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 in January 1997 as the second single from the band's second studio album, Bringing Down the Horse (1996).

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 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".

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

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 Billboard's 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. 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.

Track listings
Australian CD single; UK 7-inch and CD single
 * 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
 * 1) "One Headlight" (radio edit)
 * 2) "Angel on My Bike" (live)