#1 is weird. Sometimes, people are surprised to learn that an artist’s best known or best song wasn’t the one that actually went to the top. I think I mentioned before, Chuck Berry’s only #1 was a silly novelty song. Kris Kristofferson’s only #1 (as an artist, not a writer) was a gospel song, not what he was generally known for, and he’s not even especially religious. Janis Joplin and Otis Redding (I think) had their only #1s posthumously (Joplin’s written by Kristofferson).
I remember that song very well because it was the number one song when I was pregnant with my daughter in 1977 and was still number one after she was born. Since “you light up my life” topped the charts for so long and Debby Boone was the daughter of Pat Boone, I never thought she would just be a one hit wonder. When it was popular, that song had a special meaning to me because I was thrilled about being a new mother and my daughter still continues to light up my life.
I also remember that song. Later on I read about how that song almost literally fell off of the cliff and totally disappeared. You never hear that song played at all anywhere.
I also remember watching the Today Show once when they were talking about certain songs that were annoying. The first one that came up was “You light up my live,” and Matt Lauer immediately told the staff not to play it.
Sammy Davis Jr. had 9-10 records that charted in the 1960s and 70s, appeared in movies and on TV and was a remarkable performer. His only #1 record was The Candy Man, a song that he hated (except for the money it brought him).
There was some great music then, but there was a lot that sucked. My old roommate changed the lyrics to this to "you fucked my life, you gave me VD (what we used to call sexually transmitted diseases in the 70’s)
It’s generally not the song that is considered a one hit wonder, but the performer. The performer, Rick Astley, had a number of hits in England, but “Never Gonna Give You Up” was his only big hit in the US.