The Romantics - "One in a Million"

(Debuted February 25, 1984, Peaked #37, 12 Weeks on Chart)

"One in a Million" was the second Top 40 hit for the Detroit-based power pop band The Romantics, as it came right on the heels of their Top 10 hit "Talking in Your Sleep." However, neither of those hit songs seem to be as well-remembered as an earlier hit that originally missed the Top 40 altogether: 1980's "What I Like About You."

The Romantics formed on Valentine's Day, 1977 and took their name from the day they became a group. Though often lumped in with the New Wave bands of the early 1980s as a result of their fashion (rather than their music style), The Romantics were more of a pop band whose influences were the British Invasion bands the punks struggled to rebel against. "One in a Million" features a lot of guitar licks to support that, even if there is an occasional syth line.

"One in a Million" would be the band's final Top 40 hit, as they were prevented from recording for several years due to a discovery that their management was abusing their earnings. The lawsuit that resulted kept them out of the studio until the mid-90s. By that time, they had long been relegated to "has been" status even as they were still able to perform. The group is still active today, with only the drummer from the hit singles having left.