80s One-Hit Wonders
The biggest 80s one-hit wonders are "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners, "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, "Mickey" by Toni Basil, "99 Luftballons" by Nena, "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc. and "Maniac" by Michael Sembello. Each artist scored exactly one US Top 40 hit. a-ha's "Take On Me" is often listed, but a-ha had a second.
What counts as an 80s one-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is an artist with exactly one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 Top 40. Plenty of the acts below kept making records, and some were huge in Britain, but America only let them in once. In the 80s, MTV, synthesizers and movie soundtracks made it easier than ever to have one huge song and then vanish.
Every song on this page plays in the free player above. For the decade's biggest hits by the artists who kept coming back, head to our full 80s songs playlist.
The four everybody knows
"Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners hit No. 1 in the US in April 1983. VH1 named it the greatest one-hit wonder of the 80s in 2009. Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" peaked at No. 8, but it spent 43 weeks on the Hot 100, a record at the time.
Toni Basil's cheerleader chant "Mickey" reached No. 1 in December 1982. Nena's "99 Luftballons" went to No. 2 in 1984, sung in German. All four open the player above. The ranked list below covers the rest of the decade's one-hit wonders.
Famous songs that are not really one-hit wonders
Some songs turn up on every one-hit-wonder list even though the artist had another US hit. a-ha followed "Take On Me" with "The Sun Always Shines on T.V.", which reached No. 20. Men Without Hats followed "The Safety Dance" with "Pop Goes the World", also No. 20, in 1987.
A Flock of Seagulls scored with "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" after "I Ran". Tommy Tutone had "Angel Say No" before "867-5309/Jenny", and Rockwell followed "Somebody's Watching Me" with "Obscene Phone Caller". Fans remember one song, but the charts remember two.
How this list is ranked
Each song is ranked by how big it was and how well it has lasted, and every artist had one US Top 40 hit at most. Most of them came from the new wave and synth-pop boom, when a single great video could make a band famous for exactly one summer.
Every pick follows our song selection rules. Tap Play All in the player to hear them in order, or use the 80s playlist builder to make your own one-hit-wonder mix.
- 1
Funkytown — Lipps Inc. (1980)
Lipps Inc. was really Minneapolis producer Steven Greenberg, with Cynthia Johnson on vocals. Her robot-cool delivery over a bouncing synth riff sent "Funkytown" to No. 1 on the Hot 100 for four weeks in 1980. Nothing else they released came close, which makes it the purest one-hit wonder of the decade.
- 2
Maniac — Michael Sembello (1983)
The frantic dance-rehearsal song from Flashdance spent two weeks at No. 1 in September 1983 and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Sembello was a session guitarist who had played with Stevie Wonder, but he never reached the Top 40 again.
- 3
Don't Worry, Be Happy — Bobby McFerrin (1988)
McFerrin sang every part himself, from the bass line to the whistling, and layered them on tape. It became the first a cappella song to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1988, then won Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
- 4
Relax — Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1983)
Trevor Horn's thunderous production, plus a BBC Radio 1 ban in January 1984, pushed "Relax" to No. 1 in the UK for five weeks. America took longer: it reached No. 10 on the Hot 100 when it was reissued in 1985, and the band never returned to the US Top 40.
- 5
Tarzan Boy — Baltimora (1985)
An Italian studio project fronted by Jimmy McShane from Northern Ireland, built around a jungle yodel and a bright synth hook. It reached No. 13 in the US, then found a second life in the 1990s in a Listerine commercial and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.
- 6
Too Shy — Kajagoogoo (1983)
Co-produced by Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes, "Too Shy" went to No. 1 in the UK and No. 5 in the US in 1983. Singer Limahl left the band later that year, and none of their later singles reached the US Top 40.
- 7
Der Kommissar — After the Fire (1982)
Austrian singer Falco wrote and first recorded "Der Kommissar" in German. The British band After the Fire cut an English version that reached No. 5 in the US in 1983. Falco himself later topped the Hot 100 with "Rock Me Amadeus", so he is not a one-hit wonder.
- 8
Pass the Dutchie — Musical Youth (1982)
Five schoolboys from Birmingham, England, reworked the Mighty Diamonds' reggae song "Pass the Kouchie" and swapped the herbal reference for a cooking pot. It went to No. 1 in the UK in 1982 and No. 10 in the US the following year.
