Making it big in the music industry isn't an easy task. For every musician lucky enough to find lasting success, there are thousands out there who never even come close. Then there are those who are able to record a single hit, only to fade away into obscurity shortly thereafter. In the ever-changing music business, being a one-hit wonder is one of the worst fates imaginable. For many of these musicians, their careers could have taken off, if only they had lived long enough to make that followup hit. These are the one-hit wonders you didn't know passed away.
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00:00For most artists, it's difficult to sustain a long-lasting career in the ever-changing
00:05music business.
00:06And although some musicians do manage to hit it big with one song, they fade away just
00:11as quickly.
00:12Meet the one-hit wonders you didn't know passed away.
00:15In July 2021, the world lost one of the biggest one-hit wonders of all time, Biz Marquis.
00:22His song, Just a Friend, peaked at number nine on Billboard in 1990 and stayed on the
00:26charts for 22 weeks.
00:28The song is a rap by Marquis mixed with some of the beat and lyrics of the 1968 song You
00:34Got What I Need by Freddie Scott.
00:36It went platinum in the year of its release.
00:39Biz Marquis was born Marcel Theo Hall in Harlem, New York in 1964.
00:44According to Vulture, Marquis burst onto the rap scene in 1985 as a reputed beatboxer.
00:51He came up alongside famous rappers such as Doug E. Fresh and often worked with Big Daddy
00:55Kane.
00:56His hip-hop talents mixed with his humorous lyrics earned him the title The Clown Prince
01:01of Hip-Hop.
01:02Marquis released a few more albums after the success of Just a Friend and continued to
01:06perform for decades, but he never entered the charts again.
01:10The rapper's health took a downturn starting in April 2020.
01:13He died July 16, 2021, in Baltimore, Maryland, at just 57 years old.
01:20Marquis' cause of death is unconfirmed, but he was known to have struggled with type 2
01:25diabetes.
01:26In 2010, Kali Swag District's first single, Teach Me How to Dougie, became a national
01:31dance sensation.
01:33Michelle Obama could be found doing the Dougie at her Let's Move events and on Late Night
01:38with Jimmy Fallon.
01:39According to The Guardian, the Dougie was inspired by the dance moves of 1980s hip-hop
01:44artist Doug E. Fresh.
01:46In May 2011, one of the members of Kali Swag District, Monté M. Bone Talbert, was killed
01:53in Inglewood, California, in a drive-by shooting.
01:57According to Billboard, M. Bone was the comedic center of the group and helped launch the
02:01Dougie to mainstream audiences.
02:03Talbert was only 22 years old.
02:06After his death, the remaining three members continued and released an album, The Kickback.
02:10In 2014, the group lost a second member, Caron J.R. Childs.
02:16He was suffering from sickle cell anemia and died of a cardiac arrest after being admitted
02:21to a hospital.
02:22He was 25 years old.
02:24Following these two tragedies, Kali Swag District dissolved.
02:28Adam Schlesinger formed Fountains of Wayne with Chris Collingwood in the mid-'90s.
02:33The band didn't have a hit until 2003, when they released the song, Stacy's Mom.
02:39According to UDiscoverMusic.com, Schlesinger and Collingwood wrote the song based on a
02:44friend of Schlesinger's who was attracted to his grandma.
02:47It was an ode to early puberty, Schlesinger said.
02:51It's a combination of sexual awakening and limited contact with a large number of people.
02:56The song earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Vocal Performance and Best New Artist.
03:02Adam Schlesinger was a talented writer and musician who wrote a lot of music for television
03:06in addition to his Fountains of Wayne success.
03:09Schlesinger won a Grammy for A Colbert Christmas, The Greatest Gift of All.
03:13He also won three Emmys, one for his work on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and two for co-writing
03:18the Tony Awards telecast.
03:20Furthermore, Schlesinger was nominated for an Oscar for the title track in the 1996 film
03:26That Thing You Do.
03:27On April 1st, 2020, it was announced that Schlesinger had died from complications caused
03:32by COVID-19.
03:33He was 52 years old.
03:36Johan Hans Hölzel went by the stage name Falco, and his song, Rock Me Amadeus, hit
03:42number one on the Billboard charts in 1986.
03:46While only known for Rock Me Amadeus in the U.S., Hölzel's 1982 debut hit, Der Kommissar,
03:52hit European charts when he was only 25 years old.
03:55According to Der Spiegel, Hölzel was philosophical about his fame.
03:59He said,
04:00"'Today, platinum.
04:01Tomorrow, tin.
04:02Today, they kiss your feet and tomorrow the dog won't even look at you.'"
