20:42Oldies Music · 1976 · One-Hit WondersOne-Hit Wonders of 1988 and Their Tragic Fates
Episode: 12 One-Hit Wonders of 1988 And the Tragic Fate That Followed Their Fame
From Sora Music Rewind · 21 min ·This episode plays on YouTube — the button opens it in a new tab.
Who Were the One-Hit Wonders of 1988?
The one-hit wonders of 1988 came from shopping malls, movie soundtracks, go-go clubs and small studios, and for a few months their songs seemed to be on every radio. This episode looks at twelve of them and at what happened once the spotlight moved on.
The label is not always a perfect fit. Some of these acts actually had more than one hit, and we note that where the chart records say so. Every chart position and life detail below was checked against reliable sources, and stories that could not be confirmed were left out.
What Happened After the Hits: The Countdown
#12: I Think We're Alone Now — Tiffany (1987)
Producer and manager George Tobin sent a teenage Tiffany on a 1987 tour of shopping malls, starting at the Bergen Mall in Paramus, New Jersey. Her cover of the Tommy James and the Shondells song went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that November, when she was 16.
Strictly speaking, she was no one-hit wonder. "Could've Been" also reached No. 1 in early 1988. That year brought a painful legal fight over control of her career and earnings, and her 1990 album did not chart. Tiffany kept making music, later moving to Nashville to focus on songwriting.
#11: Toy Soldiers — Martika (1989)
Martika wrote "Toy Soldiers" about a friend who was struggling with addiction. The single spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in mid-1989.
For her second album, Martika's Kitchen (1991), she worked with Prince, who helped write and produce part of it. "Love... Thy Will Be Done" became her second U.S. Top 10 hit, though the album itself sold modestly in America. She stepped away from the music business in 1992, citing burnout, and in 2004 Eminem built his song "Like Toy Soldiers" around her chorus.
#10: Shattered Dreams — Johnny Hates Jazz (1988)
First released in Britain in 1987, "Shattered Dreams" reached No. 5 there and then climbed all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988.
Singer Clark Datchler left the band in late 1988, at the height of its popularity, citing creative differences. Phil Thornalley took over vocals, but the band never matched that early success. Datchler, Calvin Hayes and Mike Nocito reunited in 2009, and the band released new albums in 2013 and 2020.
#9: She's Like the Wind — Patrick Swayze featuring Wendy Fraser (1987)
Patrick Swayze co-wrote this ballad with Stacy Widelitz in 1984 for the film Grandview, U.S.A., but it was not used. During work on Dirty Dancing, Swayze played the demo for the filmmakers, and it landed on the soundtrack.
The song peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 in early 1988 and reached No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart. Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008 and kept working during treatment. He died in September 2009 at age 57.
#8: What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy) — Information Society (1988)
Information Society formed in 1982 at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. "What's on Your Mind" topped the dance chart, peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100, and was followed by a second Top 10 hit, "Walking Away."
Singer Kurt Harland recorded with the band through the 1990s and later built a long career in video game audio. He composed music for Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and its sequel, and the band later reunited.
#7: My Girl — Suave (1988)
Suave, whose real name is Waymond Anderson, recorded a smooth cover of the Temptations classic. It reached No. 3 on the R&B chart and No. 20 on the Hot 100.
His second album, in 1991, did not chart, and his label dropped him. In 1997 he was convicted of murder in connection with a fatal 1993 fire in Los Angeles and sentenced to life in prison. He has since challenged the verdict, so far without success.
#6: Da Butt — E.U. (1988)
E.U., short for Experience Unlimited, was a veteran go-go band from Washington, D.C. Spike Lee used their recording of "Da Butt," written by Marcus Miller and Mark Stevens, in his 1988 film School Daze, and he directed the music video too.
It reached No. 1 on Billboard's R&B chart in April 1988 and No. 35 on the Hot 100, bringing go-go to a national audience. Decades later, the song had a cheerful encore when actress Glenn Close danced to it during the 2021 Academy Awards.
#5: Love Changes (Everything) — Climie Fisher (1988)
Singer Simon Climie and keyboardist Rob Fisher first released this song in 1987 with little success. A remix in 1988 took it to No. 2 in Britain and No. 23 in America.
Fisher already knew success. He had been half of Naked Eyes, the duo behind the 1983 hit "Always Something There to Remind Me." Climie Fisher split around 1990, and Climie went on to work closely with Eric Clapton. Rob Fisher died in August 1999, after cancer surgery, at age 42.
#4: Strange But True — Times Two (1988)
Times Two was a duo of Shanti Jones and Johnny Dollar from Point Reyes, California. "Strange But True" reached No. 21 on the Hot 100.
The follow-up, a cover of "Cecilia," stalled at No. 79 in the U.S., though it spent three weeks at No. 1 in New Zealand. A second album was shelved amid management problems, and the duo broke up around 1990. Both kept making music in other projects.
#3: When We Kiss — Bardeux (1988)
Bardeux was a dance-pop act built around singer Acacia Smith and producer Jon St. James. "When We Kiss" reached No. 36 on the Hot 100, the group's biggest hit.
The story did not end there. A second album, Shangri-La, followed in 1989, and "I Love to Bass" became a Top 5 club hit. The lineup changed several times over the years.
#2: Supersonic — J.J. Fad (1988)
J.J. Fad, from Rialto, California, were among the first acts signed to Eazy-E's Ruthless Records. "Supersonic" reached No. 30 on the Hot 100 and was certified gold.
In 1989 it was nominated for the first-ever Grammy for Best Rap Performance, alongside Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It," making them pioneers for women in rap. Their second album, released around 1990, made little impact, and the group disbanded soon after. The trio later reunited and still performs.
#1: I Want to Be Your Man — Roger (1987)
Roger Troutman of Ohio was the funk innovator behind Zapp, famous for singing through a talk box. He had hits long before this one, including a No. 1 R&B version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" in 1981.
"I Want to Be Your Man" reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100. In 1995 his talk box was heard again on 2Pac and Dr. Dre's "California Love," which topped the Hot 100.
Roger Troutman died on April 25, 1999, at age 47, after being shot outside his recording studio in Dayton, Ohio. Police believed his brother Larry, who died the same morning, was responsible.
Why These Songs Still Stay With Us
Look closely, and these twelve stories are more varied than the label suggests. Some artists had several hits, some left on their own terms, and some found quieter success in production, film, games or local scenes.
A few lives ended far too early, and those are remembered here with respect. What lasts is the music itself, still turning up on oldies radio, in movies and at family parties.
Which of these 1988 songs brings back a certain summer, a school dance or a long drive for you?
Sources and Further Reading
Topics in This Story
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