Tone Loc

A two-hit wonder from a glorious era for hip-hop radio, L.A. rapper Tone-Loc arrived in late 1988 with "Wild Thing," which reigned for a while as the best-selling single of all time. It was a low-down but friendly sex growl ("I tipped the chauffeur when it was over") with Dust Brothers production, a sample from Van Halen's "Jamie's Crying," lyrics written by Delicious Vinyl labelmate Young M.C., and Loc's funny rasp. Arnold Schwarzenegger eventually saved his own career when he quoted Loc's signature line, "Hasta la vista, baby," in Terminator 2, but Loc did it better, yo. "Funky Cold Medina" was even funnier, driven by beats from Kiss's "Christine Sixteen" and Foreigner's "Hot Blooded," with the immortal plot twist "Sheena was a man!" But fans who bought the album Loc'd After Dark felt ripped off when they found out that it included "Medina" only in an inferior alternate version, although "Cheeba Cheeba" was pretty good. Cool Hand Loc was a better all-around album, but there were no hits. Tone-Loc moved on to a surprisingly successful acting career; you can see him get roughed up by Al Pacino in Heat, which does strain the credibility a bit. (ROB SHEFFIELD)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide