The ’90s had plenty (plenty!) of one-hit wonders. But as far as I can tell, Shawn Colvin was the only one-hit wonder of the ’90s . . . and maybe the only one-hit wonder ever . . . whose one hit dominated the Grammys.
“Sunny Came Home”, the fictional story of a woman who burns down her house as a way of conquering the demons of her past, was a commercial and critical success.
The song made it to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and then went on to win the two major song awards at the Grammys: Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
It beat out a few other one-hit wonders, including “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” by Paula Cole and “MMMBop” by Hanson, along with other songs like No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak”, R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly”, and LeAnn Rimes’s “How Do I Live”.
And then, when Shawn Colvin went on stage to accept her award for Song of the Year, she was interrupted by Ol’ Dirty Bastard storming the stage to complain that Wu-Tang Clan lost to Puff Daddy earlier in the night.
It just fits in with nothing about the rise of “Sunny Came Home” making that much sense.
Shawn Colvin’s career continued (and continues to this day), although she never had another hit song. She WAS nominated for another Grammy though; in 2009, her “Shawn Colvin Live” album was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
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