The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era: #500 to 476

In compiling The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era*, we considered the initial and current popularity of the song and the artist, complexity of the song and the number and quality of future releases. Other factors taken into consideration include how much input the artist had into the One Hit Wonder: songwriting, instrumentation, production, etc. In other words, the more talented the artist, the more complex the song, the more popular the song, then and more importantly now, and the better their subsequent releases were, the higher the ranking.

To be eligible, an artist must have either had only one Top 100 hit or they scored a big hit and either never hit the Top 20 before or after that or never had more than one other Top 40 hit.  Some organizations who construct similar One Hit Wonder lists eliminate an artist if they had two Top 40 or Top 100 hits.  However, these songs are only minor "hits" that the majority of the people do not ever hear.  By setting the bar at Top 20 hits, this list includes artists who scored a mainstream hit then essentially never tasted widespread success after their "One Hit Wonder".  

This does exempt groups like EMF ("Unbelievable"), which is not eligible to be called a "One-Hit Wonder" because "Lies" was a hit in 1991, reaching #18.  Similarly, A-Ha, which has enjoyed great worldwide success, landed the Top 20 hit "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." in addition to their smash "Take on Me".  Michael Murphey ("Wildfire" in 1975) was headed for status as having one of The Top One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era* until he landed at #19 with "What's Forever For" in 1982.  

Then you have an artist such as Berlin, which had the minor hit "No More Words" before their #1 "Take My Breath Away", and then nothing after that.  They are a judgement call.  In Berlin's case, "No More Words" was a big enough hit, in fact one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*, that they are classified as having two hits.  Stephen Bishop never hit the Top 20 after his Top 15 song "On and On".  But he had three other Top 40 hits, enough success to be excluded from One Hit Wonder status. 

Some artists, while perhaps having only one "hit" as defined by the industry, are nonetheless recognized as major stars and contributors to the Rock Era or to music in general, and can hardly be defined as One Hit Wonders.  One example would be Getz & Gilberto, who combined for one of the landmark albums of all-time, Getz/Gilberto.  Stan Getz did hundreds of albums in his career and won multiple Grammys and can i no way be called a "One-Hit Wonder".  Jimi Hendrix, Dave Brubeck, Bobby McFerrin and Joan Baez are others, who may have had only one big hit, but are regarded as significant long-term stars.  The inability of an organization or trade publication to gauge popularity of an artist or their music doesn't make them "One Hit Wonders".  

Artists who were part of a successful group and only had one Top 20 solo hit are also a judgement call.  Essentially, if the artist in question did an album occasionally away from the group, then continued on with the group does not fit the category.  An example here is Ace Frehley of Kiss, who had the Top 20 hit "New York Groove".  Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane and Starship only had one Top 10 hit, "Hearts".  But obviously, his contributions to one of the best groups of the Rock Era are so great that he doesn't fit the category.  

Another judgement call is how serious the group was in staying together.  This might seem silly but there are several instances in which a group of musicians just got together for a "one-off", to do one song or one album.  An example is the Firm ("Radioactive").  Temporary groups are not eligible for inclusion in this special.

An artist who only had one big hit in collaboration with another separate artist isn't eligible as a One Hit Wonder.  Brooklyn Dreams comes to mind.  They scored a Top 5 song with Donna Summer with "Heaven Knows" in 1979 and were never heard from again.  The group reached the Top 5 largely because of Summer, and without her, they couldn't maintain that success.   Rockwell scored one big hit largely with the considerable help of Michael Jackson, then had nothing else after that.  There are numerous other examples of artists whose only big hit was largely the result of collaboration with and major contributions made by an established star.

There are several cases where an artist would classify as a One Hit Wonder in the United States or Great Britain, Canada, or another country.  But if they exhibited significant worldwide success, to include them as a One Hit Wonder would not only be incorrect; it would be offensive.  Shirley Bassey only had one big hit in the U.S.--"Goldfinger", but certainly great success in England and with her exposure in other James Bond movies.  Take That, which only had one major hit in the United States, have nonetheless been superstars in Europe.  Oasis, which technically only had one worldwide hit with "Wonderwall" ("Champagne Supernova" was only released as a "radio single" and Billboard magazine wasn't able to determine its popularity), nonetheless were pretty much superstars throughout Europe and received significant airplay in North America.

