The Wallflowers: Bringing Down the Horse
As you know we’ve been doing a series of picks based on the idea of whether the artist is a one hit wonder or not. I’m closing out the round with what I hope will challenge our idea of what a one-hit wonder is, and is it really a bad thing?
This month’s pick is One Headlight off The Wallflower’s 1996 Album “Bringing Down the Horse”, and was a smash hit for its time. The song was written by Jakob Dylan, band frontman and son of famous folk singer Bob Dylan. It hit #1 in Canada and on most American Billboard lists, including finishing top 5 in most of their year-end top 100 lists. It won two Grammies for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.
Personally, I always liked 6th Avenue Heartache better based strongly on Adam Durwitz’s backing vocals, but looking at Spotify real quick, 6th ave has like 40 million listens and One Headlight is at 268. So don’t count on me to pick your lead single either!.
And I think that’s what I’d really like for us to explore on this one. Most of us are going to recognize the Jakob’s name, we’re going to recognize The Wallflowers, and if not by name, most people who were listening to the Radio in 96 are going to recognize One Headlight. But then what? How much do you really know about the band, their music, and what came after? Did you know they had an album before this one? Or five after?
We’ve had a number of previous picks poke into the American market once then never again, but continue to do well internationally, especially if they’re based in another country. Is that the case here with this American band?
I don’t want to get deep into it in the prompt, as half the fun of this round is letting people choose their own criteria and share their own experiences. So without influencing you or the rest of the group too much, I’ll leave you with what I hope is some great listening homework, and I hope you’ll join us at the end of the month to hear our thoughts on whether The Wallflowers are a one hit wonder, or is there more beyond One Headlight for us to know and love.
LinksThe Wallflowers – Wikipedia
Bringing Down the Horse – Wikipedia
One Headlight – Wikipedia
Listen to Bringing Down the Horse – Spotify
Listen to Bringing Down the Horse – Apple Music
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