Canadian One-Hit Wonders
Various Artists
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- The Basics
Some of these homegrown artists may have visited the charts more than once, but everyone remembers them by their one outstanding hit: these are the tunes that sit like flaming beacons atop an artist's career, songs of solitary splendour that leave everything else in the shadows, whether it's "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" by legendary Toronto proggers Klaatu (whose thunder would be stolen on the international stage by the Carpenters), Len's "Steal My Sunshine" — which topped the domestic chart and featured on the Go movie soundtrack — or Trans-X's high NRG electro-dance landmark from 1983, "Living On Video."
The ephemerality of the butterfly meets the longevity of the tortoise . . . in Next Steps.$25.65 The Basics
Parental AdvisoryName Artist Time Price 1 Steal My Sunshine (Single Version) Len 4:25 $1.29 View In iTunes 2 Oh What a Feeling Crowbar 4:22 $0.99 View In iTunes 3 Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft Klaatu 3:35 $0.99 View In iTunes 4 Sometimes When We Touch Dan Hill 4:12 $0.99 View In iTunes 5 California Wave 3:40 $0.99 View In iTunes 6 Living On Video Trans-X 5:56 $0.99 View In iTunes 7 ExplicitLet Your Backbone Slide (Power Mix) Maestro Fresh-Wes 4:59 $0.99 View In iTunes 8 The Hampster Dance Song Hampton the Hampster 3:32 $0.99 View In iTunes 9 Bad Day Daniel Powter 3:54 $1.29 View In iTunes 10 ExplicitNew York City Demics 4:33 $0.99 View In iTunes 11 The Last Song Edward Bear 3:07 $0.99 View In iTunes 12 Which Way You Goin' Billy? The Poppy Family 3:23 $0.99 View In iTunes 13 When I'm With You Sheriff 3:58 $1.29 View In iTunes 14 As the Years Go By Mashmakhan 3:48 $0.99 View In iTunes 15 Innocence Harlequin 4:19 $0.69 View In iTunes 16 When the Night Feels My Song Bedouin Soundclash 3:07 $0.99 View In iTunes 17 New Girl Now Honeymoon Suite 3:38 $1.29 View In iTunes 18 Gaslight The Ugly Ducklings 2:44 $0.99 View In iTunes 19 Sun Goes By Dr. Music 3:53 $0.99 View In iTunes 20 Seasons In The Sun Terry Jacks 3:25 $0.99 View In iTunes 21 The Safety Dance Men Without Hats 2:44 $0.99 View In iTunes 22 Don't Wanna Fall In Love Jane Child 4:07 $0.69 View In iTunes 23 East Side Smoother 3:45 $1.29 View In iTunes 24 For Tonight Nancy Martinez 4:10 $0.99 View In iTunes 25 Angel Eyes The Jeff Healey Band 4:40 $0.99 View In iTunes Total: 25 Songs - Next Steps
Here you'll find some of the great pioneers of the Canadian one-hit wonder phenomenon, including composer and pianist Hagood Hardy, who scored with the easy-listening classic "The Homecoming" in 1975, and fellow instrumental maestro Frank Mills, the genius behind "Music Box Dancer." Cape Breton Island fiddler Ashley MacIsaac makes it onto our list with his mid-'90s Top 40 hit "Sleepy Maggie" while the pan-flashing Thundermug finds one-hit wondrousness in "Africa" from their 1972 debut album, Thundermug Strikes, and Kazzer bangs an early-'00s rap-rock gong with his adrenalized signature, "Pedal to the Metal."
Look at the many eras of pop through one-hit spectacles, in Deep Cuts.$21.99 Next Steps
Name Artist Time Price 1 Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm Crash Test Dummies 3:53 $1.29 View In iTunes 2 The Sweater Meryn Cadell 3:14 $0.99 View In iTunes 3 Push Moist 3:53 $1.29 View In iTunes 4 Run Rex Goudie 3:32 $0.99 View In iTunes 5 Something More (Canadian Idol Winner) Ryan Malcolm 4:06 $0.99 View In iTunes 6 Pedal to the Metal Kazzer 3:28 $0.99 View In iTunes 7 Africa Thundermug 3:20 $0.99 View In iTunes 8 Closer Together The Box 3:51 $0.99 View In iTunes 9 King of Spain Moxy Fruvous 2:59 $0.99 View In iTunes 10 More Than Words Can Say Alias 3:54 $1.29 View In iTunes 11 Music Box Dancer Frank Mills 3:12 $0.99 View In iTunes 12 The Unicorn The Irish Rovers 3:18 $1.29 View In iTunes 13 The Homecoming Hagood Hardy 2:31 $0.99 View In iTunes 14 When I Die Motherlode 3:17 $0.99 View In iTunes 15 I Like Chopin (Classic) Gazebo 4:51 $0.99 View In iTunes 16 Can't Wait for the Night Brighton Rock 4:25 $0.99 View In iTunes 17 Don't It Make Ya Feel Headpins 4:06 $0.99 View In iTunes 18 Big Town Boy Shirley Matthews 2:32 $0.99 View In iTunes 19 Monkey Bars Coney Hatch 4:16 $0.99 View In iTunes 20 Lindberg Louise Forestier & Robert Charlebois 5:25 $0.99 View In iTunes 21 Arriba (Six Million Dollar Remix) Joée 4:50 $0.99 View In iTunes Total: 21 Songs - Deep Cuts
Our Canadian one-hit wonders come in all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds, from fifth season Canadian Idol victor Brian Melo, reminding us of his mellow charms with 2007 winner's single "All I Ever Wanted," to hirsute rock wizards Anvil ("Metal On Metal"), whose journey into obscurity after a bright start at Japan's Super Rock Festival (1984) was brilliantly documented in the 2009 film Anvil! The Story of Anvil. Filling out the one-hit picture are twin sisters Toni and Trisha Sherwood, a.k.a. 11:30, best-remembered for their millennial dance-pop party-starter "Ole Ole," Pukka Orchestra, Artificial Joy Club, Wild Strawberries . . . oh, yes, there's much more where they came from.
