For reasons that are difficult to pin down, Supertramp is one of those musical acts that slips from my consciousness for long periods of time, only to re-emerge, sparking me to ponder why it is that I stopped thinking about them for such a long period of time. It isn't as if they were one-hit wonders, because they recorded quite a few songs (Dreamer, Bloody Well Right, Give A Little Bit, The Logical Song, Breakfast In America, Goodbye Stranger, Take the Long Way Home) that would make me say out loud to no one in particular, "Cool. Supertramp." Maybe it's because no member of the band is instantly recognizable. I dunno...
Or maybe it's this: Supertramp doesn't sound like anyone else, before or after. I don't recall ever thinking that the band ever sounded like anyone else, nor do I recall ever hearing another band and thinking that they were influenced by Supertramp. Supertramp is, well, singular.
So here's a question for you: Can you think of any bands (or solo artists) who had a string of hits but still remain singular?