04:05Technically, Rock Me Amadeus is a rap song, meaning that the Austrian singer holds the
04:11distinct recognition of being the first rap artist to reach number one on the U.S. charts.
04:16While Falco never had another hit at the same level, he did sell 60 million records over
04:21the course of his career.
04:22While vacationing in the Dominican Republic in 1998, a car Hölzel was driving was hit
04:27by a truck.
04:28He died at age 40.
04:31Doug Figer was the lead singer of the band The Knack, whose hit My Sharona was number
04:35one in the summer of 1979.
04:38The song gained attention again in 1994 when it was part of the film Reality Bites' soundtrack.
04:44According to NPR, Figer was inspired to write the song by a teenager named Sharona Alperin.
04:50While the two did date, they never married but remained friends.
04:54In an interview for Variety, Alperin said the song took Figer less than 15 minutes to
04:59write.
05:00Figer was born in Detroit in 1952 and grew up in Oak Park, Michigan.
05:04Before graduating high school, his band Sky signed to RCA.
05:08Sky recorded two albums, but then the band dissolved.
05:11In 1978, Figer created The Knack.
05:14After the success of their debut album and the hit My Sharona, The Knack went on to release
05:18a few more albums, but never again reached the success of their first run.
05:22In 2010, Figer died of lung cancer.
05:25He was 57.
05:27Pete Burns was the lead singer of the band Dead or Alive, whose song You Spin Me Right
05:32Round reached the Billboard Top 20 in 1985.
05:37The track was also covered by Adam Sandler in the movie The Wedding Singer, Jessica Simpson
05:42in 2005, and had even greater success in 2009 when it was sampled on Flo Rida and Kesha's
05:48Right Round.
05:49The song was produced by SAW, a trio that went on to create other hits such as Rick
05:54Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.
05:56Burns was born in Cheshire, England in 1959.
05:59His father was English and his mother, who was German, had survived the Holocaust.
06:04He dropped out of school at age 14 and formed the band Dead or Alive by 1980.
06:09According to The Guardian, Burns became famous for his androgynous style and his progressive
06:14approach to gender.
06:15He even accused Boy George of stealing his style.
06:17"'Anybody that sets themselves apart visually is not like anybody else.
06:21It's the most obvious statement that you can make, you know, your visual side.'"
06:25Dead or Alive recorded several albums, but never again achieved the same level of success
06:30as with You Spin Me Right Round.
06:32Burns remained in the limelight through appearances on reality shows, including Big Brother and
06:37Celebrity Wife Swap, and was a well-known figure in the U.K.
06:41According to the BBC, Burns died of a cardiac arrest in 2016.
06:45He was 57 years old.
06:48Minnie Riperton is most famous for her song, Lovin' You, which was released in 1974.
06:53The song is a high-pitched lullaby that was originally created for Riperton's daughter,
06:57Maya Rudolph.
06:58Yes, the well-known comedian from Saturday Night Live and Bridesmaids.
07:02"'I didn't really put together that Lovin' You was for me and my brother.'"
07:06Lovin' You has been featured in commercials for large companies such as Burger King and
07:11Visa.
07:12It has also been used in films such as Vegas Vacation and The Nutty Professor.
07:16Riperton was born in Chicago in 1947 and studied music, drama, and dance as a young girl.
07:22Before graduating high school, she joined a band called The Gems, which signed with
07:26Chicago's Chess Records.
07:28She also performed backup vocals for The Dells and Etta James.
07:32In the late 60s, she partnered with her husband, Richard Rudolph, a prolific composer.
07:37Because she had worked as a backup singer for Stevie Wonder, the legendary musician
07:41agreed to help her produce her album Perfect Angel, which featured the song Lovin' You.
07:46Riperton's fame grew slowly, but soon she was doing appearances on American Bandstand
07:51and Soul Train.
07:52Just as she was offered the opportunity to release another album, she was diagnosed with
07:57breast cancer.
07:58She continued to perform for live audiences until her death in 1979.
08:03She was just 31.
08:05Pauly Fuamana was the lead singer of OMC, whose song How Bizarre was number one on the
08:10U.S. Billboard charts in 1997 and stayed on the charts for 32 weeks.
08:14OMC stood for Otara Millionaires Club, an homage to the neighborhood where Fuamana grew
08:19up in Auckland, New Zealand.
08:22According to The Guardian, Otara was one of New Zealand's poorest communities, hence the
08:26irony of the name.
08:28Fuamara was born to a Maori mother and a Nuean father and spoke Nuean first.
08:33He reportedly had a rough childhood, joining gangs and later spending time in youth prison.
08:38Then success came at him fast, and he did not handle it well.