Stanley Clarke & George Duke, teamed for three albums with one big hit--"Sweet Baby".  But each is a significant success on their own in the field of jazz and cannot be called a One Hit Wonder.  Similarly, Lee Ritenour has been a huge star in jazz, as his 19 Grammy Award nominations attest to, and to classify him as a One-Hit Wonder because "Is it You" was his only big hit would be a mistake.

If an artist that had only one big hit isn't here, it doesn't mean they're not a One Hit Wonder--just that they don't rank among The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders*.

Starting us off, a Swedish group who enjoyed an unlikely worldwide hit in 1994:

 
#500:  Cotton-Eye Joe--Rednex

Swedish producers Janne Ericsson, Örjan "Oban" Öberg and Pat Reiniz created this group that mixes American folk music with Eurodance.  They remade the folk song "Cotton-Eyed Joe" into a dance song in 1994 with huge worldwide success.  The song hit #1 in the U.K., Germany, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland and reached #25 in The United States.

The album Sex & Violins was released following the single's success.  Annika "Mary Joe" Ljungberg sang most of the lead vocals on the album and was joined by Arne "Ken Tacky" Arstrand, Kent "Bobby Sue" Olander, Jonas "Billy Ray" Nilsson and Pat "Mup" Reiniz.  Urban Landgren (BB Stiff) replaced Reiniz shortly afterwards.  A follow-up album Farm Out was released in 2000, which contained "Spirit of the Hawk", a #1 song in Germany.  

Rednex records their songs with studio musicians and have rotated 19 different stage performers that are responsible for the image of the group at live shows.  

The group has achieved near- superstar status in Germany with four Top 5 songs and have spent 25 total weeks at #1 in that country.  Rednex has also been particularly popular in their home country of Sweden and has had hits in other parts of Europe, but "Cotton-Eyed Joe" has been their only worldwide hit.  Rednex has released 17 singles in their career.

This group started out playing Garage Rock, but evolved to a more mellow sound by the time of this next song:

 

#499: Things I'd Like To Say--New Colony Six

  

This group from Chicago, Illinois was passed over at Columbia Records in favor of Boise's Paul Revere and the Raiders, so their parents had to fund the band until they could record their first album in 1966.  By the following year, they finally scored their first major recording contract at Mercury Records.  

Try, and try and try, nothing seemed to work, until their 10th single, "I Will Always Think About You", reached #22.  And two singles later, New Colony Six finally had their first and only Top 20 hit in 1968 with "Things I'd Like To Say"

The band has been through numerous lineup changes and after reuniting in 1988, they have played shows with various personnel.  As of 2022, they were still together.

Up next, an artist doomed by the number of years between album releases:

 
#498:  Kiss The Rain--Billie Myers

Myers was born in Coventry, England and after school, worked as a nurse and an insurance agent.  She soon turned to music and was discovered in a club by producer Peter Harris.  Encouraged by Harris, Myers began writing songs for a debut album.

Myers inked a recording contract with Universal Records in 1997.  The album Growing, Pains was produced by Desmond Child and contained the single "Kiss the Rain", which hit #4 in the U.K. and #15 in the United States.  "Kiss the Rain" helped the album go gold and the song and other singles appeared in television commercials and in the television series Dawson's Creek.   "Tell Me" was released as the next single and reached #28 in the U.K. but only charted on the Adult chart in the U.S.  Two other singles from Growing, Pains went nowhere.

Myers then went three years before another album, a cardinal sin in the music business.  Myers wrote the score for the movie Down to You, but when she finally released Vertigo in 2000, the public had largely forgotten about her.  Both singles from Myers' second album failed to chart. 

In 2005, Myers released the single "Just Sex", and although it was a Dance hit, the song didn't get played beyond that.

Myers released her third album nine years after Vertigo.  By that time, she had been dropped from Universal, and she started her own record company, Fruit Loop Records.  Of course, she didn't have the capacity to promote the album that major labels do, and although "Wonderful" received airplay in clubs, radio ignored it.

Myers has released three albums and nine singles in her career.

This artist from Spanish Town, Jamaica enjoyed a gold record with her big hit:

 
#497: Shy Guy--Diana King

King signed a recording contract with Sony Music following her appearance on the 1994 song "Respect" by the Notorious B.I.G. "Shy Guy" reached #13 in the United States and #2 in the U.K. and sold over five million singles worldwide.

King has released four albums and 11 singles in her career.

