So I think we can take it as a given that ? and the Mysterians' "96 Tears" is the greatest one-hit wonder of all time. (I suppose you could make cases for "Take on Me" and "Jessie's Girl", but to my way of thinking, they're fabulous but not even in the same league as 96 Tears.)
I got to thinking that one objective piece of data that might prove my hypothesis is the number of times 96 tears is name-checked in other songs. Well, I can only think of three, but still, that's two more than I can come up with for any other song.
So here they are, in rough chronological order:
X, "Johny Hit and Run Paulene"-- "96 Tears through 24 hours."
The Cramps--"Human Fly"--"I got 96 Tears and 96 eyes."
The B-52's--"Deadbeat Club"--"As the jukebox plays real loud, 96 tears"
I can think of other examples, but, as I said, no other song that's mentioned more than once. I'm gonna say that name-checking your own song, a la "Glass Onion" or "Danny Says" doesn't count.
I'm not sure about songs that are essentially lists of song titles count either--like X's "True Love, Part 2" or The Lords of the New Church "Little Boys Play With Dolls"
So here's what I came up with for other examples, just off the top of my head:
Eddie Money, "Take Me Home Tonight"--"Just like Ronnie say, be my little baby." This is kind of a live-action sample, which I think is cool, and I know Eddie Money isn't cool, but I like this song. Then again, I have a soft spot for Eddie Money because Peter Robinson used to say I looked like him.
Too Much Joy "Song For a Girl Who Has One" --"did you ever drive at night blarin' Chemical Wire?"
Tom Petty "Runnin' Down a Dream"--"Me and Del were singin', little runaway."
So is there any other song that's mentioned more than once by other artists? And does this not prove definitively that 96 Tears is the best one-hit wonder ever? Might it, indeed, challege Summertime Blues in the category of best rock and roll song ever?
