Monday, November 7, 2022
There are a lot of people who were “one hit wonders.” The Mellow Kings had one huge hit, “Tonight, Tonight,” one of the great doo-wop songs ever, and that was that. The Starland Vocal Band had “Afternoon Delight” and then disappeared back to anonymity. A restaurant is hot for a month after opening and closes the next month. A ballplayer is a phenomenon for one season, then fades into mediocrity.
The difference between one hit wonder and all star is the ability to provide quality work every time, to constantly improve and innovate with changing times, to have the resilience to overcome setback, and to build a brand so powerful that people alway give you the “benefit of the doubt.”The Mellow Kings had a monster hit, in my top five for all time great slow dance songs. The trouble was, they had short term luck not long term talent.