By DOUG STRASSLER
Hello again! Today I am writing about some more of my musical forget-me-nots. This time they are a little different from my first column – by definition, one-hit wonders should be memorable, even if nothing else about their performers is. However, I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who has talked about these five songs from the 1990s or anyone who has played them in years. I’ve listed them below in no particular order – not chronological, not in order of preference, not even in length – just like they might appear on shuffle mode.
* “Your Woman,†White Town
White Town wasn’t a band, he was a British one-man techno act named Jyoti Mishra. But even if you can’t remember his name, maybe you remember the song? It’s synthesizer-tastic and actually samples an old song from the 1930s that was used in the Pennies from Heaven soundtrack. Props to Mishra for writing from a woman’s POV, but even more so for just crafting an enigmatic, kind of spooky-sounding song in general.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KISJkJi2KAM
* “No Myth,†Michael Penn
Michael Penn won an MTV Award for this song, but otherwise he’s best-known for being Sean Penn’s brother and Aimee Mann’s wife (two pretty good things to be, if you ask me). But this song, from his twenty-year-old debut album, March, is all kinds of awesome. It isn’t heavy, it isn’t profound, it’s just fun. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a sign of things to come – Penn’s biggest future successes came from scoring movies like Boogie Nights, Sunshine Cleaning, and That Evening Sun.
Here’s a clip of Penn on another 1990s standby, The Arsenio Hall Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34gANu-o0J0
* “High Enough,†Damn Yankees
Quite possibly my favorite power ballad song of all time. Certainly my favorite hair metal song of all time. Damn Yankees was an early attempt at a super-group, being comprised of Ted Nugent in addition to Tommy Shaw of Styx and Jack Blades of Night Ranger. And there’s no way I’m alone – the song, back by some awesome strings and a video featuring a modern (at the time) Bonnie and Clyde – grabs the heart so hard it’s no wonder it made it as far as #3 on the Billboard charts. Unfortunately, this success was never to be duplicated. Still, it’s a karaoke favorite of mine, even if I can’t hit those high notes to save my life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-VfoeR3oLo
* “Insensitive,†Jann Arden
Does anyone remember this song? I don’t remember ever talking about it with anyone back when it came out in 1995 (it peaked at number 12 on the charts) and you really had to rely on the radio or VH1 to catch a song like this. Or listen to the soundtrack of the Mary Stuart Masterson-Chistian Slater weepie, Bed of Roses (no relation to the Bon Jovi song). Still, how can you not love this song? It’s as level-headed a kiss-off as Carole King’s “It’s Too Late,” with a little more punch. Any time I hear it at my local Food Emporium or Bed Bath and Beyond, it’s a good day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nrGWwHalCU
* “The One and Only,†Chesney Hawkes
Much to Michael J. Fox’s chagrin, this 1991 summer hit was way more successful than the film Doc Hollywood, which featured it on its soundtrack. But to where did Hawkes disappear? I believe he remains fairly popular across the Atlantic, but “The One and Only†remains his – wait for it – one and only contribution to American music awesomeness. How sad is it when the title of your one-hit wonder can actually be used to refer to as a one-hit wonder?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8f2mW1GFSI
If you guys don’t remember any of these things, I hope you look them up. They’re a worthy Friday distraction. And if any of you remember these songs fondly, well, can you be my friend?







12 responses so far ↓
1 Anonymous // Feb 5, 2010 at 12:35 pm
I not only remember, but love, all five of these songs! In fact, I’ve actually listened to the first three in the past couple of weeks, they’re all on my iPod! Another great list, Doug!
2 stefanie // Feb 5, 2010 at 12:35 pm
“Your Woman,†White Town
One of favs…It plays on my ipod frequently enough!
3 Dana // Feb 5, 2010 at 12:36 pm
I not only remember, but love, all five of these songs. I’ve actually listened to the first three in the past couple of weeks, they’re on my iPod. Another great list, Doug!
4 Liz // Feb 5, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Dear Doug,
Thank you (again) for the fun read on this chilly Friday! Your article jarred my memories and I do actually remember the Damn Yankees. Of course, I don’t know if I deserve kudos for admitting to it. I do not, however, remember any of the other songs…although in the back of my brain Jann Arden also sounds familiar. I will have to hop onto iTunes and go back in time.
5 Doug Strassler // Feb 5, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Really? That’s so awesome! Another example of something I would have never known if I didn’t write this column.
6 Mark Blankenship // Feb 5, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Doug! I not only loved “Insensitive” at the time, but also was a Jann Arden fan BEFORE this song became a hit. Before “Insensitive” she released an amazing song called “Could I Be Your Girl.” I saw the video on VH-1 and promptly went out to buy her album. Thanks for bringing me back to Jann.
And here’s “Could I Be Your Girl:”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc_oPIO_FaM
7 Doug Strassler // Feb 5, 2010 at 1:12 pm
You know Mark, I thought about “Could I Be Your Girl,” but feel like it never really made a mark stateside and was okay to label a one-hit wonder. (Apologies to those who disagree!) Either way, though, I think Arden is great and should be better known than she is.
8 Tricia // Feb 5, 2010 at 1:23 pm
I completely remember Insensitive! In fact, I used to love that song “back in the day.” Thanks for reviving some long lost hits of the past.
9 Niki // Feb 5, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I don’t know the others, but I both talk about and listen to Your Woman with moderate frequency. Both my husband and I were thrilled and hit the thumbs up super quickly when it played on our Pandora stations (Cake, if you’re curious).
10 Doug // Feb 5, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Thanks, Niki — I would have wondered all day what station had you not told me.
11 Stacy // Feb 5, 2010 at 4:08 pm
I went through a solid three week period in college when “Your Woman” was my theme song. Thank you for reminding me!
I didn’t know the Jann Arden song until recently when a friend referenced her to describe my level of insensitivity. Surprised to hear he’s not the only one who loves that song.
12 Jen Hohensee // Feb 23, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Three weeks late to the party…but…
“The One and Only” was the alarm clock song in ‘Moon’. Interesting choice…because he wasn’t the one and only, ya dig.
Also, I actually owned the entire Chesney Hawkes cd. Someone gave it to me for my 13th birthday. I can still sing all the words to “The One and Only”. It’s a good party trick.
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