10 Greatest One Hit Wonders Of The 1980s

It seems that the entire world right now has some kind of strange fixation with '80s nostalgia. Given the dismal outlook that a lot of pop music is taking on these days, it's no surprise that people are looking for a return to the bright neon colored fashions of old to cheer them up. Then again, not every band from that era was meant to last forever.

For every Def Leppard or Michael Jackson that climbed up the charts back in the day, there were just as many names that were gone as soon as they got past their first hit. Although you can chalk it up to bad business decisions and whatnot, there's usually a reason why you don't hear these acts outside of their one big hit. Every now and again though, there are those few acts that never should have been left in the dust, with one song becoming their only flirtation with the mainstream.

Hell, on the rarest of occasion, these songs align with the zeitgeist so much that many people can't even tell you the band's name aside from the few bars of the song. So let's take a look at these legendary cuts from back in the day and see what was going on under the hood.

Towards the end of the '80s, there's a virtual dead zone as to what was even popular anymore. Even though the likes of hair metal and synthpop were still flooding the airwaves, there weren't too many people that were concerned with what was going to be coming down the pipeline next. While Nirvana might have answered that question in the next few years, we could have easily had the La's as our introduction to the alternative revolution instead.

Then again, it's hard to even consider a song like There She Goes being anything but bubblegum pop at the outset, with a guitar line and vocal hook that feels like it was ripped straight out of the golden age of the '60s. Aside from lyrics about being attached to heroin, this is pretty much a perfect pop song, with Lee Mavers pouring on the charm with every single word.

Hell, the song even had a renaissance with a cover by Sixpence None the Richer...but not the staying power to keep the La's afloat. After their self-titled record went under the radar, Mavers disbanded the project and became somewhat of a recluse in the music industry. For as much as he remains a mystery to the music world these days, he at least gave us this one beautiful song to go out on.