There are countless bands and soloists who, despite ups and downs, manage to build a solid career on the basis of a very well-crafted discography. And all of this, in turn, is essentially consolidated by a series of songs that, through their endurance in time and space, become what we know as hits or classics.
On the other side of this story, there are now also those who, due to various circumstances and situations, unfortunately, despite their efforts, care and dedication, do not achieve the goals or interest they originally set and end up being forgotten.
Between the two extremes, however, an intermediate category or stage arises in which the so-called One-hit wonder. This refers to certain groups and solo artists who, after the overwhelming impact produced by a particular song (usually early in their career), never manage to surpass it or at least match it with another new composition, often leading to fleeting developments or abrupt and surprising separations.
These are songs that have appeared at the right time and in the right place since they became known and which, for a specific reason (the content of their lyrics, the melody, the guitar riff or a catchy and irresistible chorus) continue to evoke in the collective unconscious a feeling, a reaction or a unique, positive, inexplicable and perhaps nostalgic feeling that continues to the present and is revived every time they are heard.
Of course, we are dealing with an international phenomenon that knows no borders or barriers and from which Argentina is not exempt. For this reason, and without any conclusive, absolute or definitive claims, we share here a list (incomplete and arbitrary, by the way) of 9 One-hit wonder from local rock.
As part of in the jungleThe group’s second studio album, released in 1981, this song quickly became a huge success thanks to its constant radio airplay. However, the project was led by Miguel Cantilo After several years in exile in Spain, he gave up very quickly.
His attempt to reconcile Argentine rock with what is happening in the rest of the world new wave Not only was it generally rejected and misunderstood, but (with a few exceptions) it did not arouse the slightest interest among an audience more familiar and familiar at the time with folk, symphonic rock, jazz-rock and with more sophisticated proposals such as Serú Girán and Spinetta Jade.
Shortly afterwards, Cantilo encountered such a situation again Jorge Durietz to breathe new life into the duo Peter and Paulwhile Punch eventually disbanded. However, “The People of the Future” remained his trademark and its resonance continues to this day.
An ephemeral but powerful group that cultivates the purest rock and roll, southern rock and blues and celebrated its quarter of an hour with “To Touch Rock & Roll”, a major hit from the early eighties.
With the experienced guitarist Gabriel “Rabbit” Jolivet in its ranks and the initial support of famous people like Charly García, Luis Alberto Spinetta and David Lebón, The quintet recorded two albums, Sweet 16 (1981) and In the middle of the city (1983), but decided to separate after internal problems.
Pioneers of the so-called “Fun Rock” (a music scene that was founded shortly afterwards The twists as maximum exponent), The helicopters They shook up the local scene with their style of light, danceable and relaxed pop-rock.
With singer and guitarist Uki Goñi in front and wearing an elegant new wave look of jackets and skinny ties, the quartet achieved their greatest success with “Radio Venus”, a very catchy, effective song with absolutely insane lyrics that revolved around a supposed alien invasion. First broadcast excerpt from uplifting musicIn his debut film, released in 1982, the song in question was supported by a memorable and hilarious video clip with humorous accents.
After an initial phase between 1968 and 1977 under the name Orion’s Beethoven, the group resumed activity in 1981 and simply renamed itself Orion. A year later, the band, led by brothers Adrián and Ronan Bar, released their symphonic influences and turned to more direct rock fly hightheir third album. This work achieved a remarkable impact thanks to several songs, but above all due to the success of “Hasta que salle el sol”, a song with a very succinct chorus that became not only one of the most popular Argentine rock songs of the early eighties, but also the emblem of the fourth edition of the legendary festival. Baroque took place in November 1982 in the open air at the Obras Sanitarias club.
A year after the breakup with the famous Spanish group Tequila, which took place in 1983 and in which he worked as a guitarist, the Argentine singer-songwriter Ariel Red He began a solo career, which was soon interrupted when he founded Calamaro together with Andrés The Rodriguezes. However, it is worth highlighting from this brief solo period (which he later resumed in 1997) that “Debajo del Puente”, a song included on his first album of the same name and released in 1984, received a more than acceptable response.
The song, characterized by a dense and somewhat mysterious atmosphere, invited the listener to delve into the dark side, where things happen that one cannot even imagine and life has very little value. “Under the Bridge” allowed Red to become better known to Argentine audiences thanks to constant radio broadcasts and frequent television appearances. In 2013 he recorded a new version of the song, which appeared on the album The Bony OneHowever, it went unnoticed by the general public and had a significantly smaller impact than the original.
Under the production of Julio Moura (Virus), the quintet led by the singer Julius Brezhnev (later member of Vetamother) made his recording debut in 1985 cosmetics. The group cultivated styles such as new wave and pop rock and soon attracted general attention with a handful of very attractive songs and an eye-catching costume. However, it was “Hu na na”, a simple but effective pop ballad, that managed to catapult her into one of the main entertainers of the local pop scene in the mid-80s. A year after the release of their second album Image changes (1986), Cosmetics dissolved.
Pop duo consisting of Javier Calamaro And Hernan Reyna which he recorded in 1985 frappea single studio album with artistic production by the group itself along with Andres Calamaro. Although they managed to turn “En la cama,” a song that had all the makings of a hit, into a huge radio hit, the project did not thrive. Both musicians then tried their luck with another darkly oriented but very short-lived band called The cut. Immediately afterward, Reyna embarked on a solo career, while Javier Calamaro teamed up with Daniel “Gitano” Herrera to take over the reins of The pigs.
Although many know this song from the energetic version recorded by Catupecu Machu on his live album Die!!! (1998) The truth is that Anonymous Heroes has a history dating back to 1986. It was published this year Journey to the afterlifesecond studio album by metropolisin which he exuded an important maturity Contact cementtheir debut from 1985, which always retains the aura of fine and elegant pop.
Among the eight songs that comprised this album, “Heroes Anonymos” was undoubtedly the one that stood out and helped the band achieve a moment of great popularity. Consisting of Ulises Butron And Sebastian’s Isabellaand with an identification among the public that remains today due to the relevance of its message, it appears as a kind of homage or homage to the strength of many men and women and the constant struggle to find meaning and companionship in an often chaotic and lonely world.
While they began to draft ideas for their third album, Butrón was called to ZAS as guitarist by Miguel Mateos. Meanwhile, De Sebastián soon emigrated to the United States to take his first steps as a soloist, which put an end to the story of Metrópoli. A history that celebrated its 40th anniversary last October with an emotional reunion show at the ND Teatro and in which the memory of Ulises Butrón, who died in 2019, was also honored.
Sailing between the waters of the new wave and post-punk and relies on a somewhat dark aesthetic in the line of bands like La Sobrecarga and Fricción, dune He made his recording debut in 1987 with a self-titled album that included, among other things, the hit “Final Morocco”. Its wide radio distribution and the high rotation of its respective successful video clip made it one of the best songs of the year and enabled the group to open for Britain’s The Bolshoi at the Obras Stadium.
After releasing their second album Another scream (1989) the band broke up due to personal differences. At the beginning of the 1990s, three of its former members returned to the ring The bumblebees. In 2014 Duna returned to the stage with a new album: chiaroscuroand from that moment on it remains active.
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