One Hit Wonder Lyrics By Year: 1984 Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Re-Flex was a band that had great potential in the New Wave era of the music industry during the 1980s, however, they would only go on to record one top-40 hit. "The Politics of Dancing" reached number 24 in early 1984 and would remain in the charts for five straight weeks. How should the chorus to this popular song be completed? "The politics of dancing The politics of ooo feeling good The politics of moving Is this message ______________"

Answer: understood

"The Politics of Dancing" was an instant success in both the United Kingdom as well as in North America. The song was released in 1983, however, it wasn't until January of 1984 that the song gained popularity. In fact, "The Politics of Dancing" reached the top 40 in the United Kingdom (at number 28), in the United States (at number 24), in Germany (at number 25), and in South Africa (at number 19).

The music group Re-flex would only record a limited amount of albums. Their album "The Politics of Dancing" is the only one that gained any success. Their second album "Humanication" received little praise and only one song from this album had any success. "How Much Longer" went to number 59 in Germany, however, it gained little success outside of Europe. Fortunately for the band, "The Politics of Dancing" continues to sell and be a hit because it has been used in a variety of films. This hit song was used in the 1985 movie "Red" as well as the 1998 film "Edge of Seventeen".

2. "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" was originally performed by the husband and wife duo Elmo & Patsy in 1979. In 1984, however, this song would take new roots and reach the top 40 on the US country music charts. According to the lyrics, what exactly is grandma drinking that eventually leads to her accident? "She'd been drinkin too much _____________, and we begged her not to go, but she forgot her medication and she staggered out the door into the snow. When we found her Christmas morning, at the scene of the attack, she had hoof prints on her forehead, and incriminating claw marks on her back"

Answer: eggnog

"Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" was meant to be a comedy Christmas song. Little did the husband and wife duo of Elmo and Patsy Shropshire know how successful their only hit song would really be. In fact, the song has been recorded and re-recorded by various music groups including the successful Canadian Irish-folk group The Irish Rovers and popular Christian band Family Force 5. "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" was originally successful on country music stations and was a seasonal song, however, as it became a mainstream hit, it started getting airtime throughout the year.

3. Motown founder Berry Gordy's son had a one hit wonder song that reached the top 10 in 1984. Rockwell recorded "Somebody's Watching Me" which featured Michael Jackson and Jermaine Jackson in the chorus. How should the chorus be completed to this very popular song? " I always feel like somebody's watching me And I have no privacy, whoa-oa-oa I always feel like somebody's watching me _____________________________"

Answer: "Tell me, is it just a dream"

Kennedy William Gordy is the son of popular Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. During his tenure as a musician, he went by the name Rockwell. Between 1984-86, Rockwell would record three albums, however, only one would gain any success. His album "Somebody's Watching Me" would gain the most success as it had the recorded self-titled one hit wonder track on it. Many critics compared the arrangement of this song to that of the Twilight Zone. The music video is a haunting display of floating heads, ravens, and graveyards that helped the song gain popularity.

"Somebody's Watching Me" appeared in the first ever episode of the hit television series "Miami Vice". The song has always been recognized for having the shrieky sound of Michael Jackson performing in the chorus. "Somebody's Watching Me" peaked at number 1 on the R&B charts in the United States and reached number 2 on the Billboard 100.

4. The Cold-War was abound and protest against this war was common all around the world. One song that protested these events was "99 Luftballoons" by Nena. This song was both a hit in English as well as in German. Unfortunately for Nena and her band, this would be the only success they would have. In the English version, where do they buy the red balloons? "You and I in a little _____________ buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got"

Answer: toy shop

"99 Luftballoons" has a variety of English translations including "99 Red Balloons" and "Ninety-Nine Balloons". Originally, this one hit wonder song was sung in German and had gained popularity in the United States as a German recording first and then had follow-up success as an English recording.

The song was recorded as somewhat of a protest song during the Cold-war era. In both the English and German versions of the song, there is a story of the release of ninety-nine balloons into the sky and the overreaction of military forces in response to this protest.

The German version of this hit song reached number 2 in the United States and would be the only successful hit for Nena outside her homeland of Germany.

5. Orignally recorded by Kirsty MacColl "They Don't Know" and it was a success in the United Kingdom in 1979. In 1984, Tracy Ullman did a cover version on her album "You Broke My Heart in 17 Places". This version would be the only chart topping hit that Ullman would have as a musician. What is the song character contemplating on doing in the opening lyrics? "You've been around for such a long time now Oh, maybe I could ______________ but I don't know how"

Answer: leave you

Tracy Ullman was born in Britain, however, she was able to gain American citizenship. She is best known for her roles as a singer, comedian, actress, and author. In Britain, Ullman would have a total of six songs that would reach the UK top 100. Only one of these hits would gain any success in North America. "They Don't Know" went to number 8 in the United States.

