In discussions of 1 hit wonders, people usually give a period of time before calling someone a One hit wonder, like if the hit was 5 years ago there might be a chance they'll get a 2nd hit. I'm wondering what the longest gap between an artists 1st hit song and their 2nd is. Hit is a vague term of course, so any criteria that you find interesting will do

I don't think anyone was expecting James Arthur to get another #1 single in 2016, nearly 4 years after his last (the X Factor winners single). Never mind achieving a #1 album this year, over 7 years after his last.

Edited February 19, 20241 yr by Hassaan

Boris Gardiner had sixteen years between his first hit, 'Elizabethan Reggae' (number 14 in 1970), and his second, 'I Want To Wake Up With You' (number 1 in 1986).

 

That was the first one that springs to mind. I'll try to think of any others with a longer gap.

I think it would have felt safe to assume Daddy Yankee would be a one hit wonder right up until he suddenly got a second hit wayyyy bigger than his first nearly 12 years later.

How exactly are we defining 'hit' though?

Train took 9 years to follow up Drops From Jupiter with a second Top 40 hit!

 

(Then followed with another unlikely hit, 2 years later... And then another 5 years later!)

How about Prince Buster

 

Feb 67 - Al Capone - number 18

Apr 98 - Whine and Grine - number 21

 

31 year gap between first 2 hits.

 

Whine and Grine became a hit due to being featured in a Levi jeans ad.

 

 

Another long gap - the actor Mike Reid

 

Mar 1975 - The Ugly Duckling - number 10

Apr 1999 - The More I See You - number 46 - duet with Eastenders co-star Barbara Windsor

 

24 years

Depends how you define “hit”

 

Judy Garland only has 2 OCC chart entries and they’re 40 years apart - an #18 hit in 1955 and a #100 “hit” in 1995

Nick Berry was thought of as a one hit wonder with 'Every Loser Wins' getting to no.1 in October 1986 but came back with a no.2 'Heartbeat' in June 1992.

 

Although there were a few minor hits in between including a Zero 7 collaboration which made the top 40, Sia had to wait a decade from 'Taken for Granted' making no. 10 in May 2000 to a proper hit later 'Titanium' which entered the top 20 in August 2011 but took a few months to be a mega smash.

 

Oh and Johnny Logan's two Eurovision wins were 7 years apart- 'What's Another Year' a no.1 in 1980 and 'Hold Me Now' which made no.2 in 1987.

 

13 year gap for the Hoff, If I Could Only Say Goodbye in 1993 and then Jump In My Car in 2006

Train took 9 years to follow up Drops From Jupiter with a second Top 40 hit!

 

(Then followed with another unlikely hit, 2 years later... And then another 5 years later!)

 

I guess this means Train are about due another surprise hit :lol:

Disturbed had a 14 year wait between their 2 top 40 hits.

Burl Ives had 60 years between his 2nd and 3rd hits

On a similar note, Chris Rea had a 32 year gap between his two Top 10 hits

I'd generally say that a 2nd hit should be new material, and the first should be a number one for the usually-accepted meaning of the term, and Sugar Sugar by The Archies is about the biggest, still - though even then the singer Ron Dante had a hit with Tracy as The Cuff Links while it was still charting. So not really a one-hit wonder, really, everyone knew it was him and it sounded like The Archies.

 

England World Cup Squad had a 12-year wait - by which time I don't think any of the original "singers" were in the team (but I stand to be corrected), but hey Sugababes, Drifters and all that...

 

for non-chart-toppers, Natalie Cole had a 12-year wait and then loads. Etta James had a 14-year wait, both of them with early 60's tracks, so that may be the longest wait for an act with 2 tracks that were over 40 years old.

Sia had an 11 year wait between top 10s (Taken for Granted in 2000 and Titanium in 2011). If you went by purely solo songs Chandelier wasn’t until 2014

Burl Ives had 60 years between his 2nd and 3rd hits

Depending on the definition, I think we have our winner right here!

Loreen waited 11 years between 'Euphoria' (#3 in 2012) and 'Tattoo' (#2 in 2023) - a similar case to the aforementioned Johnny Logan but with a wider gap

I'd generally say that a 2nd hit should be new material, and the first should be a number one for the usually-accepted meaning of the term

Debate time!

 

Very much disagree with this statement! By this argument, a long-running #2 hit (that's actually far more remembered over the multitude of non-number 1's that got in the way of it) with no follow up hit wouldn't meet the criteria. I would say people generally assume that the OHW was a #1, but that's because they don't follow the charts... Also, if a song suddenly surfaces (for whatever reason [featured in a film/tiktok/whatever]), it doesn't really matter that it's an oldie, just that people are discovering it and it's now charting!

 

I mentioned Train because they had a big hit and had to wait a long time for their next big hit! (They did have a minor Top 75 hit following DOJ, but at the time, you wouldn't generally consider that a hit single!)