Barbara Lynn is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Texas whose place on this list undersells a pioneering career. A rare left-handed female guitarist and bandleader in the male-dominated blues and soul of the early 1960s, she wrote her own material and earned deep respect within the genre. She is far more than a single song.
But streaming gathers around one hit. "You'll Lose a Good Thing", released in 1962 and written by Lynn herself, is a smooth, swaying piece of Southern soul, and it topped the US R&B chart and crossed over to the pop top ten, her signature record.
On streaming, "You'll Lose a Good Thing" sits near 46 million plays, while her next most-streamed track trails at around four million. That sends the ratio above 12, far past our 5.0 line.
So by our strict, numbers-only measure, Barbara Lynn registers as a certified one-hit wonder, and we flag the caveat firmly. This is a trailblazing, self-penning artist with a respected catalogue. It is only that one beautifully understated soul song has gathered the streaming crowd far ahead of the rest of her work.