Not every one-hit wonder was the original recording artist of the song for which they became the most famous, as proven by these four one-hit wonders from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s. Impressively, these singular hits managed to outshine the original versions in performance, production, or a mix of the two.
While we certainly intend no disrespect to artists like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Leadbelly, there is something undeniably fresh about the way these one-hit wonders reimagined their compositions.
“Lotta Love” by Nicolette Larson
Depending on who you ask, the origin story of how Nicolette Larson got to cover Neil Young’s 1978 track, “Lotta Love”, varies. According to Linda Ronstadt, she was the one who suggested Larson cover the track. According to Larson, she first heard the song after playing a cassette tape she found lying on the floorboards of Young’s car. When she told Young what a good song she thought it was, the Canadian singer-songwriter reportedly replied, “You want it? It’s yours.”
Young didn’t release the song as a single on his ninth album, Comes a Time. But it was the main single from Larson’s eponymous album, Nicolette. Her version peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix
Calling Jimi Hendrix a one-hit wonder might seem sacrilege now, as he exists among the greatest musicians in rock ‘n’ roll history. But in the 1960s, his chart performance didn’t necessarily reflect that. In fact, his only Top 40 hit to date was a cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”, which effectively earns Hendrix a spot on our list.
Hendrix’s cover of Dylan’s song is a rocking testament to the importance of making a cover song your own, no matter how much you might respect the original. On a rare occasion—this one included—the original artist might even start using the cover version as a template for future performances.
“The Girl from Ipanema” by Astrud Gilberto
Pery Ribeiro was the first recording artist to release a version of the mellow bossa nova standard, “The Girl from Ipanema”, which Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes penned in the early 1960s. But the most ubiquitous version of this track is by Stan Getz, internationally renowned jazz saxophonist, and Astrud Gilberto, a Brazilian singer making her first major record label debut.
Something about the way Gilberto delivers the lines about a “tall and tan and young and lovely” walking to the beach and ignoring the admiring stares of onlookers makes the song more melancholic. A one-hit wonder for Gilberto, this cover version of Jobim and Moraes’ song forces the listener to question how a girl so lovely could also seem so wayward and forlorn.
“Black Betty” by Ram Jam
Like Jimi Hendrix’s one-hit wonder cover version of “All Along the Watchtower”, the Ram Jam version of “Black Betty” is virtually unrecognizable compared to the original song by Lead Belly. Musicologists John and Alan Lomax documented a cappella versions of this traditional folk song dating back as early as 1933. Ram Jam’s hard rock version would come four decades later in 1977.
Ram Jam disbanded shortly after releasing their cover version of “Black Betty”, leaving us to wonder what other songs they might have put out to rid themselves of their one-hit wonder distinction. Nevertheless, the one major hit they do have remains a beloved track to this day, often overshadowing the fact that a previous version even exists.
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