One Hit Thunder

On March 15th, 1985, the world was introduced to Mr. Belvedere, a sitcom on ABC about an accomplished British housekeeper who shows up at the door of a Pittsburgh family. What followed was six seasons of heartwarming hilarity, anchored by Broadway veteran Christopher Hewett’s portrayal of Lynn Aloysius Belvedere. In this episode, Matt and Chris dive into the pilot episode of the show, exploring everything from the show’s unforgettable theme song to its sometimes questionable jokes.

Oh SNAP! This week, we’re joined by Five Iron Frenzy vocalist Reese Roper to explore the life and times of Biz Markie, otherwise known as the Clown Prince of Hip Hop. The unforgettable chorus of “Just a Friend,” which was an interpolation of a 1968 Freddie Scott song, became instantly iconic, and Biz’s less-than-perfect performance gave the song endless charm and personality. Whether Biz was inevitably bound for one hit wonderdom is up for debate, but a landmark court case against a sample on his next album may have been what cemented it. Regardless, he had a long and interesting career, all the way up to his untimely passing in 2021. Is there more in Biz Markie’s catalog worth diving into if you only know the hit? This week, we’ll see if he really IS a hundred proof.

We recently did a listener-sourced Thundred countdown of the 100 greatest one hit wonders of all time, which was a balanced mix of the expected and the surprising. One of the most shocking songs to make the list was Scritti Politti’s “Perfect Way”, mostly because NEITHER guy who hosts a 300+ episode podcast ABOUT one hit wonders even KNEW the song! It landed at #70 on the list, putting it above names you’d expect to see, such as Joan Osborne, Harvey Danger, Sir Mix-A-Lot, and Tom Cochrane. So how did this synth-pop gem manage to avoid our ears for all these years, while simultaneously making such an impact on at least SOME of our listeners? This week, we explore the eclectic career of Scritti Politti to find out what we’ve been missing.

In the summer of 1982, the punky, upbeat sound of Bow Wow Wow’s cover of “I Want Candy” served as a perfect compliment to both the warm weather and the music revolution that was MTV. The band was fronted by the very young Annabella Lwin, whose energy, style, and mohawk made her as memorable as the song itself. It was the controversial vision of fashion designer, manager, lyricist, and provocateur Malcolm McLaren that helped propel the band to stardom, but once they achieved success, he grew bored and moved on. The band’s demise soon followed, leaving a legacy of quirky music and questionable choices to discuss. This week, we’re joined by accomplished podcaster Alex Goldman to do just that, and decide if we can separate the art from the child exploitation.

Now that the entire one hit wonder Thundred list is out there, Chris and Matt discuss the songs that got SNUBBED from the list! They even let everyone know what landed at #101 through #110 on the list.