Me" was her only solo hit in North America.
114	* '''Remy Shand''' is a Canadian R&B singer and keyboardist who managed to hit the hot 100 and the R&B charts with "Take a Message" in 2002. Though he had a follow-up with "Rocksteady" in Canada, it is largely forgotten. He was even nominated for several Grammy awards in the R&B category, though he didn't win any. [[OneBookAuthor He released no other full-length albums]] after his debut ''The Way I Feel'', which went as high as #1 in Canada.
115	* '''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''': In 1990, the voice cast of the popular cartoon recorded an album consisting of original R&B songs and covers. The first of these was "Do the Bartman" (written for the show by Music/MichaelJackson and featuring Creator/NancyCartwright singing in-character as Bart Simpson), which was never officially released in the States but got enough airplay to make #11 on the Hot 100 Airplay charts. It also went #1 in the UK, Ireland, Norway, New Zealand, and Australia. What makes the song's international success even more impressive was that ''The Simpsons'' had only just started to be aired outside of the US when "Bartman" picked up global momentum in early 1991, and the song sort of acted as an introduction to the characters in most markets as opposed to a cash-in on an already popular property. A second single, "Deep, Deep Trouble" (also sung by Cartwright as Bart) also went to #1 in Ireland and #7 in the UK, but it was not nearly the pop-cultural milestone that "Do the Bartman" was.
116	* '''O.C. Smith''' had a big hit in 1967 with his take on country song "Little Green Apples". It hit #2 on the Hot 100. Meanwhile, on the international charts, he is considered a one-hit wonder for his prostitution anthem "The Song of Hickory Holler's Tramp".
117	* Creator/WillSmith is not a one-hit wonder either as a musician or an actor. However, his son '''Creator/JadenSmith''', was also a one-hit wonder in 2011, as a duet partner on Music/JustinBieber's "Never Say Never". The song was first released as a single for the soundtrack to ''Film/TheKarateKid2010'', but returned to the charts in 2011 to accompany Bieber's concert documentary of the same name. Smith's daughter Music/{{Willow\|Smith}} was also a one hit wonder for over a decade after she reached #11 with 2010's "Whip My Hair". In the early 2020s, Willow had a CareerResurrection after undergoing a GenreShift to AlternativeRock, and she reached the top 40 once more with "Meet Me at Our Spot" by her side-project The Anxiety, which ended her status as a one hit wonder like her brother.
118	* '''Somethin' for the People''', an R&B trio from Oakland, California, experienced their only notable success with 1997's "My Love Is the Shhh!", a collaboration with fellow one-hit wonders '''Trina & Tamara''' (not to be confused with Trina the female rapper). Their follow-up "All I Do" went nowhere and they were never heard from again, although they have found more success as songwriters.
119	* '''Edwin Starr''' had quite a few hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but "War", his only #1, is the only one most people remember.
120	* '''Barrett Strong''' was one of Creator/{{Motown}}'s main songwriters, but his only solo entry on the Hot 100 was the much-covered "Money (That's What I Want)".
121	* '''Suave'''' had a Top 20 hit in 1988 with his cover of "[[Music/TheTemptations My Girl]]". Any chance at a follow-up hit was erased when he was convicted of fatal arson.
122	* '''Sweet Sensation''' was an eight-piece British soul group, largely made up of Jamaican immigrants, who qualify as a Transatlantic case. 1974's "Sad Sweet Dreamer", a ballad InTheStyleOf Philadelphia Soul and Music/TheJacksonFive, was a #1 hit in the UK, then got to #14 in the US a few months later (though, interestingly, it only limped to #63 on the R&B chart, probably due to that type of orchestrated smooth soul falling out of favor as {{Funk}} and {{Disco}} started to dominate R&B radio). They never had another American hit, and only scored one other British hit ("Purely by Coincidence", which peaked at #11). Lead singer Marcel King later made an unsuccessful stab at a solo career, assisted by Music/NewOrder's Bernard Sumner, before dying of a brain hemmorrhage in 1995. Meanwhile, an American GirlGroup also named Sweet Sensation had a few hits in TheEighties.
123	* Canadian singer '''R. Dean Taylor''' is one of the very few non-black singers to ever sign with Creator/{{Motown}}, having helped write hits like [[Music/TheSupremes "Love Child"]]. He had a top 5 hit in 1970 with "Indiana Wants Me", a {{melodrama}}tic song about [[FugitiveArc a guy pursued by police]] after murdering a man who insulted his wife, complete with sound effects like a siren and gunfire. He remained popular in Canada and had several more hits in the UK, but Americans never heard from him again.
124	* '''Carl Thomas''', with his #1 R&B hit "I Wish". It also went top 20 on the Hot 100. While he had a second top 10 hit and two more top 20s on R&B, he never returned to the pop top 40.