This group launched their career when they convinced a department store in San Diego, California to play their music through the listening booths in the store's record department:

 
#496: Angel Baby--Rosie & the Originals

This group at #496* received exposure in a most unique way.  The group recorded the song, then took the master to a department store and convince a manager to play it in the listening booth of the store's music department.  Listeners responded in such a way that Highland Records signed the band and promoted "Angel Baby". The song hit #5 in 1960.

Rosie & the Originals wrote their own music and released four other singles after their One Hit Wonder.  But lengthy legal battles with their record label over royalties and credits doomed them.

This next artist proved that optimism pays!

#495: The Future's So Bright (I Gotta' Wear Shades)--Timbuk3

Timbuk 3 was formed by the husband and wife team of Pat (acoustic, electric, bass and MIDI guitars, harmonica, vocals and drum programming) and Barbara MacDonald (electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin, rhythm programming and vocals).

Timbuk3 signed with I.R.S. Records in 1986 and released their debut album, Greetings from Timbuk 3.  The duo was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards and appeared as the house band in a bar in the 1988 movie D.O.A.  "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta' Wear Shades" reached #19 in the United States and #21 in the U.K.

Despite releasing seven more albums, the group could not follow up their success  and broke up in 1995.  Pat moved to Barcelona and has released several albums on Ulftone, an independent label in Germany.  Pat has released two albums, including a set of acoustic covers of Timbuk3 songs.

This talented group gave us one of the last of the great surfing instrumentals:

#494:  Penetration--Pyramids

Lead guitarist Skip Mercier, rhythm guitarist Willie Glover, bassist Steve Leonard, drummer Ron McMullen and saxophonist Steve Leonard formed this group in Long Beach, California in 1961.  They released "Penetration" in 1964, which peaked at #18; in fact, it was the last major instrumental surfing song.  

In July, the group appeared in the movie Bikini Beach, walking onstage with Beatle wigs, which were then lifted to reveal their shaved heads. 

But that was the last we heard of the Pyramids.  They released just one album and five singles in their career. 

This talented act was able to score a hit in the 1980's:

#493:  Breaking Away--Balance

This group formed in New York City when lead singer Peppy Castro, formerly of Blues Magoos ("We Ain't Got Nothing Yet") joined guitarist Bob Kulick, arranger and keyboardist Doug Katsaros, drummer Chuck Burgi and bassist Dennis Feldman.

In 1981, Balance released their debut album that included "Breaking Away".  The song reached #22 and the band toured in support of the album.  But the follow-up single, "Falling in Love", only reached #58 and the group was unable to chart again.

Castro, Katsaros, Burgi and Feldman reunited briefly when they backed up Michael Bolton on his 1985 album Everybody's Crazy.

Up next in this exclusive feature, a group credited as an influence with the development of heavy metal music in the 70's:

#492:  Mississippi Queen--Mountain

Vocalist and guitarist Leslie West formed this Long Island, New York band in 1969 that also included Norman Landsberg on keyboards and bass and drummer Ken Janick.  The group began playing concerts when Cream collaborator Felix Pappalardi (producer of Disraeli Gears, Goodbye and Wheels of Fire for the group) expressed a desire to produce an album for Mountain.  

The subsequent album, Leslie West Mountain, featured Landsberg, Pappalardi on bass and drummer N.D. Smart.  Pappalardi suggested the group go on the road, adding keyboardist Steve Knight when Landsberg left to form another group.  Naming themselves after the album, Mountain played shows on the West Coast before playing their fourth concert together on the stage at Woodstock in 1969.   

The group brought Woodstock fans to their feet with their performance there.  The group promptly recorded the 1970 album Climbing! which contained "Mississippi Queen".  The song reached #21 and led the album to the #17 spot.  Smart was replaced by Laurence "Corky" Laing shortly after the album was recorded.  

Mountain toured heavily in support of the album, while recording the follow-up, Nantucket Sleighride, in 1971.  Although that album didn't include a song the quality of "Mississippi Queen", the title song was used as the theme to the ITV Sunday political show Weekend World.  

After this, Mountain continued to get critical kudos but never enjoyed widespread success again.  Mountain broke up in 1972, but they have reunited often since 1973 and are still active today.  The group has released eight studio albums and three singles in their career.

