One-hit wonders return

Long before Sgt. Pepper set the lofty standard for intelligent album-oriented rock music, and inadvertently gave birth to dozens of dreadful progressive rock bands, there was something called the pop single.

It was short, catchy, most often disposable and -- throughout the 1950s and early 1960s -- it was the lifeblood of rock n' roll.

Although the pop single never really went away, hard rock bands such as Soundgarden and Alice in Chains roamed the charts in the early 1990s, making pop groups such as Wilson Phillips and Hall & Oates probably feel as welcome as Woody Allen at a mother/daughter picnic.

All that has changed, however, since the music industry has killed off the once thriving cash cow known as "alternative rock." And, while A&R guys are busy chasing the "next big thing," pop groups found it was safe to surface again.

Tops on the list are the Spice Girls and Hanson, both of which emerged in 1997, proving once again that a catchy song and a marketable image can outsell artistic merit any day of the week.

And let's face it, no matter how hard you tried to avoid it, you still caught yourself singing the chorus to "MMMBop" or wondering what "a zig a zig ahh" meant. And as soon as a pop single has got that kind of grip on you, they'll be no peace until you go out and buy it.

Along with Hanson and the Spice Girls, a lot of other new faces emerged this year including Chumbawumba, who, with its song "Tubthumping," discovered the hidden secret of creating an unavoidable smash hit: write one verse which makes little or no sense and repeat the chorus 15 times.

New bands such as Matchbox 20 ("Push"), Tonic and Third Eye Blind ("Semi-Charmed Life") also cashed in by releasing melodramatic singles about love gone sour, while making critics wait for the day when they begin leading the "gone tomorrow" part of their "here today, gone tomorrow" careers.

Along with the new crop of hit-makers, some old faces such as Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones and Elton John released big singles and tours last year, making VH1's artist of the year 1997 contest look like artist of the year 1977.

Elton John's release of "Candle In The Wind '97," originally intended as a eulogy for Marilyn Monroe, took on new meaning with the death of Princess Diana, and went on to become the biggest-selling single of all time.

Another artist who grieved publicly via the airwaves was rapper/producer extraordinaire Puff Daddy, whose ode to his deceased friend the Notorious B.I.G., "I'll Be Missing You," made a bundle of cash. Puff Daddy donated the money to various charities in his friend's name.

Whether he was rapping with Sting, toughening up Mariah Carey's image or becoming the "Where's Waldo?" of music videos, Puff Daddy owned 1997, riding the top of the charts for the entire summer.

In many ways, Puff Daddy's technique of openly lifting hits from decades past, often using three and four in one song and reworking them into another hit single, sums up 1997 and its nostalgia for every decade but its own.

Musically, there was nothing new or groundbreaking about Puff Daddy's sample-heavy tribute to his friend -- nor, for that matter, was there anything especially innovative about his other hits, including "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" and "Mo Money, Mo Problems." All can be traced back to other artists whose versions were more than likely better, but they were short, glittery and infectious.

And isn't that what the pop single is about anyway?