Favorite 70's One-Hit Wonders #2 - "Walk on the Wild Side"

Tweet

As I wind down my Favorite 70's One-Hit Wonders series, we get to our third Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, the legendary Lou Reed, and his 1972 classic "Walk on the Wild Side," #2 in the series. In addition to the Hall of Fame, Lou Reed was a Grammy Winner and a member of the highly influential New York band The Velvet Underground. The David Bowie-produced "Walk on the Wild Side," despite referencing several taboo subjects, reached #16 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Reed hung out with every freak referenced in the song, all with their own individual fetishes. Despite a five-decade solo career, it was Reed's only appearance on the Hot 100, let alone the Top 40. I was lucky enough to see Reed perform, in Belgium. If you never had the privilege, you missed out big-time. (I'm using the rules from Wayne Jancik's book The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders: An act can only have appeared on the Top 40 of the Hot 100 once. Any sub-charts don't count, and neither do countries other than the States.)