This British duo landed a big hit in 1963:

   

#491:  You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry--Caravelles

This British duo of Lois Wilkinson and Andrea Simpson named themselves after the French airliner.  "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry" was first recorded by Moon Mullican, then Tennessee Ernie Ford put it on the flip side of the single "Sixteen Tons".  

The Caravelles recorded it in 1963 and it hit #3 in the United States and #6 in the U.K.  But the duo were unable to sustain their success, and Wilkinson left for a solo career.  Simpson kept the group going into the 1990's with a series of replacements.  The Caravelles released a total of 10 singles in their career.  

This artist contained some great musicians that gave us this garage rock favorite:

  
#490:  Gimme Gimme Good Loving--Crazy Elephant

Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz of Super K Productions formed this studio group in the 1960's. Robert Spencer, former lead singer of the Cadillacs, was featured, while Kevin Godley, future member of 10cc, also handled lead vocals. 

In 1969, Crazy Elephant recorded "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" with bassist Gary Gaynor, Kenny Cohen (flute, saxophone), who later performed with the Eagles, Rod Stewart, Santana and B.B. King, drummer Bob Avery, keyboardist Larry Laufer and vocalist Hal King.  The single reached #12 in both the United States and the U.K.

But several follow-up singles failed to chart and the project dried up.

The one big song of this artist became a huge hit for the Dave Clark Five:

  
#489:  I Like It Like That--Chris Kenner

This artist from Kenner, Louisiana sang gospel music in his church choir, before moving to new Orleans in his teenage years.  He recorded a few songs for Baton Records in 1955 without success.  In 1957, Kenner recorded "Sick and Tired" for Imperial Records, a song Fats Domino later turned into a hit.

When Kenner began working with pianist and arranger Allen Toussaint, his fortunes improved.  Kenner signed with Instant Records and recorded "I Like It Like That", a #2 song in 1961 that sold over one million copies.  The song was famously recorded in 1965 by the Dave Clark Five.  Kenner also recorded "Something You Got", which wasn't a hit for him, but was covered by artists such as Ramsey Lewis, Fairport Convention and Bruce Springsteen. 

In 1962, Kenner recorded "Land of a Thousand Dances", which Wilson Pickett turned into a big hit.  Kenner continued to record, released an album in 1966.  In 1968, Kenner was convicted of statutory rape of a minor and spent three years in prison.  Eight years later, he died of a heart attack at age 46.

This Icelandic group's debut album yielded their one and only big hit:

 

 #488.  Little Talks--Of Monsters and Men

From their 2011 album My Head is an Animal, Of Monsters and Men released the single "Little Talks".  Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir of the group says the song describes two loving people talking past each other and implies one is deceased, saying "maybe one person isn't really hearing the other one."  It was a big hit in Ireland (#1), New Zealand (#4) and Germany (#5) and its U.S. placing of #20 was one of the lowest in the world.

The group has released two more albums and scored several successes in both their native Iceland as well as the Rock chart, but none have spread beyond that segmented audience.

You may find yourself dancing to the music of this next artist:

  
#487:  Rhythm of the Night--Corona

Francesco Bontempi and Olga Souza formed this group and Corona released their debut single "The Rhythm of the Night" in Italy in 1993 on DWA Records.  The song reached #1 there for eight weeks, but success was confined to Italy.  Then, a remixed version of the song caught on in the U.K. in 1994, where it reached #2.  "The Rhythm of the Night" then spread to Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain, where it peaked at #3 in each of those countries. The song also hit #4 in Switzerland, #5 in France and #8 in Australia. 

"The Rhythm of the Night" finally spread worldwide in 1995, two years after its initial release, as Corona took it to #11 in the United States.  This led to the release of the album of the same name.  "Baby Baby" was a #1 hit in Italy and #5 in the U.K., but only #57 in the U.S.  "Try Me Out" reached #2 in Italy and #6 in the U.K. but this time, no luck at all in other parts of the world.  "I Don't Wanna' Be a Star" (#2) gave Corona four Top 2 songs in Italy, was #22 in the U.K., and again did not chart in the United States.  

Corona's released their second album, Walking On Music, in 1998.  The album didn't yield any successful singles and a third release, And Me U met with similar results.  Souza kept the group alive and released songs well into the new millennium, having some success in Italy, Spain and Brazil, her native country.