- 9
Puttin' On the Ritz — Taco (1982)
Taco Ockerse, a Dutch singer born in Indonesia, turned Irving Berlin's 1929 standard into a cold, stuttering synth-pop track with a tap-dance break. It climbed to No. 4 on the Hot 100 in 1983, a 50-year-old song sounding brand new.
- 10
Major Tom (Coming Home) — Peter Schilling (1983)
The German singer picked up the story David Bowie started in "Space Oddity" and sent Major Tom drifting home. He recorded it in German first, then in English, and the English version reached No. 14 in the US in 1983.
- 11
Life in a Northern Town — The Dream Academy (1985)
A wistful song dedicated to the folk singer Nick Drake, with a chanted "ah hey ma ma ma" chorus and a big orchestral swell. It reached No. 7 in the US in 1986. Nothing else the London trio released came near it.
- 12
Axel F — Harold Faltermeyer (1985)
Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop needed a theme, and German composer Harold Faltermeyer delivered one of the most recognizable synth riffs ever written. It reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 1985. Twenty years later Crazy Frog took it back to No. 1 in the UK.
- 13
Shattered Dreams — Johnny Hates Jazz (1987)
Polished, grown-up pop from a London trio, with a chorus that sounds happier than the words. "Shattered Dreams" climbed to No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 1988. It was the band's only US Top 40 hit, though they had several more in Britain.
- 14
The Promise — When in Rome (1987)
A heart-on-sleeve synth-pop plea that reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 in 1988. A new generation found it in 2004, when it played at the end of Napoleon Dynamite, and it has been a staple of 80s nights ever since.
- 15
Waiting for a Star to Fall — Boy Meets Girl (1988)
Husband-and-wife songwriters George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam had already written "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" for Whitney Houston. When they sang one of their own songs, it reached No. 5 in the US, and it remains the only hit under their own name.
- 16
Turning Japanese — The Vapors (1980)
A jittery power-pop song about lovesick obsession, with a guitar riff everyone knows, from a band managed by Bruce Foxton of The Jam. It reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 36 in the US in 1980, just enough to count.
- 17
Pump Up the Volume — M/A/R/R/S (1987)
A one-off team-up between two bands on the 4AD label, Colourbox and A.R. Kane, built almost entirely from samples. It went to No. 1 in the UK in 1987 and No. 13 on the Hot 100 in 1988, and it helped carry house music into the pop charts.
- 18
Let the Music Play — Shannon (1983)
Shannon's soaring voice over a hard electronic beat and syncopated synths. The record reached No. 8 on the Hot 100 in 1984 and set the template for freestyle, the Latin-flavored dance sound that ruled New York and Miami clubs for the rest of the decade.
- 19
The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades — Timbuk 3 (1986)
Husband-and-wife duo Pat and Barbara K. MacDonald famously played live with a boombox supplying their backing tracks. The song reached No. 19 in 1986 and became a graduation-party favorite, even though the lyrics are a much darker joke than most people hear.
- 20
Heart and Soul — T'Pau (1987)
The English band took its name from a Vulcan elder in Star Trek. Carol Decker's half-spoken verses and big chorus sent "Heart and Soul" to No. 4 in the US in 1987. Their follow-up, "China in Your Hand", topped the UK chart but never caught on in America.
- 21
We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off — Jermaine Stewart (1986)
Former Soul Train dancer Jermaine Stewart sang a bouncy dance-pop song about taking things slow, a rare message for 1986. It reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 and was the only Top 40 hit of his career.
- 22
In a Big Country — Big Country (1983)
Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson made their guitars ring like Scottish bagpipes, and the result sounds like a march across open hills. "In a Big Country" reached No. 17 in the US in 1983. The band stayed popular in Britain, but America only ever knew this one.
- 23
Let's Go All the Way — Sly Fox (1986)
A duo of Gary "Mudbone" Cooper, a Parliament-Funkadelic veteran, and Michael Camacho. The clattering, slightly menacing mix of funk and synth-pop reached No. 7 in the US in 1986, and it still sounds like nothing else from that year.