125	* '''Timmy Thomas''' reached #3 on the Hot 100, and also charted in the Top 40 in the UK and Australia, with his 1972 single "Why Can't We Live Together". The song was notable for its [[{{Minimalism}} sparse production]], consisting only of Thomas' voice and a Lowrey electric organ (with the percussion courtesy of the organ's rhythm presets). Though he never charted another pop hit, "Why Can't We Live Together" endured - it was adopted as an anthem for the South African anti-apartheid movement (with Thomas performing it at UsefulNotes/NelsonMandela's inauguration as President in 1994), and was later sampled by Music/{{Drake}} for "Hotline Bling" in 2015.
126	* The Californian group '''Timex Social Club''' entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 exactly once, when their hit "Rumors" peaked at #8.
127	** Timex Social Club split after one album, and some members ultimately formed the spin-off group '''Club Nouveau'''. That band also had just one hit: Their upbeat cover of Bill Withers' "Lean On Me" made it all the way to #1 on the Hot 100 in 1987, buoyed by featuring on the [[Film/LeanOnMe film of the same name]]. Its followup single, "Why You Treat Me So Bad" topped out at #39. That was the end of their pop career, but they had a few more hits on the R&B chart into the early 90s.
128	* '''Music/{{Tinashe}}''' had a #24 hit with "2 On" (featuring [=ScHoolboy Q=]), which topped the rhythmic charts and was huge on urban radio. Nothing else she's released afterwards has even come close to that song's success, and it remains her only ''Hot 100'' entry as a lead artist. She was lucky to have even gotten a spot as a featured artist on Kid Ink's "Body Language", Music/EnriqueIglesias' "Duele el Corazón", and especially Music/BritneySpears' "Slumber Party", her only features that charted on the ''Hot 100''.
129	* '''Toya''', a singer from St. Louis, had a #16 hit in 2001 with "I Do". Her only other single, "No Matta What (Party All Night)", stalled out at #86 before she was contractually released from Creator/AristaRecords. Her only other charting entry was a featured credit on Cam'ron's #3 hit "Hey Ma".
130	* '''The Undisputed Truth''', a group assembled by legendary Motown producer Norman Whitfield to experiment with his trademark "psychedelic soul" sound, scored a #3 Hot 100 hit in 1971 with "Smiling Faces Sometimes". While the group had several more R&B chart hits through the mid-'70s, they never made the pop Top 40 again.
131	* '''Mario Vazquez''' is known only for his only hit, 2006's "Gallery", and for abruptly dropping out of season 4 of ''Series/AmericanIdol'' under unclear circumstances the previous year.
132	* Legendary saxophonist '''Grover Washington Jr.''' had a single top 40 hit with the 1981 Bill Withers collaboration “Just the Two of Us”.
133	* '''Kim Weston''', who was married to Motown producer Mickey Stevenson, had her only major hit as a [[LetsDuet duet partner]] for Music/MarvinGaye on "It Takes Two" in 1967. The song was her only hit in the UK as well. On the R&B charts, both it and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" were #4 hits, but the latter was CoveredUp by the Doobie Brothers.
134	* [=BeBe and CeCe=] Winans have had several hits on the Christian charts, but the only solo hit for '''[=BeBe=] Winans''' himself was a guest vocalist on Eternal's 1997 hit "I Wanna Be the Only One".
135	* '''Mario Winans''', not to be confused with Mario Vazquez or the singer simply called Mario (or the Nintendo character -- yes, the JustForFun/OneMarioLimit is heavily violated in the R&B world), scored his only hit in 2004 with the #2 "I Don't Wanna Know", which featured guest vocals by, of all people, ''Music/{{Enya}}''. It was his only hit as a lead, but he had another backing Diddy on "I Need A Girl (Part Two)". Winans comes from one of the most famous families in Gospel music, although he was the only one to have a pop hit. “I Don’t Wanna Know” re-entered the public consciousness 19 years later when Metro Boomin, Music/TheWeeknd and Music/TwentyOneSavage’s “Creepin’” sampled it.
136	* The only chart hit for '''The Winstons''' was 1969's "Color Him Father", a #2 R&B and #7 Hot 100 hit which also won a Grammy. Its B-side, an instrumental cover of the gospel standard "Amen", would go on to spawn the AmenBreak, the most widely-sampled piece of music in history. The same year, country singer '''Linda Martell''' would achieve a hit on the #22 country music charts with a cover of "Color Him Father"; to this day, her song remains the highest peak on the Hot Country Songs chart for a solo black woman.
137	* '''Music/AmyWinehouse''' is a technical, yet tragic, example of a one-hit wonder in the USA. "Rehab" peaked at #9 in 2007, and she died in 2011 before she could release a third album. That being said, she is now hardly viewed as a one-hit wonder in the public eye.

Context OneHitWonder / RhythmAndBlues