3 One-Hit Wonders From the 1990s You Didn’t Know Were Written About Real People

The 1990s were all about getting rid of artifice. People wanted real stories with real people so that they could learn real lessons. People were tired of sellouts and of selling out. They didn’t want fabrication; they wanted honesty. That’s just what we wanted to highlight here. We wanted to explore three songs from the decade that got down to brass tacks. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 1990s you didn’t know were written about real people.

“Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” by Crash Test Dummies from ‘God Shuffled His Feet’ (1993)

While this song is comprised of several stories about several different kids, a few of them are actually autobiographical to the life of the Crash Test Dummies’ lead singer, Brad Roberts. He, like one of the verses highlights, was in a car crash as a kid. And he, as another verse highlights, has a birthmark on his back that caused him to endure ridicule as a kid. Roberts also knew a girl who spoke in tongues at church, and she inspired the song’s third voice. Well, it’s just as they say—write what you know!

“Joey” by Concrete Blonde from ‘Bloodletting’ (1990)

“Joey” by Concrete Blonde is one of those songs that was written in a matter of minutes. In fact, it was penned in a cab on the way to a photo shoot in Philly. Lyrically, the track is about a woman who is in love with a drunk. Johnette Napolitano, who wrote the track, said it was written about her relationship with Wall of Voodoo band member Marc Moreland. It was a tough song to finish, said Napolitano, who added in a 2013 interview, “I knew what I was going to say, it’s just a matter of like a cloud’s forming and then it rains.”

“The Freshmen” by The Verve Pipe from ‘Villains’ (1997)

While there are aspects of this song that are fictional, it is rooted in real life. Lead vocalist and songwriter Brian Vander Ark said it was inspired by a girl he was dating. She got pregnant, and the two had to have an abortion. From there, he went on to take some poetic license. But it’s that grain of truth—that difficult moment of real-life choice—that created this 1990s hit. Those who grew up in the decade surely remember this grief-stricken number and the heartstrings it pulled.

(Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)