80s "omg I loved that one" one hit wonders mix tape thread

I'd heard "Aw Leah" and the name Donnie Iris, but had never put the two together.

45. Herbie Hancock - Rockit! (obviously HH shouldn't be classified as a one-hit wonder but not only does this track stand in its own, it was his first relevant release in more than a decade)

46. Eddie Murphy - "Party all the Time"

I think it's just... we're sort of chronicling awesome flukes here.

speaking of which:

47. Limited Warranty - "Victory Line"

also if we're including a Pebbles song it should be "Mercedes Boy"

48. Men Without Hats - Safety Dance

50. Jan Hammer - Theme from Miami Vice

Err. 49.

then 51. Men at Work - Down Under !!!

52. The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star

(this is starting to look like a VH1 show now. I'm trying to dig deeper, but I'm gonna have to put some thought into it.)

but before I forget...

53. The Georgia Satellites - Keep Your Hands to Yourself

54. Hair Cut 100, "Love Plus One." Waiting for Vampire Weekend or someone to cover this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7ayawh378Q

55. Paul Hardcastle - 19

ok, here's a deep cut that no one should love:

56. "Macho Man" Randy Savage - Speaking From the Heart

57. Oingo Boingo - "Weird Science"

yes I know that the definition of "hit" is being stretched there

58. Peter Schilling, "Major Tom (Coming Home)"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEG7OzvSMBA

Excellent one!

59. Nocera - Summertime, Summertime

Weird Science is probably the best-known Oingo Boingo song by people who don't listen to Oingo Boingo, but my pick would've been Private Life.

60. Kim Carnes, "Betty Davis Eyes" (first hit with a syndrum, I think):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Al9blQOhNw

xp: Prefer 'The Different Story' to Major Tom, especially because the video features a white horse and a man playing pan-flute, but you got there first.

my real Boingo pick would have been "Nothing Bad Ever Happens" but apparently despite there being a video it was never released as a single

62. John Waite, "MIssing You"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4HY1vc4c38

63. Boy Meets Girl - Waiting for a Star to Fall

hahahahaha I was just humming that to myself

64. Swing Out Sister - Breakout

I love "Waiting for a Star"

65. Mysterious Art - Das Omen

bit of an obscure german pop hit but i love it and it fits the vibes here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyD8dfyj_Jo

for the longest time I thought Everything But The Girl and Boy Meets Girl were the same band

66. Trio - Da Da Da

I guess they probably had more hits in Germany, and this probably wasn't even a hit until years later in the US thanks to a VW ad. I'm retroactively including it, though.

YES YES YES YES YES YES

67. Opus - Live Is Life

68. Laid Back - "White Horse"

I don't know that Opus song at all.

69. Kim Wilde - Keep My Hanging On

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8j2ej5jqQw

for longest time I didn't hear the word "don't" in the lyrics

I thought it was "If you wanna ride/Then ride the white horse"

my parents were... concerned

re: Kim Wilde..."Kids in America" definitely put her on the map a few years beforehand.

70. Taco - Puttin on the Ritz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_W5QnO5UGk

71. Katrina and the Waves - Walkin on Sunshine

by the way, did you know there was a Taylor Swift song called "White Horse"

I am never listening to it so that I can claim it's a cover

ah, yeah, Kids In America. I associate that song with Kids Incorporated for some reason.

72. Pigbag - Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNDccgakPvo

I wish Bananarama had never released "Venus" so I could put "Cruel Summer" on this list.

73. Noel - Silent Morning

Banarama had 10 top tens over here!

74. It Bites - Calling All the Heroes

75. Dino - Summergirls

(mining the Freestlye genre now)

I'd never heard Silent Morning before, but wau I love it.

Silent Morning got played next to True Faith a bunch back when I used to ride in the back seat of my parents car.

OMG I just realized that "Pump Up the Volume" totally counts here. So...

76. M|A|R|R|S - Pump Up the Volume

77. Double - The Captain of Her Heart