Marc Cohn is an American singer-songwriter whose career is, by reputation, the textbook one-hit wonder. "Walking in Memphis", the gospel-tinged piano ballad from his 1991 self-titled debut, was a modest chart hit, peaking at number 13, yet it left a mark far larger than its chart run. It helped win Cohn the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1992, and it has been covered, quoted, and sung along to ever since.
Cohn never stopped working, releasing acclaimed albums and touring for decades as a respected songwriter's songwriter with a devoted live following. But nothing else he wrote reached anything like the same audience.
On streaming the gap is stark. "Walking in Memphis" sits near 337 million plays, while his next most-streamed track trails at around 13 million. That puts the ratio above 25, far past our 5.0 line.
By our measure Marc Cohn is a certified one-hit wonder, and a celebrated one. Writers compiling lists of the greatest one-hit wonders have placed "Walking in Memphis" at the very top, a reminder that the label, in his case, is closer to a compliment than a knock.