One hit wonders are in every genre of music and often their one hit is impactful and got so much success that it rendered them impossible to live up to the hype of the commercialization. Jamaica’s hit makers who achieved success with one record throughout their entire careers found a formula that they just could not repeat. Having a single hit is not necessarily a bad thing, because in the music industry, a single hit can provide profits to an artist for a lifetime.
10. Jovi Rockwell
Like the other people on this list Jovi Rockwell had one important song in her career, “Boy You Gonna Need Me” with Mr. Vegas.
The song took the airwaves by storm and her sound was fresh with potential when she came out first in the 2000s. The video for the song was sexy as she fought with Vegas in her boy shorts. Jovi ddi stints as a writer in Atlanta but she was never able to repeat her mild success as a singer in reggae music.
9. Potential Kid
Potential Kid had a lot of possibilities when his song just came out. That was until his song “A Yahsuh Nice” started to get popular and people in the larger society brought the hammer down on him. He had one particular line in the song that drew outrage from the academic class and civilized people in general. In his short career he even scooped up an endorsement deal from LIME, now Flow but they quickly dropped from their promotions after the offensive lyrics were directed by the public.
In a release issued by the company’s then General Manager Gary Sinclair, the son of Coming To America actress Madge Sinclair, he stated that after analyzing the unedited version of the song, found that the lyrics were unacceptable.
The offending lyrics were: “Before me, yo, me turn a saviour Before me turn b***ym*n, me prefer turn a r*p*r”
Gary further stated at the time, “what we would want is for our artistes to express themselves freely but responsibly and we think civil society can play a big role in this regard, I do not support violence against women or homosexuals.”
Potential Kidd never recovered but his hit is still played in the dancehall at street parties. The song is owned by VP Records.
8. Jah Bouks
IN 2013 there was a need for more conscious music on the airwaves and Jah Bouks came through with the refresher “Angola”. Books has not been able to repeat his airwave success since then. He recently did an interview on The Fix where he says he is not offended when people call him a “one hit wonder.”
7. VC
Singer Valton ‘VC’ Craigie dropped one album “Jah Sent” which is more than some of the artists on this list and he had one song that was a street anthem in the early 2000s. “By His Deeds” is an instructional song assessment with biblical undertones.
6. Richie Loop
Richie Loop’s rise to fame was quick as was his descent. Under the management of Robert Livingston Loop did a number of songs but only found one hit “My Cup” written by Donald Anderson. The summer party anthem enjoyed success on the airwaves and was the theme song for a Smirnoff ad campaign.
Richie Loop said about his working with Robert Livingston, “In my daily musical walk, I am able to learn from one of the greatest manager/producer of all time and continue the legacy of Scikron Entertainment. My main focus is to work on improving my skills by incorporating new styles of beats (a fusion of dancehall, disco, rock and hip hop) and songs that people will enjoy.”
He eventually parted ways with Livingston and was unable to find another song at the level of My Cup.
5. Laza Morgan
One By One by Laza Morgan featuring Mavado is among the list of Jamaican songs with massive international potential that need got the marketing juice it deserves. Laza, a second generation Morgan heritage familiar member, never found another song at that level. Son of the reggae musician and artist Denroy Morgan, he started as a member of the Jamaican dancehall / hip hop trio formation LMS, alongside his siblings Noshayah Morgan and Miriam Morgan. As a solo singer he released One By One in 2012, and it played well in Jamaica, in every street dance and peaked at No. 34 in France.
4. Nanko
Lucky You By Nanko was his self assessment track riddled with sarcasm that somehow became a turntable hit in Jamaica.
“Lucky you, you’ve got a woman to go home to
I’ve got to find me myself a woman
What I wouldn’t do man
Lucky you, you’ve got some kids to attend to
I’ve got to find me myself a woman
What I wouldn’t do now”
It is not known if Nanko got his woman and children but he never found another local hit.
3. Shallom
“I’ve Got News For You” is the consummate divorce or separation song but from a man’s perspective. If you had a relationship circa 1999 and broke up chances are you sang this song to your estranged significant other. One YouTube comment stated, “I remember my dad always played this when my mom left him. I liked it as a kid. But coming back to this song as an adult It just hits different! Such a tune.”
Shallom never made another song as significant to Jamaican people but this one song still slaps as an ‘early juggling’ song.
2. Sister Nancy
Produced by Winston Riley, Sister Nancy’s version of Bam Bam is the most sampled song in reggae music. Rihanna, Kanye West and Jay -Z have all taken a grab at the classic Jamaican record. On the surface, being on this list of ‘one hit wonders’ may seem out of place but outside of the numerous samples and interpolations, Nancy herself never made another hit song. She also just recently started receiving royalties from the song’s success after 34 years.
Due to the song’s massive success however, she has performed at some of the biggest shows and festivals across the world. The song has also appeared in movies and television shows. Recently it surged to No. 1 on the iTunes Reggae chart and was Certified Silver on January 7 after it sold over 200,000 copies in the UK. Bam Bam is another instance of the song being much bigger than the brand of the artist.
- Millie Small
The only singer to have passed away on this list, Millie Small’s 1964 hit “My Boy Lollipop”, which reached number 2 in both the UK Singles Chart and the US BillboardHot 100 made Chris Blackwell go into deep introspection and promised himself never to ‘chase the hit’ again. After selling over 7 million copies worldwide, Small was unable to repeat the success of the song and got bombarded by the trappings of success. She was the Caribbean’s first international recording star, and its most successful female performer. Blackwell also credited her for popularizing reggae’s predecessor ‘ska music’ on an international level.
In 2011 for her contribution to Jamaica’s music, Small was named a Commander in Jamaica’s Order of Distinction on Aug. 6. She had not recorded music for over 40 years.
