Which Would You Rather Be... One-Hit-Wonder, or Never-Was?

[Brooks]

One-Hit-Wonder, or Never-Was? hard to say.

seems it would be a leg up in all musical endevors that followed,

thus making a continued career in music easier.

on the other hand, i know a few folks in their 40's & 50's

who had some sucess. most of them have no insurance,

no savings, no house, no wife; basically living

like a 22 year old guy playing bars. it's a hard road.

i actually still enjoy playing bars because i don't do it every night.

but don't get me wrong, when i was younger if we ever had any success, i'd probably still be milking it.

[kizanski]

...i know a few folks in their 40's & 50's

who had some sucess. most of them have no insurance,

no savings, no house, no wife; basically living

like a 22 year old guy playing bars. it's a hard road...

Well, you could have all of that without the "One Hit." There's no way that having a hit song, even if it is the only one you'll ever have, puts you in a worse position than if you never had it.

It's a lot more than most people ever get.

Really, I'm still not even convinced this was a serious question to begin with.

[Jimbilly]

I played some guitar on a friends CD project almost 20 years ago, definitely not a hit on the whole thing (my guitar work didn't help much). I never got paid any money, but I did get to hear myself on a real commercial radio station one time, -I'm happy with that! That was more commercial success that I ever expected of myself anyway.

[hamerhead]

i know a few folks in their 40's & 50's

who had some sucess. most of them have no insurance,

no savings, no house, no wife; basically living

like a 22 year old guy playing bars.

One of my best friends was a founding member of the Buckinghams (you know - 'Kind of a Drag'). He got drafted just as they hit, and they took off without him. He had some cool momentos from back then (pictures and posters and such), but basically nothing else.

When they did a reunion tour a few years back, he went to see them and they had him up for a couple tunes. He tried to be cool and everything, you know - not to let on - but I knew he loved it.

After 30 years of playing in bars, he'd finally got to go back - albiet briefly - and be a part of what he'd missed.

[Brooks]

Well, you could have all of that without the "One Hit." There's no way that having a hit song, even if it is the only one you'll ever have, puts you in a worse position than if you never had it.

you missed my point, then.

most of us have played in bands, but never got much further than some local gigs.

thus, we started normal careers w/ decent incomes and the normal homelife associated with them.

however, some sucess in music often will cement ones mindset into putting "all the eggs in one basket", then years later they find themselves in middle age w/o superstardom or riches, or even middle class comfort.

[Mindseyes]

1 hit wonder babey, then i could be on all those shows on VH1

hell2thayeahhh

[Feynman]

One hit wonder for me. My thingie might fall off from using it constantly during my 15 minutes.

[Caddie]

go ahead, google it.......

A1 on the Jukebox, but Nowhere on the Charts

I'll take the One Hit Wonder, hash browns, coffee & some change for this jukebox here.

[Steve Haynie]

go ahead, google it.......

A1 on the Jukebox, but Nowhere on the Charts

I'll take the One Hit Wonder, hash browns, coffee & some change for this jukebox here.

A song by BR5-49

When I started out I thought that I'd make it double quick

I had that kinda confidence that I was picked to play

But if you could stand in my shoes you wouldn't feel so smart

'Cause I'm A-1 on the jukebox, nowhere on the charts

My Agent gives me spendin' cash, his pockets seem so deep

I'd live just like a millionaire if it were mine to keep

But money ain't a problem, no, though it may be a part

When you're A-1 on the jukebox, nowhere on the charts

A-1 on the jukebox, played in every bar

A-1 on the jukebox, a big rock older star

I know we're on the hit parade 'cause no one likes my art

And I'm A-1 on the jukebox, nowhere on the charts

A-1 on the jukebox, played in every bar

A-1 on the jukebox, a big rock older star

I've seen the fortune on the trays

They take my every cent

I see my name in black and white

But words don't pay the rent

I know that I could make a run if only I could start

But I'm A-1 on the jukebox, nowhere on the charts

Yes, I'm A-1 on the jukebox, nowhere

[HamerHokie]

Jim Rebhorn - Character Actor. Went to college with Annie's mom. Been in a bazillion movies (he was the snivelling "Yes man" to the president in Independance Day, he was the expert witness in My Cousin Vinny, etc)

He's number 2 on this list:

http://www.cracked.com/article_15074_20-be...s-all-time.html

[robbie]

Its all about physics. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Fame is way over-rated.

[Caddie]

DavidE, thanks for the background! Interesting.

I thought it was common knowledge that a songwriter gets the money for a hit. If you're in a band and not writing published songs, your income is from performances. Period. Well, if you sold a BUTTLOAD of records you'll get tiny royalties off sales but my statement about Tom Gray making bucks wasn't about, say the drummer from the Brains hitting the big time, but how if you WRITE a hit, it's a good thing.

If you only play in the band of a hit songwriter it might mean you get to play more gigs, thus getting more money.

So did Tom Petty pay big bucks to Stan Lynch & Benmont Tench (& others) over the years on a per gig basis despite having no writing credits? Or is there something like an employee contract. "Be a Heartbreaker for 5 years get paid $50k per year plus travel expenses."

[polara]

I dunno, Caddie. I've barely skimmed the pro ranks so a lot of what I know is second-hand and false... the pros here will correct me. In general, from my recent talks with record company and publishing people this is the traditional model...

The songwriter has a contract with the publishing company for a 50/50 split of royalties (collected by ASCAP or BMI who take a cut, too) and this'll include placement in TV shows or games or whatever.

As far as royalties off CD or download sales, the recoupable costs and up-front BS mean the record company keeps 100% until you hit about 500,000 units sold. In other words, never. Then you get a whopping 11% to split among the band organization.

The money to live off comes from performances unless you just sold a MASSIVE hit. Sometimes a management company will book all that and pay a flat salary to the musicians as employees. Friend of a friend makes $40,000 plus travel is covered, playing bass in a mid-level country band. Or you do the more common five-guys-in-a-van, making phone calls and collecting cash and hiding it from the IRS.

In the DIY/independent world, all this can change. If you have the balls and energy and connections and talent, you can set up a corporation, self-publish, self-promote, self-record and self-distribute. You run it like you were running a landscaping business or consultancy, and so you get a way higher percentage of the money and split it as you like. I know a couple of singer-songwriters doing this and making a modest living. Ani Defranco does it and makes a nice living but she is one of my heroes and has loads of talent and energy.

So yeah, in an old-school business model, the songwriter will do vastly better financially from a "hit" than his non-writing bandmates.

[phoenix]

Isn't one infinitely greater than zero? It would be better if you got nothing more than being able to watch people still digging your song or an occasional sincere "Play that funky music white boy!"

[kizanski]

Isn't one infinitely greater than zero? It would be better if you got nothing more than being able to watch people still digging your song or an occasional sincere "Play that funky music white boy!"

Exactly!

[Buzzy Fretts]

the underpinning of this question is the feeling that being unknown in the mass media = doing nothing of value. I've considered this over the years as it informs the other age old questions "where are they now?" and "what happened to...?" I think this says more about our culture than it does about a particular career in the peforming arts. someone who has a fruitful career in music and then moves on to other pastures may well be expanding their horizen and not simply accepting a consolation prize in life.