08:42He was sued by his producer for royalties and by 2006 had declared bankruptcy.
08:47Fuamana continued to work at building his music career, but never reached the success
08:51of How Bizarre again.
08:53It was a good ride while I lasted, and I got to see the world, like I really got to see
08:57the world.
08:59In 2010, Fuamana died of a rare autoimmune disorder.
09:03He was 40 years old and left behind his wife and six children.
09:07According to UDiscoverMusic.com, the hit continues to be popular.
09:11It reports that more than 100,000 TikTok videos incorporate the song's lyrics and that the
09:16How Bizarre hashtag has generated more than 1.4 billion views.
09:22Chrissy Amflit was the lead singer of the Australian rock band The Divinyls, best known
09:27for their 1991 hit song, I Touch Myself.
09:30The song was a collaboration between the band and songwriters Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg,
09:35who were famous for hits, including Madonna's Like a Virgin.
09:38The music video for the song was directed by none other than Michael Bay.
09:42While the band released seven albums between 1983 and 1996, none of their songs reached
09:48the same level of success as I Touch Myself.
09:52Amflit was born in 1959 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
09:56She formed The Divinyls in 1980.
09:58Along with singing and songwriting, Amflit was an actress, appearing in an Australian
10:03film called Monkey Grip and a stage production of Blood Brothers.
10:07In the late 90s, Amflit left the band to pursue acting further.
10:11She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006 and breast cancer in 2010.
10:16Fittingly, the song I Touch Myself has been used in a campaign to educate women about
10:21breast cancer.
10:22In 2013, Amflit died of breast cancer.
10:26She was 53 years old.
10:28R&B singer Jermaine Stewart's hit song, We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off, reached
10:32number five on the Billboard 100 charts in 1986.
10:36The song has popped up on the soundtracks for the films Zack and Miri Make a Porno and
10:40TV shows such as Scrubs.
10:42According to AllMusic, Stewart started off as a dancer on Soul Train and moved on to
10:47be a backup singer for large acts such as Boy George.
10:50He landed a deal with Arista Records and released four albums, with We Don't Have to Take Our
10:55Clothes Off his biggest success.
10:58Stewart was born in Columbus, Ohio, but his family moved to Chicago when he was still
11:02young.
11:03He died in 1997 of liver cancer caused by AIDS, according to a book written by AIDS
11:09advocate Dr. Terry Easley.
11:11Jermaine Stewart was only 39 years old.
11:14Not to be confused with the Bon Jovi song released in 2000, It's My Life was written
11:19and sung by Mark Hollis in 1983.
11:22No doubt also covered it in 2003.
11:25It's My Life initially entered the charts in 1984, and it was the first and last hit
11:30for the band Talk Talk.
11:32The band was formed in 1981 in London by Hollis.
11:35Shortly after, it signed with EMI and began touring with Duran Duran.
11:40After the success of It's My Life, the band decided to change its sound, which made them
11:44less commercial.
11:45But nevertheless, they continued to work together until they released their final album in 1991.
11:50Hollis was born in Tottenham, England in 1955.
11:54He was heavily influenced by his older brother Ed, who was a music producer.
11:58After Talk Talk released its last album, Hollis dropped out of public life to focus on his
12:03family.
12:04He later released a solo album, and was commissioned to do the music for the TV show Boss in 2012.
12:09But other than that, he flew under the radar until his death in 2019.
12:13Per NPR, Hollis' manager stated that the musician died due to a short illness from which he
12:18never recovered.
12:20The style and genius of Mark Hollis has been credited as the inspiration for many bands,
12:25including Radiohead.
12:27I Just Died in Your Arms was a number one Billboard hit in 1987 for the band Cutting
12:32Crew.
12:33John McMichael was not the singer, but the lead guitarist and writer for the group.
12:37I Just Died in Your Arms earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, and
12:41Cutting Crew released a few more albums after their debut success, but failed to enter the
12:46charts again.
12:47They ultimately disbanded in 1993.
12:50McMichael was born in New Brunswick, Canada in 1951.
12:54He started playing guitar in high school, and learned hundreds of Beatles songs.
12:58He formed Cutting Crew with Nick Van Ede, the band's lead singer, in 1985.
13:03When McMichael left the group, he went on to work with Robert Plant as a guitarist and
13:06writer.
13:07In 2002, McMichael was diagnosed with lung cancer.
13:11He died later that year, at the age of 51.
13:14It's hard to call Dan Hartman a one-hit wonder because he wrote many great songs, but he
13:19is only known for singing one.
13:21Aside from writing and performing I Can Dream About You, which peaked at number six in 1984,
13:27he wrote and produced James Brown's Living in America, which made it to number four.
