Music writers looking back at 1980s hits have highlighted three tracks beloved by Generation X that turned out to be one-hit wonders for their respective acts, despite the bands or artists behind them seeming far more prolific. The feature is a light nostalgic look at how a single breakthrough single can define an artist's legacy in the public memory, even when their wider catalogue never matched that initial success.

– Boys Don't Cry's "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 (also charting well in Australia and Canada), but none of the new wave group's later singles returned to the US charts; the band split in 1988 and has since reunited.
– Johnny Kemp's Grammy-nominated new jack swing track "Just Got Paid" (1988) was his only song to crack the Hot 100's Top 30, despite other well-regarded tracks such as "Birthday Suit" and "One Thing Led To Another".
– Twisted Sister's glam metal anthem "We're Not Gonna Take It" peaked at No. 21 on the Hot 100 and remains the band's best-selling US single, though they never reached the Top 40 again, with only "I Wanna Rock" and "Leader of the Pack" making the chart afterwards.