10 Musicians We All Love That Are Technically One Hit Wonders

A lot of people seem to have a different definition of what counts as a "one hit wonder," but the commonly accepted definition is "a band that only ever had one song make it big on the Top 40 charts."

While that's pretty accurate to most cases, by that definition there are actually some pretty massive artists who are technically one hit wonders! In particular, these 10 are pretty shocking.

Jimi Hendrix

Arguably the most iconic rock musician of the 1960s, Hendrix redefined rock guitar thanks to some of his amazing songs like "Purple Haze" and "Voodoo Child." He's one of the most influential and beloved musicians of all time, but you wouldn't know by looking at the charts: his only song to break the Top 40 was "All Along The Watchtower" in 1968.

Weezer

The band that every guy with an acoustic guitar in my university dorm unanimously loved, Weezer has put out some beloved albums over the years, most notably Pinkerton and The Blue Album. However, their only real hit remains "Beverly Hills" from 2005.

Garth Brooks

Yup, you read that right. The country artist with just about more universal appeal and crossover success than any other has actually only ever had one hit: "Lost In You" hit #5 on the Billboard charts in 1999. No wonder he decided to become Chris Gaines for a while, it was the only way he could chart.

Blink-182

These lovable doofuses were absolutely everywhere in the late 90s and early 2000s, and I don't think a single day went by after Enema of the State came out that I didn't see at least one of their videos on MTV. You would think they'd be dominating the charts, but their only real "hit" throughout their career was "All The Small Things," which hit #6 in 2000.

Surprised yet? Wait 'til you see the rest of these "one hit wonders."

Rush

A band with a career that spans decades and has inspired dozens of other progressive rock acts, Rush is pretty much every music dork's favorite band (guilty as charged right here). However, turns out music dorks don't really buy singles, and despite their immense success, the band's only hit remains 1982's "New World Man."

Lou Reed

Between his work with The Velvet Underground and his solo career, Reed is one of the poet laureates of spoken word music, and even making a mediocre album with Metallica hasn't been able to dull his success or popularity. It's surprising then that the man only ever had one real "hit" with "Walk On The Wilde Side" in 1972.

Public Enemy

They were a pioneering duo in rap music, which was pretty much still in its infancy at the time. However, they seemed to have it right when they titled an album It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, because while they were inspiring musicians, their only song to chart was "Give It Up."

Twisted Sister

This might be a bit less surprising than some of the others here. Don't get me wrong, Twisted Sister is an awesome band, but are we actually shocked that their only charting hit was "We're Not Gonna Take It?"

Bob Marley

The godfather of reggae remains by far the genre's most popular and influential artist, so much so that even his kids have taken up his legacy and kept things going. Which of course means that mainstream radio didn't want to touch him at the time, and his only song to chart was "Could You Be Loved."

Amy Winehouse

In kind of a chilling moment, the late-singer's only charting hit was her 2007 hit "Rehab," which spoke to her own substance abuse problems that would ultimately take her life.

Which of these bands are you surprised to find out were "one hit wonders?"