Greatest One-Hit Wonders: 1995

In 1995, terrorists detonated a bomb at a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of murder, ending the most watched criminal trial in history. The Million Man March political demonstration drew thousands of Black men to Washington D.C. Microsoft launched its popular Windows 95 operating system, and Sony released the PlayStation gaming console in North America.

Forrest Gump won six Oscars, including Best Picture, at the 67th Academy Awards. The top-grossing films of 1995 were Batman Forever, Apollo 13, and Toy Story. The top five Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles were “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio, “Waterfalls” and “Creep” by TLC, “Kiss from a Rose” by Seal, and “On Bended Knee” by Boyz II Men.

More than 35 artists notched their one and only pop hit in 1995. To meet 360°Sound’s criteria for one-hit wonder status, an artist must have placed just one single in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. I’ve whittled down the list of ’95 one-hitters to six standouts. Hope you enjoy the following hip-hop, R&B, adult contemporary, and alternative rock songs that stormed up the charts 30 years ago!

Des’ree – “You Gotta Be”

Songwriters: Des’ree and Ashley Ingram
Genre: R&B
Billboard Hot 100: #5 on March 11

London-born singer-songwriter Des’ree grew up listening to vocal jazz greats like Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughn as well as classic R&B and Motown. Her jazz and soul influences are evident on the inspirational single “You Gotta Be,” which spent an astonishing 80 weeks on the Hot 100 in 1995. “You Gotta Be” had a sound that could be played on multiple radio formats, and as a kid in the mid-‘90s, I vividly remember this song being everywhere.

Des’ree has said that “You Gotta Be” was about “having the inner strength to figure out who you are.” The genesis of the track came from her thinking that every day you’ve got to be something. She said you have to be “cool and calm” in some situations, and “bold and strong” in others.

Dionne Farris – “I Know”

Songwriters: Milton Davis and William DuVall
Genre: Pop/rock
Hot 100: #4 on May 6

Dionne Farris enjoyed a career breakthrough when she sang the hook on “Tennessee,” a 1992 hit by hip-hop group Arrested Development. Three years later, “I Know,” the first single from Farris’s debut LP, Wild Seed – Wild Flower, topped the Billboard Top 40/Mainstream chart for 10 consecutive weeks and spent 29 weeks in the Top 40 of the Hot 100. The catchy, up-tempo track fuses rock and soul and contains a generous helping of slide guitar from Paul Barrere of Little Feat fame. The blues-meets-hip-hop vibe wouldn’t have felt out of place on Beck’s Odelay album.

The music video for “I Know” won Billboard’s Best Pop/Rock New Artist Clip of the Year, and the song received a Grammy nod for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Farris co-wrote “I Know” with William DuVall, who would later front Alice In Chains following the death of singer Layne Staley.

Martin Page – “In the House of Stone and Light”

Songwriter: Martin Page
Genre: Pop/rock
Hot 100: #14 on May 13

English singer-songwriter Martin Page scored a smash with the Sting soundalike “In the House of Stone and Light” from his self-titled debut album of the same name. Page said in a promotional video for the record that the song was inspired by looking for “the stillness in yourself.” The Band’s Robbie Robertson played guitar on “In the House of Stone and Light,” which topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and was its most successful entry of the year.

While Page is a one-hit wonder as a solo artist, he co-wrote many hits for other artists, including Starship’s “We Built This City” (#1 in 1985), Heart’s “These Dreams” (#1 in 1986), and Go West’s “King of Wishful Thinking” (#8 in 1990).

Skee-Lo – “I Wish”

Songwriter: Antoine Roundtree
Genre: Hip-hop
Hot 100: #13 on September 9

And I thought my Amazon Wish List was long. Rapper Skee-Lo wants it all on his debut single “I Wish” – a ’64 Impala, a girl who looks good, a rabbit in a hat. He even wishes he was a little bit taller. The funny, self-deprecating lyrics were a nice reprieve from the gangsta rap braggadocio that was so common in the ‘90s.

Skee-Lo received a sizable advance from Sunshine Records for “I Wish,” which he composed in his bedroom. However, the label took control of the publishing and pocketed all the profits. “I refused to shoot any more videos, promote, or record music,” Skee-Lo told LA Weekly. “I’m not their slave.” After a long legal fight, Skee-Lo eventually got his wish and regained control of the publishing. He has since encouraged other artists to own their own material.

Groove Theory – “Tell Me”

Songwriters: Bryce Wilson, Amel Larrieux, Darryl Brown, and Rick James
Genre: R&B
Hot 100: #5 on November 4

Groove Theory were an R&B duo consisting of singer-songwriter Amel Larrieux and producer Bryce Wilson, formerly a rapper in the pioneering hip-hop group Mantronix. Groove Theory’s romantic, laid-back single “Tell Me” from their self-titled debut LP is a bona fide classic of ‘90s R&B. “Tell Me” combines smooth retro soul with hip-hip production and features a sample of “All Night Long” by the Mary Jane Girls, who made our 1985 one-hit wonders list.

Groove Theory’s sonic stylings helped usher in the neo-soul movement, which would be further popularized by acts like D’Angelo, Maxwell, and Erykah Badu. Unfortunately, Groove Theory would be the only full-length album from the duo as Larrieux decided to pursue a solo career and Wilson took on TV and film acting roles in addition to production work.

Edwyn Collins – “A Girl Like You”

Songwriter: Edwyn Collins
Genre: Alternative rock
Hot 100: #32 on November 11

Back in the ‘80s, Edwyn Collins was the lead singer of the Scottish post-punk group Orange Juice (their funky UK hit “Rip it Up” is one of my favorite tunes from the era). Over a decade later, Collins pulled off a remarkable comeback with his solo LP, Gorgeous George. The album’s hit, “A Girl Like You,” is a ‘60s psych-rock pastiche with groovy fuzz guitar solos.

Collins croons in the second verse that this girl of his dreams has his hands bleeding and his knees raw, “cause now you got me crawling, crawling on the floor.” An absolute gem of a track with sharp songwriting and musicianship, it’s one-hit wonders like “A Girl Like You” that have kept me doing this series for the last five years.

Stay tuned to 360°Sound for the final installment of this year’s anniversary batch, the Greatest One-Hit Wonders of 2005!