So popular was this group in their native country that their song was named one of the tops of all-time in New Zealand:

 

#486:  How Bizarre--OMC

Phil Fuemana, previously in the bands Houseparty and Fuemana, formed OMC, or the Otara Millionaires Club, in 1993 in Otara, New Zealand.  The group name was as a tongue-in-cheek reference to Otara's status as one of the poorest suburbs of Auckland.  Fuemana and younger brother Pauly recorded two tracks for producer Alan Jansson's Urban Pacifica collection Proud.  Pauley suggested that they shorten the band's name to OMC and he and Jansson became the only members of the group.  Pauley was the frontman and played several instruments while Jansson co-wrote all the tracks and also was the arranger and producer. 

OMC signed with huh! Records and released the single "How Bizarre", which became a #1 smash in New Zealand, selling over 35,000 copies, still a record number in their native country.  The song then spread across the globe like wildfire.  It hit #1 in Australia for five weeks, spread across Europe, then finally was popular in North America.  Although it wasn't released as a single in the United States, it was #6 on the U.S. Airplay chart, was #2 on the R&B chart, and reached #1 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart.  The song was a BMI-certified million airplay song two years in a row, a feat almost unheard of.  

The duo then recorded the album How Bizarre, and the third single, "On the Run", reached #56 in the U.K.  The album sold over one million copies in the United States.   "Land of Plenty" was a Top 5 song in New Zealand, but unlike "How Bizarre", it's popularity did not spread. 

Pauley and Jansson had a subsequent falling out over royalties, which ended up in court, and they split up.

This group saw its end when it was ruled that its big hit copied one of their own songs:

  
#485:  Daddy's Home--Shep and the Limelites

James "Shep" Sheppard, Clarence Bassett and Charles Baskerville formed Shane Sheppard and the Limelites in Queens, New York in 1960, which quickly became Shep and the Limelites.

The group recorded "Daddy's Home", which Sheppard wrote, in 1961 for Hull Records.  The single hit #2 for the group in May.  Later releases did not approach the level of "Daddy's Home".  

Kahl Music, publisher of "A Thousand Miles Away" (written by Sheppard) sued Keel Music, publisher of "Daddy's Home" for copyright violation.  Keel Music lost the lawsuit, resulting in the end of both the Limelites and Hull Records in 1966.  Basset joined the Flamingos while Baskerville ended up being a member of the Drifters.  Sheppard re-formed the Limelites in the late 1960's but was murdered on January 24, 1970, found dead in his car on the Long Island Expressway. 

"Daddy's Home has been recorded by several artists since, including Cliff Richard and Jermaine Jackson.

This artist scored a big hit in 1961:

  #484:  I Know--Barbara George

George was born in Smithridge, Louisiana and raised in New Orleans.  She began singing in a church choir and was discovered by singer Jessie Hill, who recommended George to producer Harold Battiste.  

George wrote "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More" and released it as a single in 1961.  The song hit #3 overall and was a #1 R&B hit.  George released two singles the following year, "You Talk About Love" and "Send For Me (If You Need Some Lovin"), but both were only minor hits, and George largely retired from the music industry by the end of the decade.

Several artists, including Ike and Tina Turner, Bonnie Raitt, and Freddie King, have recorded George's hit song.

A lot of people had a hand in the success of this group:

#483:  Sally Go 'Round the Roses--Jaynetts

This group from The Bronx, New York began as the Hearts.  They recorded "Lonely Nights", which was released on a small independent label.  It became an R&B hit, allowing producer Zell Sanders to found her own label, J&S.  

The Jaynetts name came about by adding the "J" in "J&S" to "Anetta", the middle name of vocalist Lezli Valentine.  Justine Washington sang lead for the group before going solo in 1957.  Abner Spector of Chess Records told Sanders to assemble a lineup of female singers and Lona Stevens, Spector's wife, wrote "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" with Sanders for this purpose.

The vocalists were Yvonne Bushnell, Ethel Davis, Ada Ray Kelly, Johnnie Louise Richardson and Mary Sue Wells.  Many J&S session singers also lent vocals to the song.  "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" reached #2 in 1963, so the group recorded an album of the same name.  "Keep an Eye on Her" was released as a single but did not chart, nor did two further singles.  

At #481, this great-sounding doo-wop group:

#482:  Silhouettes--Rays

Lead singer Harold Miller, tenors Walter Ford and David Jones and baritone Harry James formed the Rays in New York City in 1955. 

