20 of the Greatest ‘One-Hit Wonders’ of All Time
Power-pop group Tommy Tutone perfected the art of putting their exes on blast back in 1981, topping the charts with their hit, “867-5309/Jenny.” The song’s leading lady and her iconic phone number may not have been real — “There was no Jenny,” co-writer Alex Call admitted in 2004 — but the impact of the song was very tangible for folks unlucky enough to be reachable at “867-5309” throughout the early ‘80s.
“Tommy Tutone was the one who had the record,” recalled Alabama homeowner Lorene Burns, who said she and her husband received phone calls at “two or three in the morning” during the height of the song’s popularity. “I’d like to get hold of his neck and choke him.”
Tommy Tutone, however, never had another chart-topper, going down in history as a sort of one-hit wonder (the group had previously made it onto the Top 40 with 1980’s “Angel Say No”). In fairness, though, they’re hardly the only musicians to hit it big once, and then never hit again. From “Steal My Sunshine” to “What’s Up,” here are 20 of the greatest one-hit wonders of all time…