13:31Hartman also wrote Living in America for Rocky IV, which earned Hartman a Grammy nomination.
13:37According to Songfacts, I Can Dream About You was initially written for the film Streets
13:41of Fire.
13:42It was sung by a fictional group, The Sorrels, and the vocals were provided by Winston Ford.
13:47It is Hartman's voice on the soundtrack, and the single released that same year.
13:51Hartman was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1950.
13:55According to danhartman.com, he began playing piano at age seven, and by 13 was writing
13:59songs for his brother's band, The Legends.
14:02Dan worked with the Edgar Winter Group in the 70s, until he broke out with his first
14:06solo album in 1976.
14:09While his music did well in the UK, it was not until I Can Dream About You that he reached
14:13the U.S. charts.
14:14Though he continued to write and produce, nothing else he released had the same success.
14:19According to MetroSource, those close to him believed he contracted HIV sometime in the
14:24late 1980s.
14:25He kept his status a secret, although he died in 1994 from a brain tumor considered
14:30related to his AIDS diagnosis.
14:33Shannon Hoon was the long-haired, 20-something lead singer for the band Blind Melon.
14:37The group's hit song, No Rain, invaded the public's consciousness in 1993.
14:42Released in MTV's Glory Days, lots of people remember it from watching the video.
14:47It featured a young girl tap dancing in a bee costume on stage and then wandering around
14:51Los Angeles looking for applause until she finds a field full of bee people just like
14:56her.
14:57Hoon was born in Lafayette, Indiana, the same hometown as Axl Rose, in 1967.
15:02The Blind Melon frontman sang backing vocals on several Guns N' Roses tracks, and also
15:07shared lead vocals with Rose on the song Don't Cry.
15:10He invited me to come down to the studio just to see what it was like to watch an album
15:15be recorded.
15:16At the same time, Hoon was working with Blind Melon, which formed in 1990.
15:21In 1995, Hoon was found dead from a cocaine overdose on his tour bus in New Orleans.
15:26His daughter, Nico Blue, had been born only three months prior.
15:31Blind Melon had just released its second album, Soup, and Hoon had just turned 28, a month
15:36before.
15:38Rob Pilatus was one half of the infamous duo Milli Vanilli, along with Fab Morvan.
15:43The act rose to fame with the hit song Girl You Know It's True in 1989.
15:48That same year, while performing a concert in Connecticut, the song that they were mouthing
15:52along to skipped.
15:54Pilatus told Biography,
15:55"...I knew right then and there it was the beginning of the end for Milli Vanilli."
16:00It took the rest of the world a bit longer, but a year later it became widely known that
16:04Milli Vanilli was lip-syncing and not the true artist behind the hit.
16:08Girl You Know It's True was not even a new song.
16:11It was first released by the band Numarks.
16:13Music producer Frank Farian reportedly heard the track and knew he could make it better.
16:18He remixed the song with new vocals and hired Pilatus and Morvan to be the frontmen.
16:22When the news that the performers were not the same artists who recorded their album
16:25broke, Pilatus and Morvan were stripped of their Grammys and ostracized.
16:30Though the two tried to make a comeback on an album of their own, they were never able
16:34to reach the level of success made with Milli Vanilli.
16:37"...Money is not that important.
16:38For me, it really is important just to find my happiness, my inner peace.
16:43And I can't do this with money."
16:45Pilatus died in 1998 of a suspected drug overdose.
16:49He was just 33 years old.
16:52Stewart Adamson was the lead singer of the band Big Country, best known for their hit
16:56song, In a Big Country.
16:58The song made it to the U.S. Billboard charts in 1983.
17:02According to Song Facts, Adamson said of the song,
17:05"...the lyrical idea was about having hope, a sense of self in times of trouble."
17:09Big Country was nominated for two Grammys, for Best New Artist and for Best Rock Performance
17:14by a Duo or Group for their song, In a Big Country.
17:18Born in 1958 in Manchester, England, but raised in Dunfermline, Scotland, Adamson began singing
17:24in the punk band The Skids in his teens.
17:27He formed Big Country in the 1980s, and according to The Guardian, the band once competed with
17:32U2 as contenders for the Celtic Rock crown.
17:36Big Country continued to make records and perform until 2000, when Adamson decided to
17:41leave the group.
17:42They never had another hit in the U.S.
17:44Adamson moved to Nashville to start an alternative country band called The Raffaels.
17:49In 2001, it was reported that Adamson had taken his own life in Honolulu, Hawaii.
17:54He was 43 years old.
17:56If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
18:01Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255.