Fred Wesley is one of the architects of funk, and his place on this list could hardly be more at odds with his importance. As a trombonist, arranger, and bandleader, he was central to James Brown's J.B.'s and to Parliament-Funkadelic, shaping the horn-driven sound at the heart of the genre. Calling him a one-hit wonder is almost absurd, which is exactly why the caveat matters.
But his own-name streaming gathers around one track. "House Party", a tight, danceable 1980 funk number, has become his most-streamed solo recording by a clear margin.
On streaming, "House Party" sits near seven million plays, while his next most-streamed track trails at around one million. That puts the ratio above 5, over our line.
So by our strict, numbers-only measure, Fred Wesley registers as a certified one-hit wonder under his own name, and we flag the caveat as loudly as we can. This is a foundational funk musician whose playing and arrangements echo through countless records. It is only that, billed solo, one funk groove stands ahead of the rest. His trombone and arrangements live on in samples and grooves across hip-hop and funk, even as his own-name catalogue rests, on streams, almost entirely on this single track.