6. Talk Talk were a New Wave band originating out of the United Kingdom. In Europe, they had a slew of successful songs. On the North American Billboard charts, however, Talk Talk is merely a one hit wonder band. Their only successful North American hit is the infamous "It's My Life". According to the lyrics, what would the song character pay for? "Funny how I find myself In love with you If I could buy my reasoning I would pay ___________"

Answer: to lose

Talk Talk were a synthpop music group that gained minimal success in North America. "It's My Life" was taken from their second album of the same title. It was intended to be the lead single on the album, and as such, gained top 40 success in North America. "It's My Life" peaked at number 31 on the Billboard 100.

In recent years, "It's My Life" has regained success because it has been covered by Gwen Stefani and No Doubt. The cover version reached number 10 on the Billboard 100 in 2003-04. The original version has recently gained popularity because it has been used in popular video games. "It's My Life" can be heard while playing the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

7. The Icicle Works were a popular Neo-Psychedalia music group that performed from 1980-1990. "Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" was the only successful song in North America for this popular European band. It went to number 37 in the United States and reached number 19 on the Canadian charts. If you were to carefully listen to the lyrics to this song, one would realize where birds do fly. Where exactly do birds fly? "birds fly in the ____________________ spoken at the bitter end wasted, sacrificed for the new nirvana night time sends the sun away"

Answer: eye of the pathos daughter

The Icicle Works formed in England in 1980, but had limited success over their ten year tenure as a band. They derived their name from the science fiction novel "The Day The Icicle Works Closed" by Frederik Pohl. In 1983, they became successful in Britain with their hit song "Love Is A Wonderful Colour", however, this song did not gain any success in North America. By 1984, however, their one hit wonder song "Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" was successful in Canada and the United States. From this point on, however, everything was downhill for The Icicle Works.

Their follow-up hits were unsuccessful as "Hollow Horse" landed at number 91 in the UK, "All The Daughters (Of Her Father's House)" did not chart in the UK or North America, and "Seven Horses" scraped by at number 80.

8. In 1984, the lead singer of the popular Canadian band Loverboy performed a romantic duet with Ann Wilson of Heart. Together, they performed the love theme for the Footloose soundtrack titled "Almost Paradise". In the lyrics, what type of day were the dreams being saved for? "And all these dreams I saved for a ___________ They're finally comin'true I'll share them all with you Cause now we hold the future in our hands"

Answer: rainy day

Mike Reno was born and raised in British Columbia, Canada, but eventually moved to Calgary. As lead singer of the band Loverboy, he was part of a variety of successful hit songs including "Turn Me Loose", "Working For The Weekend", "Lovin' Every Minute Of It", and "Heaven In Your Eyes".

As a solo artist, however, Mike Reno is considered a one hit wonder. The Footloose love theme "Almost Paradise" was performed with Ann Wilson of Heart and would peak at number 7 on the Billboard 100.

9. Patty Smyth fronted the band Scandal from 1981-1985 and during that time, the band would only produce one top 40 hit. "The Warrior", written by Nick Gilder and Holly Knight went to number 1 on the Canadian charts and number 7 on the US Top 100. In listening to the chorus, what walls are "The Warrior" shooting at? "Shootin' at the walls of _____________, bang, bang, I am the warrior"

Answer: heartache

Scandal are considered a one hit wonder band as only one of their two successful songs reached the US Top 40. "The Warrior" reached number 7, while their other popular song "Goodbye To You" only had limited success peaking at number 65 in 1982. Patty Smyth is not only known in the music industry, however, she is known in the sports industry as well. Smyth is married and has two biological children with former tennis star John McEnroe.

10. By many accounts, "We're Not Gonna Take It" has been classified as one of the greatest rock anthems of all time. Twisted Sister took their rock anthem all the way to number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 with this hit, however, this would be their only song to chart on the Billboards. How should the lyrics to this 80s anthem be completed? "We've got the right to choose and There aint no way we'll lose it This is our life, ________________"

Answer: this is our song

Although Twisted Sister has had a variety of hit songs, only one of these songs reached the Billboard charts. "We're Not Gonna Take It" was a controversial song for Twisted Sister because of its music video featuring actor Mark Metcalf. The music video was controversial because it contains various scenes with a verbally abusive father screaming and tormenting his son.

In the days previous to "explicit lyrics" labels, public outcry was the only way to warn youth about the negativity surrounding Twisted Sister. Regardless of this fact, the song peaked at number 21 on September 21, 1984.

Other successful songs for Twisted Sister including "I Wanna Rock", "I Am, I'm Me", and "Burn In Hell". These songs were successful on many mainstream rock charts, however, they did not succeed on the Billboard 100.

Source: Author apathy100

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Dalgleish before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Marvin Gaye's death makes the headlines, while MTV launches its first ever music video awards. Nena, Scandal, and Tracy Ullman go into the history books as one hit wonders. How well do you remember 1984?

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