$25.05 Deep Cuts
Name Artist Time Price 1 Ole Ole 11:30 4:04 $0.99 View In iTunes 2 Overload (Remastered 2003) Zappacosta 3:41 $0.99 View In iTunes 3 Listen to the Radio Pukka Orchestra 3:40 $0.99 View In iTunes 4 Lady of Ice Fancy 4:55 $0.99 View In iTunes 5 All I Ever Wanted (Canadian Idol Winner's Single, 2007) Brian Melo 3:19 $0.99 View In iTunes 6 Do You Think They Can Tell The Body Electric 3:58 $0.99 View In iTunes 7 Opportunity Mandala 3:02 $0.99 View In iTunes 8 My Girl Sloopy Little Caesar & The Consols 2:54 $0.99 View In iTunes 9 Heroine Wild Strawberries 4:08 $0.99 View In iTunes 10 Sick & Beautiful Artificial Joy Club 4:22 $0.99 View In iTunes 11 Don't Break My Heart Den Harrow 4:14 $0.99 View In iTunes 12 Best Way to Die Jet Set Satellite 3:23 $0.99 View In iTunes 13 Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven (But Nobody Wants to Die) Ellen McIlwaine 2:25 $0.99 View In iTunes 14 She Ain't Pretty The Northern Pikes 2:43 $1.29 View In iTunes 15 Record Body Count Rheostatics 1:54 $0.99 View In iTunes 16 Someone Who's Cool Odds 3:17 $0.99 View In iTunes 17 What About Me Belinda Metz 4:23 $0.99 View In iTunes 18 Say (Album Version) [Album Version] Low Level Flight 3:16 $0.99 View In iTunes 19 It's About Time Lillix 3:41 $0.99 View In iTunes 20 It Was I The Big Town Boys 2:24 $0.99 View In iTunes 21 Ten Pound Note Steel River 2:58 $0.99 View In iTunes 22 You're No Good Sons of Freedom 3:06 $0.99 View In iTunes 23 Tired of Waking Up Tired The Diodes 2:54 $0.99 View In iTunes 24 This Day Mudgirl 3:28 $0.99 View In iTunes 25 Metal On Metal Anvil 3:58 $0.99 View In iTunes Total: 25 Songs - Complete Set
If you're going to score with just one big hit, you may as well make it a good 'un . . . a pop shot heard 'round the world, if you like. That way, it'll stick in the memory and earn a degree of immortality that may once have seemed unlikely. Like the arrow that pierced the heel of Achilles, each one of these tracks hit its mark when it was first released and, by virtue of inclusion on this Essentials list, will now last forever. So doff your caps to Men Without Hats, as you act like an imbecile to "The Safety Dance," get a box of tissues at the ready as Dan Hill unleashes his all-time classic pop-weepie, "Sometimes When We Touch," and look for direction as the Poppy Family asks the question "Which Way You Goin' Billy?" — as with all these tracks, there's only one answer: straight to the stars, then back down to earth.
