"Layla" is the only Eric Clapton song I have ever liked.

"Tangled Up In Blue" is the only Bob Dylan song I have ever liked.

"Save Me San Francisco" by Train. Back during the Dot-Com boom era, local radio overplayed the band to the point of nausea. But seemingly out of nowhere, they've released an almost perfectly formed pop song that does what it says on the tin. Catchy chorus, easy to sing along with, lyrical wordplay that's slightly awkward but amusing nonetheless, nostalgia for my city, and a video with an Alfa Romeo. I like it, despite the band's earlier work. Just go easy on the second gear shift in that car, Mr. Rockstar Haircut.

The only thing that comes to mind for me is a song called "Hey Jealousy" by a band called...Gin Blossoms. Great song. Super catchy. The rest of that record and the next one, were boring as hell I thought.

Then I recall reading that Hey Jealousy was written by a member of the band who was kicked out before the record broke. So...the guy who wrote their only good song? They turfed 'im!

I can't think of any examples that wouldn't also qualify a band as a one-hit wonder, though JanetLand's example of "Layla" does come close (never been a big Clapton fan, myself)

For me, I would expand the idea to "Bands for which only their hits are listenable." Chief on that list, for me, would probably be The Who. I can happily blast a greatest hits disc all day, but there's no way I can make it through a regular album of theirs without having to skip-through a bunch of pretension.

Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Otherwise hate her stuff, but it was fun to do a mashup with Express Yourself by Madonna when I heard it.

According to Songfacts, the story behind the writing of "Hey Jealousy" are even more depressing than your tidbit, richat.