For many years we argued over who was and who was not a one-hit wonder. It seemed to us that being labelled with such an epithet could be considered demeaning when applied without due cause.
It was at this point that we decided on a set of principals to classify what was, and what was not, a one-hit wonder.
The McDuff Rule works on any chart data but only the Top 20. In doing this it classifies any entry into the Top 20 as a ‘hit’ and below that to have merely ‘charted’.
To apply the McDuff Rule the same chart data must be used. If an artist places a hit with the Top 20 and then cannot do that again (on the same chart) they are considered to be a one-hit wonder.
BULLET-DODGERS
When an artist has one (just one) other song that reaches the Top 20 and disqualifies that artist from being a one-hit wonder that second song is called a ‘bullet-dodger’ and we have charts available here for such occurrences.
CHART DATA
Our data is drawn from ‘The Book’, Top 40 Research – 10th Edition 1950-2018 by Jim Barnes and Steve Scanes. Click on the link for more information on this publication.
FEEDBACK
We welcome all comments and feedback which can be sent via this feedback link.
CAPITAL CITY DATA
Australian capital city data is included but limited in scope as these charts are no longer created.
Best wishes from the creators of the McDuff Rule,
Andy McCarthy and Daniel Duffy 2020