"One Headlight" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Wallflowers The Wallflowers is an American rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1989 by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. The band ...

. The song was written by lead singer

Jakob Dylan Jakob Luke Dylan (born December 9, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter. He rose to fame as the lead singer and primary songwriter for the rock band the Wallflowers. Born in New York City to musician Bob Dylan and model Sara Lownds, Dylan beg ...

, and produced by

T-Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in fil ...

. It was released in January 1997 as the second single from the band's second studio album, ''

Bringing Down the Horse ''Bringing Down the Horse'' is the second album by American rock band the Wallflowers. It was released worldwide on May 21, 1996. The album was produced by T-Bone Burnett and includes four singles: "6th Avenue Heartache", " One Headlight", " Th ...

'' (1996). Dylan has said that the song is about "the death of ideas". The song is notable for being the first single to reach No. 1 on all three of ''Billboard'''s rock airplay charts: the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart, the

Mainstream Rock Songs Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart and the

Adult Alternative Songs Adult Alternative Airplay (also known as Triple A or Triple A Airplay, and formerly Adult Alternative Songs and Triple A Songs) is a record chart currently published by ''Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs on adult album alternative radi ...

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 ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

s list of "100 Greatest Pop Songs of All Time".

Critical reception

"One Headlight" won two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards,

Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...

and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. The song was performed live at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards with

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

, where the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was nominated four times, including for Viewer's Choice.

Music video

The music video was filmed in New York City in February 1997 and features the band performing.

Awards

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 The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout ...

chart and a total of 70 weeks on the chart. In March 1997, it became the first song to top all three of ''Billboard''s rock airplay charts—the

and

charts. In Canada, the song reached No. 1 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles 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.

Track listings

Australian CD single, UK 7-inch and CD single # "One Headlight" (radio edit) – 4:38 # "6th Avenue Heartache" (acoustic) – 4:47 # "Angel on My Bike" (live) – 4:46 European CD single # "One Headlight" (radio edit) # "Angel on My Bike" (live)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1996 songs 1997 singles Grammy Award for Best Rock Song Interscope Records singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by T Bone Burnett Songs written by Jakob Dylan The Wallflowers songs American alternative rock songs