The Moody Blues are an English band whose presence on this list is a textbook example of how a streaming-only measure can undersell a major career. Pioneers of orchestral, symphonic rock, they recorded a long run of ambitious, hugely successful albums and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They are anything but a one-off.
But streaming concentrates their audience around one song. "Nights in White Satin", first released in 1967 and a hit again on reissue, is a lush, melancholy ballad swathed in mellotron strings, and it remains their defining track for most listeners.
On streaming, "Nights in White Satin" sits near 295 million plays, while their next most-streamed track, "Your Wildest Dreams", trails at around 42 million. That puts the ratio above 7, past our 5.0 line.
So by our strict, numbers-only measure, The Moody Blues register as a certified one-hit wonder, and we flag the caveat firmly. This is a band with a deep, influential catalogue and a long list of hits across decades. It is only that one sweeping, orchestral ballad has gathered the streaming crowd far ahead of the rest of their work.