- 24
Rush Hour — Jane Wiedlin (1988)
The Go-Go's guitarist, who co-wrote "Our Lips Are Sealed", stepped out on her own with a breezy love-at-first-sight song. "Rush Hour" reached No. 9 in 1988. The Go-Go's had plenty of hits, but this was her only solo one.
- 25
Breakout — Swing Out Sister (1986)
Horns, a jazzy bounce and Corinne Drewery's cool vocal made this sound nothing like the rest of 80s radio. The English band's song reached No. 6 in the US and is still a go-to track for anyone who needs a lift on a Monday morning.
- 26
In My House — Mary Jane Girls (1985)
Rick James wrote and produced "In My House" for his protégées, the Mary Jane Girls. Its slow-rolling funk and silky harmonies took it to No. 7 on the Hot 100 in 1985, the group's only Top 40 hit.
- 27
I Wanna Be a Cowboy — Boys Don't Cry (1986)
A tongue-in-cheek English novelty with spaghetti-western guitars, horse sounds and a deadpan spoken chorus. It became a Top 20 hit in the US in 1986, one of the stranger records to cross the Atlantic that year.
- 28
Pac-Man Fever — Buckner & Garcia (1981)
Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia from Ohio wrote a song about arcade addiction, packed with real Pac-Man sound effects. It reached No. 9 on the Hot 100 in 1982, and the pair recorded a whole album of video game songs to follow it.
- 29
Perfect Way — Scritti Politti (1985)
Green Gartside went from post-punk art band to immaculate studio pop, and "Perfect Way" reached No. 11 in the US in 1985. The ultimate compliment came from Miles Davis, who recorded his own version on his 1986 album Tutu.
- 30
The Politics of Dancing — Re-Flex (1983)
A clipped, danceable new wave song about the dance floor as a place of power. The English band reached No. 24 on the Hot 100 in 1984, then disappeared from the American charts.
- 31
It's My Life — Talk Talk (1984)
Mark Hollis' anguished vocal over bright synths gave Talk Talk a modest US hit in 1984, before the band turned toward the quiet, experimental albums they are revered for now. No Doubt took the song back onto the charts with their 2003 cover.
- 32
Mary's Prayer — Danny Wilson (1987)
The Scottish band from Dundee named itself after the 1952 Frank Sinatra film Meet Danny Wilson. Gary Clark's smooth, soulful song reached No. 23 in the US in 1988 and was a Top 5 hit in the UK.
- 33
Da Butt — E.U. (1988)
E.U., short for Experience Unlimited, were a go-go band from Washington, D.C. Spike Lee put them in his 1988 film School Daze, and their party song crossed over to No. 35 on the Hot 100 and became a big R&B hit.
- 34
I Melt with You — Modern English (1982)
Strictly speaking this one never made the Top 40. But after it played in the 1983 film Valley Girl, college radio and MTV adopted it, and it has outlived most of the decade's real hits. Every list of 80s one-hit wonders claims it anyway.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the biggest 80s one-hit wonder?
"Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners is the usual answer. It hit No. 1 in the US in 1983, and VH1 ranked it the greatest one-hit wonder of the 80s. "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc. had the longest run at the top, with four weeks at No. 1 in 1980.
Is "Take On Me" by a-ha a one-hit wonder?
Not in the US. "Take On Me" went to No. 1 in 1985, and a-ha's next single, "The Sun Always Shines on T.V.", reached No. 20. The band had many more hits in Europe.
What are some forgotten 80s one-hit wonders?
"The Politics of Dancing" by Re-Flex, "Let's Go All the Way" by Sly Fox, "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" by Boys Don't Cry, "Mary's Prayer" by Danny Wilson and "Da Butt" by E.U. were all US hits that most people have since forgotten.
What are the top 10 one-hit wonders of the 80s?
"Come On Eileen", "Tainted Love", "Mickey", "99 Luftballons", "Funkytown", "Maniac", "Don't Worry, Be Happy", "Relax", "Tarzan Boy" and "Too Shy". Each of these acts reached the US Top 40 only once.
Which 80s one-hit wonders went to No. 1?
The list includes "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc. (1980), "Mickey" by Toni Basil (1982), "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners (1983), "Maniac" by Michael Sembello (1983) and "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin (1988) all topped the Billboard Hot 100.
Last updated: September 24, 2026