The Rays originally signed a recording contract with Chess Records and recorded "Silhouettes", a song written by Bob Crewe and Frank Slay, Jr.  The group released "Silhouettes" on XYZ Records in 1957, but it soon became so popular that Cameo Records  picked it up for national distribution since XYZ couldn't handle the demand.  "Silhouettes" peaked at #3 and sold over one million copies, becoming one of The Top Songs of the 1950's*.

The Rays had minor hits with "Mediterranean Moon" and "Magic Moon".  "Silhouettes" was covered by the Diamonds in 1957 (#10) and Herman's Hermits (#5) in 1965.  

This artist worked behind the scenes on some great albums of the 1960's before enjoying a big solo hit in 1972:

  

#481: Oh, Babe What Would You Say--Hurricane Smith

This artist from Edmonton, England was a RAF glider pilot in World War II.  He began as a jazz musician, but when that didn't turn out, he joined EMI Records as an apprentice sound engineer in 1959.  Smith was the engineer on all of the EMI studio recordings by the Beatles until after the 1965 album Rubber Soul, when he was promoted to producer at EMI.  Smith recorded nearly 100 Beatles songs all told.

In 1967, Smith began working with a new group, Pink Floyd, producing their first four studio albums.  The following year, he produced one of the first rock concept albums, S.F. Sorrow by the Pretty Things. 

Still, Smith yearned to record songs himself.  In 1971, using the pseudonym of Hurricane Smith, he recorded "Don't Let It Die".  He had written the song originally in hopes that John Lennon would record it, but released the song himself as a single.  It reached #2 in the U.K. but the song didn't find a worldwide audience.

In 1972, Smith released "Oh Babe What Would You Say?", and this time, his success spread around the world.  It was #3 in the United States and #4 in the U.K.  Smith released his self-titled debut album, and another single, "Who Was It?" peaked at #23 in the U.K.

Further efforts were not successful, but he did tour for two years with a band and record a second album, Razzmahtazz Shall Inherit The Earth, in 1973.  

#480:  Safe & Sound--Capital Cities

Although he only had one hit, this artist wrote his own Broadway musical:

#479:  Barely Breathing--Duncan Sheik

This artist was raised in Montclair, New Jersey.  His Julliard-trained grandmother taught him how to play piano.  Duncan graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, then studied semiotics at Brown University.

Sheik moved to Daly City and began playing for other artists, including Liz and Lisa (with Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell).  In 1996, Sheik released his self-titled debut album, which included "Barely Breathing".  Although the song only reached #17, making it one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*, it set a Rock Era record by charting for 55 consecutive weeks, hitting the Top 20 on Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 and earned Sheik a Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal Performance.

The follow-up single, "She Runs Away", reached #24 on the Adult chart but was largely ignored by a mass audience.  In 1998, Sheik released the album Humming, which featured complex string arrangements.  He released two albums in the 2000's which were critically acclaimed but not big-sellers.

In 2002, Sheik wrote original music for the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Twelfth Night.  He composed the score for the movies A Home at the End of the World and Through the Fire.  In 2006, Sheik wrote the music for the play Spring Awakening, a project eight years in the making.  The musical found its way to Broadway in the fall and won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Orchestration and Best Original Score.  The original cast recording received the Grammy in 2008 for Best Musical Show Album. 

In 2012, Sheik wrote Alice By Heart, an adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.   Currently, he is writing music for the musical adaptation of American Psycho and working on the feature film of Spring Awakening.

Sheik has released seven albums and 13 singles in his career.

  #478--Forget Me Nots--Patrice Rushen

Rushen was regarded as a child prodigy, exhibiting great talent and potential early in life as a classically trained pianist. She graduated from Locke High School in Los Angeles, then earned a degree in Music at University of Southern California.

After winning a competition at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival, Rushen garnered considerable attention and earned a recording contract with Prestige Records the following year. Rushen recorded three albums with Prestige and became an in-demand session player, which led to a major contract with Elektra Records in 1977.

Rushen achieved success on the smaller genre of R&B with songs like "Haven't You Heard" (#42 overall), "Feels So Real" (#78) and "You Remind Me". But it was "Forget Me Nots" that enabled Rushen to reach a mass audience. The single hit #23 in the United States and truth be told was underrated.  The song earned Rushen a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. 