$72.69 Complete Set
Parental AdvisoryName Artist Time Price 1 Steal My Sunshine (Single Version) Len 4:25 $1.29 View In iTunes 2 Oh What a Feeling Crowbar 4:22 $0.99 View In iTunes 3 Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft Klaatu 3:35 $0.99 View In iTunes 4 Sometimes When We Touch Dan Hill 4:12 $0.99 View In iTunes 5 California Wave 3:40 $0.99 View In iTunes 6 Living On Video Trans-X 5:56 $0.99 View In iTunes 7 ExplicitLet Your Backbone Slide (Power Mix) Maestro Fresh-Wes 4:59 $0.99 View In iTunes 8 The Hampster Dance Song Hampton the Hampster 3:32 $0.99 View In iTunes 9 Bad Day Daniel Powter 3:54 $1.29 View In iTunes 10 ExplicitNew York City Demics 4:33 $0.99 View In iTunes 11 The Last Song Edward Bear 3:07 $0.99 View In iTunes 12 Which Way You Goin' Billy? The Poppy Family 3:23 $0.99 View In iTunes 13 When I'm With You Sheriff 3:58 $1.29 View In iTunes 14 As the Years Go By Mashmakhan 3:48 $0.99 View In iTunes 15 Innocence Harlequin 4:19 $0.69 View In iTunes 16 When the Night Feels My Song Bedouin Soundclash 3:07 $0.99 View In iTunes 17 New Girl Now Honeymoon Suite 3:38 $1.29 View In iTunes 18 Gaslight The Ugly Ducklings 2:44 $0.99 View In iTunes 19 Sun Goes By Dr. Music 3:53 $0.99 View In iTunes 20 Seasons In The Sun Terry Jacks 3:25 $0.99 View In iTunes 21 The Safety Dance Men Without Hats 2:44 $0.99 View In iTunes 22 Don't Wanna Fall In Love Jane Child 4:07 $0.69 View In iTunes 23 East Side Smoother 3:45 $1.29 View In iTunes 24 For Tonight Nancy Martinez 4:10 $0.99 View In iTunes 25 Angel Eyes The Jeff Healey Band 4:40 $0.99 View In iTunes 26 Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm Crash Test Dummies 3:53 $1.29 View In iTunes 27 The Sweater Meryn Cadell 3:14 $0.99 View In iTunes 28 Push Moist 3:53 $1.29 View In iTunes 29 Run Rex Goudie 3:32 $0.99 View In iTunes 30 Something More (Canadian Idol Winner) Ryan Malcolm 4:06 $0.99 View In iTunes 31 Pedal to the Metal Kazzer 3:28 $0.99 View In iTunes 32 Africa Thundermug 3:20 $0.99 View In iTunes 33 Closer Together The Box 3:51 $0.99 View In iTunes 34 King of Spain Moxy Fruvous 2:59 $0.99 View In iTunes 35 More Than Words Can Say Alias 3:54 $1.29 View In iTunes 36 Music Box Dancer Frank Mills 3:12 $0.99 View In iTunes 37 The Unicorn The Irish Rovers 3:18 $1.29 View In iTunes 38 The Homecoming Hagood Hardy 2:31 $0.99 View In iTunes 39 When I Die Motherlode 3:17 $0.99 View In iTunes 40 I Like Chopin (Classic) Gazebo 4:51 $0.99 View In iTunes 41 Can't Wait for the Night Brighton Rock 4:25 $0.99 View In iTunes 42 Don't It Make Ya Feel Headpins 4:06 $0.99 View In iTunes 43 Big Town Boy Shirley Matthews 2:32 $0.99 View In iTunes 44 Monkey Bars Coney Hatch 4:16 $0.99 View In iTunes 45 Lindberg Louise Forestier & Robert Charlebois 5:25 $0.99 View In iTunes 46 Arriba (Six Million Dollar Remix) Joée 4:50 $0.99 View In iTunes 47 Ole Ole 11:30 4:04 $0.99 View In iTunes 48 Overload (Remastered 2003) Zappacosta 3:41 $0.99 View In iTunes 49 Listen to the Radio Pukka Orchestra 3:40 $0.99 View In iTunes 50 Lady of Ice Fancy 4:55 $0.99 View In iTunes 51 All I Ever Wanted (Canadian Idol Winner's Single, 2007) Brian Melo 3:19 $0.99 View In iTunes 52 Do You Think They Can Tell The Body Electric 3:58 $0.99 View In iTunes 53 Opportunity Mandala 3:02 $0.99 View In iTunes 54 My Girl Sloopy Little Caesar & The Consols 2:54 $0.99 View In iTunes 55 Heroine Wild Strawberries 4:08 $0.99 View In iTunes 56 Sick & Beautiful Artificial Joy Club 4:22 $0.99 View In iTunes 57 Don't Break My Heart Den Harrow 4:14 $0.99 View In iTunes 58 Best Way to Die Jet Set Satellite 3:23 $0.99 View In iTunes 59 Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven (But Nobody Wants to Die) Ellen McIlwaine 2:25 $0.99 View In iTunes 60 She Ain't Pretty The Northern Pikes 2:43 $1.29 View In iTunes 61 Record Body Count Rheostatics 1:54 $0.99 View In iTunes 62 Someone Who's Cool Odds 3:17 $0.99 View In iTunes 63 What About Me Belinda Metz 4:23 $0.99 View In iTunes 64 Say (Album Version) [Album Version] Low Level Flight 3:16 $0.99 View In iTunes 65 It's About Time Lillix 3:41 $0.99 View In iTunes 66 It Was I The Big Town Boys 2:24 $0.99 View In iTunes 67 Ten Pound Note Steel River 2:58 $0.99 View In iTunes 68 You're No Good Sons of Freedom 3:06 $0.99 View In iTunes 69 Tired of Waking Up Tired The Diodes 2:54 $0.99 View In iTunes 70 This Day Mudgirl 3:28 $0.99 View In iTunes 71 Metal On Metal Anvil 3:58 $0.99 View In iTunes Total: 71 Songs
Customer Reviews
Really?
Honeymoon Suite is far from a one hit wonder...
It
They're are a couple of gems on here. But, the Odds had 2 other hits before that song even came out
Bit of a misnomer
Quite a few of the bands had multiple hits - and some of these don't really qualiy as "hits" at all.
