Who doesn’t love a rockin’ 1990s alternative track? That decade was absolutely packed with them, and some of those bands only had one hit to their names. Let’s take a look at a few one-hit alternative wonders from the 1990s that you may have forgotten about!
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1. “Out Of My Head” by Fastball
We’ll be real here: Fastball is technically a two-hit wonder. Their song “The Way” also did very well on the US charts… but it technically did not make it to the Hot 100. And man, do we love “Out Of My Head”. This alternative rock song was released in 1999 and was a major contemporary radio hit within a few months.
Fastball never quite had a hit as huge as this tune or “The Way”, unfortunately. Though, “Fire Escape” did manage to make it pretty far. “Out Of My Head” hit no. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and they only had one additional high-charting hit: “Fire Escape” from 1998 hit no. 86 on the Hot 100. Fortunately, Fastball is still together and even released an album in 2024.
2. “One Of Us” by Joan Osborne
This wouldn’t be a list of one-hit wonders in the 1990s alternative scene without mentioning the alt-pop track “One Of Us” by Joan Osborne. This 1995 hit was Osborne’s debut single and peaked at no. 4 on the Hot 100. It was also nominated for quite a few Grammy awards that year as well. Remember Joan Of Arcadia? “One Of Us” was the theme song!
3. “Everything Falls Apart” by Dog’s Eye View
“Everything Falls Apart” by Dog’s Eye View was released in 1996 with pretty substantial acclaim. It made it to no. 66 on the Hot 100, but also had a ton of success in Canada and New Zealand. The song was serious radio fodder for months and an MTV and VH1 classic.
Sadly, Dog’s Eye View disbanded a few years later in 2000 and Peter Stuart went on to work on his solo career instead. However, the band did briefly return to release Tomorrow Always Comes in 2005.
4. “Counting Blue Cars” by Dishwalla
“Counting Blue Cars (Tell Me Your Thoughts On God)” is a classic alt-rock track from Dishwalla, released in 1996. It was the band’s only hit and peaked at no. 15 on the Hot 100 chart. It even won awards for being the most-played song on the radio for two years in a row in 1997 and 1998.
Dishwalla broke up in 2005 but got back together in 2008, and they’re still making music today.
5. “Cumbersome” by Seven Mary Three
Who doesn’t love a little post-grunge goodness? “Cumbersome” by Seven Mary Three was released in 1996 and became a pretty big hit for an independently released song. “Cumbersome” reached no. 39 on the Hot 100 and charted even higher on the Moden Rock charts. Today, it’s still Seven Mary Three’s most well-known song.
Photo by Barry King/WireImage
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