By this time, Rushen had become proficient on multiple instruments, including the flute, clarinet and several kinds of percussion. Patrice had released five albums and she was a guest on Soul Train in 1981. Patrice also wrote the opening theme for The Steve Harvey Show.

Rushen became the first female head composer and musical director for the Grammy Awards, the People's Choice Awards and the Emmy Awards and the first woman to serve as musical director for the NAACP Image Awards, a position she held for twelve years. Rushen also was musical director/composer for Newsweek's American Achievement Awards and was musical director for Janet Jackson's janet. World Tour. In 2008, Rushen became a professor at the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

This act's signature hit was named after them:

#477:  In A Big Country--Big Country

Stuart Adamson (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar, mandolin, sitar and vocals), keyboardist Peter Wishart, brother Alan on bass, and drummer Clive Parker  formed this group in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1981.  Big Country fused Scottish folk and martial music styles with guitar-driven rock to achieve success in the 1980's. 

The group rehearsed for eight months before playing a concert in Dunfermline.  This led to dates opening for Alice Cooper in 1982, but their keyboard-oriented sound wasn't well-received by Cooper's fans who only liked one kind of music and weren't deep enough to appreciate Big Country.  So the group was dumped from the tour after just two concerts.     

The Wisharts and Parker were fired from the band, which brought in Tony Butler (bass and vocals) and Mark Brzezicki (drums and vocals) to replace them. 

Big Country signed with Phonogram Records.  They recorded "Harvest Home" in 1982, and the single reached #91 in the U.K.  The following year, "Fields of Fire" reached the Top Ten in the U.K., but Big Country still lacked a worldwide audience.  The group recorded the album The Crossing, which included "In a Big Country".  That single finally helped the group score a breakthrough, as it hit #17 in the United States.  Big Country performed on Saturday Night Live and at the Grammy Awards, and the success of their single led to album sales of over one million in the U.K. and Gold status in the United States.

While playing on a worldwide tour in 1984, Big Country released "Wonderland", which was #8 in the U.K. but only #86 in the United States.  Despite the great talent of the group, they would never chart in the U.S. again.  Big Country released the album Steeltown, which was a #1 album in the U.K. but only #70 in the United States.  The group achieved three more U.K. Top 30 songs from Steeltown.

The group participated in the Band Aid project "Do They Know It's Christmas?", then toured in 1985, both as headliners and opening for artists such as Queen.  Big Country also recorded the score for the movie Restless Natives.

The 1986 album The Seer produced three more Top 30 songs in the U.K., including the Irish number one song "Look Away", #7 in the U.K.  For their fourth album, Big Country brought in producer Peter Wolf.  Peace in Our Time was #9 in the U.K. but sold poorly elsewhere. 

The 1991 album No Place Like Home was not received well at all and nearly broke up the band.  Subsequently, Big Country was dropped by Phonogram, their label of ten years.  Without a major label, Big Country faded away, with only the album The Buffalo Skinners in 1993 achieving significant airplay.

But the group was still a concert draw, opening for the Rolling Stones and the Who on tour in the 1990's.  Butler played bass and sang vocals on Pete Townshend's solo hit "Let My Love Open the Door".  Brzezicki played drums for the Cult on their 1985 album Love.  

Big Country gave a "Final Fling" farewell tour, culminating in a sold-out concert in Glasgow in 2000.   The group recorded eight albums and released 29 singles in their career.

The One Hit Wonder at #476 was the music director at Columbia Pictures from 1936-1962:

#476:  Moonglow and Theme From 'Picnic'--Morris Stoloff

Stoloff was a child prodigy on the violin, toured the United States as a featured soloist at age 16, and became the youngest member ever of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Soon, movies began including sound, and Hollywood studios needed musicians to provide it. He first worked at Paramount Pictures before being hired at Columbia. He won three Oscars for Best Score (Cover Girl in 1944, The Jolson Story in 1946 and Song Without End in 1960) and was nominated an additional 14 times. 

By the late 1940's, Stoloff began recording some of the more popular songs as singles for Decca Records, even though they had been written by someone else.  In 1956, he released the single "Moonglow and Theme From 'Picnic'", which exploded to #1 for three weeks and sold over one million copies.

When Frank Sinatra founded Reprise Records in the early 1960's, he hired Stoloff as musical director.  Stoloff released 11 albums in his career, but nothing else captured the public's attention like "Moonglow".

And there you have the first 25.  Join us tomorrow for the next edition!