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 (1996).

"One Headlight"
Single by the Wallflowers
from the album Bringing Down the Horse
B-side	"6th Avenue Heartache" (acoustic) "Angel on My Bike" (live)
Released	January 21, 1997 (1997-01-21)
Genre	Alternative rock[1] pop rock[2]
Length	5:13 (album version) 4:38 (single version)
Label	Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Jakob Dylan
Producer(s)	T Bone Burnett
The Wallflowers singles chronology
"6th Avenue Heartache" (1996) "One Headlight" (1997) "The Difference" (1997)
Music video
"One Headlight" on YouTube

The song was the first single to reach No. 1 on all three of Billboard's 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",^[3] and Billboard ranked it as No. 1 on its 2021 list of the "Greatest Adult Alternative Songs".^[4][5]

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".^[6]

Music video

The music video was filmed in New York City in February 1997 and features the band performing.^[7]

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.^[8] In March 1997, it became the first song to top all three of Billboard's rock airplay charts—the Modern Rock Tracks, Mainstream Rock Tracks, and Triple-A charts.^[9] 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.^[10][11] Outside North America, the song reached No. 14 in Australia and became a moderate hit in Germany and the United Kingdom.^[12][13][14]

Accolades

The song won two Grammy Awards at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, Best Rock Song^[15] and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.^[16] 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 Viewer's Choice.

Year	Association	Category	Result
1998	Grammy Awards	Best Rock Song	Won
		Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals	Won

Track listings

Australian CD single; UK 7-inch and CD single^[17][18][19]

1. "One Headlight" (radio edit) – 4:38
2. "6th Avenue Heartache" (acoustic) – 4:47
3. "Angel on My Bike" (live) – 4:46

European CD single^[20]

1. "One Headlight" (radio edit)
2. "Angel on My Bike" (live)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1997) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[12] 14 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] 1 Germany (GfK)[13] 88 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[21] 29 Italy Airplay (Music & Media)[22] 6 Scotland (OCC)[23] 58 UK Singles (OCC)[14] 54 US Radio Songs (Billboard)[8] 2 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[24] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[25] 30 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[26] 1 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[27] 1 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[28] 1 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[29] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position Australia (ARIA)[30] 60 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 3 US Hot 100 Airplay (Billboard)[31] 5 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[32] 2 US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[33] 3 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[33] 6 US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)[34] 8 US Triple-A (Billboard)[35] 1 Chart (1998) Position US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[36] 58

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[37]	Gold	35,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	January 21, 1997	Contemporary hit radio	Interscope	[38]
Australia	April 28, 1997	CD		[12]
United Kingdom	June 30, 1997	7-inch vinyl CD		[39]
Japan	September 22, 1997	CD		[40]

See also

• List of Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number ones of the 1990s
• List of number-one singles of 1997 (Canada)