A song can chart once and then vanish from the radio, while the person who wrote it keeps working. Some artists the public filed under “one hit” were really just starting a long career behind the scenes. Their names turn up in liner notes, and their songs turn up in other people’s biggest moments.
The eleven writers below each had one signature chart success as a performer, at least by the way it’s usually remembered. Then they wrote or cowrote songs that other artists took even higher. Chart positions here refer to the US Billboard Hot 100 unless noted.
Linda Perry
As the voice of 4 Non Blondes, Linda Perry is known for “What’s Up?”, the 1993 track that most listeners still call by its famous shouted hook. The band never followed it with another major hit, and it broke up soon after.
Perry became one of pop’s most sought after songwriters. She wrote “Beautiful” for Christina Aguilera in 2002 and “Get the Party Started” for Pink in 2001. She also wrote “What You Waiting For?” for Gwen Stefani, which opened Stefani’s solo career in 2004.
Jim Peterik
Jim Peterik fronted the Ides of March, whose 1970 horn driven song “Vehicle” climbed to number two. The group’s later singles didn’t match it, so Peterik’s name stayed tied to that one record.
He found a bigger stage by cowriting “Eye of the Tiger” with Frankie Sullivan for Survivor. The song was written for Rocky III and reached number one in 1982. Peterik also helped write Survivor’s “The Search Is Over” and several .38 Special hits, including “Hold On Loosely”.
Randy Newman
Randy Newman’s own chart career is mostly “Short People”, a 1977 song that peaked at number two. It stirred a lot of controversy and remains his only major pop hit as a performer.
Other singers had been recording his songs for years by then. Three Dog Night took “Mama Told Me Not to Come” to number one in 1970. He also wrote for Harry Nilsson and Joe Cocker, among others, and later built a second career writing film scores.
Nick Lowe
In the United States, Nick Lowe is mostly remembered for “Cruel to Be Kind”, which reached the Top 20 in 1979. British listeners know more of his catalog, but American radio mostly stopped there.
His songwriting travelled further than his own records. He wrote “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”, which Elvis Costello and the Attractions recorded in 1978. Curtis Stigers later sang it on the soundtrack of The Bodyguard in 1992, giving the song a second life.
Alan O’Day
Alan O’Day topped the chart in 1977 with “Undercover Angel”, a soft rock single that became his only major pop hit. After that, he mostly stayed out of the spotlight as a performer.
He had already proven himself as a writer a few years earlier. Helen Reddy took his song “Angie Baby” to number one in 1974. The Righteous Brothers also reached the Top 10 that year with his “Rock and Roll Heaven”.
Bobby Caldwell
Bobby Caldwell’s silky 1978 single “What You Won’t Do for Love” reached the Top 10 and became a staple of soft soul playlists. He never repeated that mainstream success on the pop chart, though the song’s reputation kept growing in later decades.
He also cowrote “The Next Time I Fall” with Paul Gordon. Peter Cetera and Amy Grant recorded it as a duet, and it reached number one in 1986. Caldwell died in 2023, leaving a catalog that producers and sample hunters still mine.
Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong sang “Money (That’s What I Want)” in 1959, an early record for the Tamla label that Berry Gordy would soon grow into Motown. Strong’s own run on the charts ended there, which is why he gets counted among the one hit acts.
His second career was arguably bigger. Working with producer Norman Whitfield at Motown, he cowrote songs including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “War”. Edwin Starr’s version of “War” hit number one in 1970, and Strong died in 2023.
Ernie Maresca
Ernie Maresca reached the Top 10 in 1962 with “Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)”, a bouncy rock and roll single that was his lone big hit as a singer. Most casual listeners today have never heard it.
They’ve probably heard his songs for Dion, though. Maresca wrote “Runaround Sue”, which went to number one in 1961, and “The Wanderer”, which reached number two the same year. Both remain classics of early sixties pop.
Matthew Wilder
Matthew Wilder’s “Break My Stride” was a 1983 Top 5 single with a bright, bouncing groove. It stayed his only major hit as a recording artist, though it keeps resurfacing in commercials and film soundtracks.
He then moved into production and composition. Wilder produced No Doubt’s breakthrough album Tragic Kingdom, which included “Don’t Speak”. He also composed music for Disney’s Mulan, including “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” and “Reflection”, the latter later recorded by Christina Aguilera.
Dave Loggins
Dave Loggins reached the Top 5 in 1974 with “Please Come to Boston”, a road weary ballad that became his best known song. He didn’t return to the top of the pop chart as a solo act.
Before that, he’d written “Pieces of April”, which Three Dog Night took onto the Hot 100 in 1972. His songwriting continued in country music, where he cowrote hits for other performers. His own name, though, remains tied mostly to the Boston song.
Tony Joe White
Tony Joe White scored a Top 10 hit in 1969 with “Polk Salad Annie”, a swampy Southern rock story song. The swampy sound became his trademark, though the pop charts moved on quickly.
Other singers kept finding gold in his catalog. Brook Benton took “Rainy Night in Georgia” into the Top 5 in 1970. Decades later, Tina Turner recorded his song “Steamy Windows”, and White kept writing and touring until his death in 2018.
