The List

3 One-Hit Wonders From the 1990s You’d Never Skip on the Radio

Some songs stop you in your tracks. Whether it’s their lyrics, their music, the beat, or something indescribableโ€”some songs just grab you and don’t let go. And that’s just what we wanted to highlight below.

We wanted to explore three songs from back in the day that, for whatever reason, drew music fans in like honey does a bear. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 1990s you won’t ever change the radio dial for.

Videos by American Songwriter

“I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred from ‘Up’ (1992)

When it comes to a hit single, the chorus goes a long way. And when it comes to this song, the language was enough to stop anyone in their tracks. The chorus was so simple and yet so brash that there was no denying the track. You couldn’t pretend you didn’t hear it. You couldn’t let it out of your brain. Indeed, as soon as you hear Right Said Fred sing about being too sexy on the catwalk, you’re hooked completely.

“What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes from ‘Bigger, Better, Faster, More!’ (1992)

Have you ever noticed that some songs, for some reason, just last throughout the decades? Often there is no rhyme or reason to it other than they offer music fans a certain something. They speak to humanity itself, not just a generation. Well, that’s what “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes does. We predict that for the next 1,000 years, people will be singing this song in some shape or form. They will sample it, remix it, whatever. But it will be part of culture. Why? It’s bold, beautiful, and essential.

“Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve from ‘Urban Hymns’ (1997)

Violins. Sometimes when you really hear them, you realize just how beautiful they are. Perhaps that’s what the British-born band The Verve thought, too. Maybe that’s why they incorporated these particular strings into their hit tune, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”. But however they got there, the violins are magnetic. As soon as you hear them on the radio, you know you’re in for it. You have to sit and listen to the rest of the track and sing right along with the band. Your ears will thank you.

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