One Headlight


"One Headlight" is a song by American rock band the Wallflowers. The song was written by lead singer Jakob Dylan, and produced by T Bone Burnett. It was released to radio in January 1997 as the second single and opening track from the band's second studio album, Bringing Down the Horse.
The song was the first single to reach No. 1 on all three of Billboards rock airplay charts: the Modern Rock Tracks chart, the Mainstream Rock Songs chart, and the Triple-A chart. "One Headlight" also stayed at No. 1 in Canada for five weeks. In 2000, the song was listed at No. 58 on Rolling Stone and MTV's list of the "100 Greatest Pop Songs of All Time", and Billboard ranked it as No. 1 on its 2021 list of the "Greatest Adult Alternative Songs".

Background

The song was written by lead vocalist Jakob Dylan, and is the second to be written during the recording of Bringing Down the Horse in Los Angeles. Dylan has stated that the song is about "the death of ideas". Dylan did not intend to write a hit song, but wrote it with the intention of wanting to impress and work with a producer. He was able to share the song with him, and thought the producer enjoyed the song, but Dylan did not hear back from the producer after he left. He began writing this song after a recent record with Virgin Records was considered a disappointment. Feeling the band deserved a second chance, he wrote the song at a kitchen table in Los Angeles. He was inspired by Leon Russell, Dr. John, and Al Green, and felt there was a "place for that type of feeling and mood on the radio." Some lyrics were inspired by that of Bruce Springsteen, with references to "Independence Day" and "One Step Up".

Music video

The music video was filmed in New York City in February 1997 and features the band performing. They had made a previous version of the video, which Dylan described as a "murky representation", which he did not enjoy watching as he was reviewing the footage. They had eventually filmed the video in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

Chart performance

Although the song did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 due to the chart rules at the time, it was a significant radio hit. It spent five weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and a total of 70 weeks on the chart. In March 1997, it became the first song to top all three of Billboards rock airplay charts—the Modern Rock Tracks, Mainstream Rock Tracks, and Triple-A charts. In Canada, the song reached No. 1 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, staying there for five weeks and was also the third-most-successful song of the year. Outside North America, the song reached No. 14 in Australia and became a moderate hit in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Accolades

The song won two Grammy Awards at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal|Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group]. The song was performed live at the 1997 [MTV Video Music Awards] with Bruce Springsteen, where the music video was nominated four times, including for MTV [Video Music Award – Viewer's Choice|Viewer's Choice].
YearAssociationCategoryResult
1998Grammy AwardsBest Rock SongWon
1998Grammy AwardsGrammy Award for [Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal|Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals]Won

Track listings

Australian CD single; UK 7-inch and CD single
  1. "One Headlight" – 4:38
  2. "6th Avenue Heartache" – 4:47
  3. "Angel on My Bike" – 4:46
European CD single
  1. "One Headlight"
  2. "Angel on My Bike"

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
US Adult Top 40 58

Certifications

Release history