10 R&B OneHit Wonders That Outsang Their Entire Genre (1980s)
10 MOST Famous R&B ONE-HIT WONDER Songs of the 1980s Ten R&B songs from the 1980s that you still remember word for word. But here's what most people don't know — for the artists who made them, these were their only massive hits. One song. One moment at the top. And then the industry moved on. This is the story of the 1980s R&B one-hit wonders who gave us some of the most unforgettable music of the decade. The S.O.S. Band's "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" almost didn't exist because the band hated it. Shannon's "Let the Music Play" invented an entire genre called freestyle, but she never got another major hit. Rockwell was Berry Gordy's son with Michael Jackson singing the chorus on "Somebody's Watching Me," yet he still couldn't get a second chance. Gregory Abbott wrote, produced, and performed "Shake You Down" all by himself, took it to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and then watched the momentum disappear. From Rebbie Jackson's "Centipede" to Dazz Band's Grammy-winning "Let It Whip," from Oran "Juice" Jones' legendary spoken-word outro on "The Rain" to Colonel Abrams' "Trapped" — the proto-house anthem that influenced an entire generation but left him dying homeless in 2016 — these are the untold stories behind the songs that defined 80s R&B music. Some of these artists made peace with having one perfect moment frozen in time. Some kept trying for decades. Some disappeared completely. But every single one of these songs is still here, still played at cookouts and reunions, still locked in your memory. And the stories behind them will change the way you hear the music forever. If you grew up listening to 80s soul music, classic R&B, or quiet storm radio, you already know these songs. Now it's time to know the truth about the one-hit wonder artists who made them.
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