The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era: #100-#76

If you've been waiting for The Top 100*, you've missed a lot of great artists and songs!  Plus, this is a subjective ranking, so you missed the point--just enjoy the music, and realize how great these "One-Hit Wonders" are...

When she burst onto the scene, she looked like a superstar, but she would have just one big crossover:

 

  #100:  Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson

Anderson was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota but her family soon moved to Fair Oaks, California.  She became interested in music at age six, but she was racking up huge successes in the horse show arenas, where she eventually won over 700 trophies.  

In 1965, Anderson accompanied her mother, who had just signed a recording contract with RCA Victor, to Nashville, Tennessee.  Lynn joined in an informal sing-along at a local hotel room with Merle Haggard and Freddie Hart.  Slim Williamson, owner of Chart Records, was in the room and recognized Anderson's singing ability.  This led to Anderson signing a recording contract at age 19.

Anderson debuted in 1966 with the single "For Better or for Worse", which did not chart.  "Ride, Ride, Ride" became her first single to chart at all, and that was just on the country chart.  She scored some Top 10 country hits, but still wasn't known outside that small but loyal group.  In 1967, Anderson performed regularly on The Lawrence Welk Show.  She signed with Columbia Records in 1970.  

Anderson recorded "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden", written by Joe South, but something was different this time.  Famous record executive Clive Davis heard it and believed this one could become a popular hit, so the song was released as a single worldwide.  "Rose Garden" became a huge hit, hitting #1 in Germany for four weeks, #1 in Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland and Norway and reaching #3 in both the United States and the U.K.  "Rose Garden" won the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and helped the album of the same name go Platinum.  

Numerous artists, including Glen Campbell, Andy Williams, Loretta Lynn, Ray Conniff, Martina McBride, Percy Faith, k.d. Lang, Dottie West, Jim Nabors and Dinah Shore, have recorded the song since.  "Rose Garden" remains one of the biggest country crossover hits of all-time and ranked #83 on Country Music Television's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music*.

In 1971, Anderson released "You're My Man" and "How Can I Unlove You", but neither song could get past #63.  She continued to have success on the segmented country chart with three Top 5 hits there, and "Cry" made it to #16 on the Easy Listening chart.  Although most people had only heard "Rose Garden", Anderson did win the American Music Award for Favorite Female Country Artist.  

.

Lynn was the first female country artist to headline and sell out Madison Square Garden, playing before a packed house in 1974.  

Anderson was one of the most popular female country singers of the 1970's, but despite 34 albums and 62 singles, she could never translate that popularity into mass appeal success. 

This late singer with the great voice may have only had one solo hit, but she sang backup for some pretty big stars:

 

#99:  Lovin' You--Minnie Riperton  

Riperton grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and studied music, drama and dance at the Lincoln Center.  She was taught there to use her full vocal range, which eventually became five-and-a-half octaves.  Minnie graduated from Hyde Park High School, now Hyde Park Career Academy.  She was the lead singer in the Chicago-based girl group the Gems as a teenager.  

Soon, Minnie was singing backup at Chess Records for artists such as Chuck Berry, Etta James, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Ramsey Lewis and Fontella Bass (on "Rescue Me").  Riperton also sang lead for the group Rotary Connection from 1967-1971, which released five albums.

Riperton released her solo debut album Come to My Garden in 1970.  Three years later, Steve Slutzah of Epic Records found Riperton in semi-retirement.  After hearing a demo from her, Slutzah took the song to his label and helped sign Riperton to a recording contract.  

In 1975, Riperton recorded the album Perfect Angel, co-produced by Stevie Wonder.  Sales of the album were slow despite three single releases.  "Lovin' You" was released as a fourth single, and it went all the way to #1 in the United States and 24 other countries, was #2 in the U.K, and sold over one million copies.

Riperton recorded the album Adventures in Paradise later in the year.  "Inside My Love" was a Top 5 hit on R&B stations but wasn't a popular hit (#76).  She then released the album Stay in Love and sang backup for Stevie Wonder on his classic album Songs in the Key of Life.

Riperton was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1976.  She continued performing and became a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society.  In 1978, she received the Cancer Society's Courage Award, presented to her at the White House by U.S. president Jimmy Carter.  Riperton died on July 12, 1979 at the age of 31 after releasing six albums and 14 singles.

This group scored their one and only hit after they were dropped from Capitol Records:

 

#98:  The Middle--Jimmy Eat World  

Lead singer and guitarist Jim Adkins and drummer Zach Lind, who had been friends since preschool, joined with guitarist Tom Linton and bass player Mitch Porter to form Jimmy Eat World in Mesa, Arizona in 1993.  The group released their demo tape and signed with an independent company.  In 1994, they released the EP One, Two, Three Four in 1994.  

Jimmy Eat World released their self-titled debut album in 1994 with Linton handling most of the lead vocals.  The group began attracting attention in the indie underground, which led to a major recording contract with Capitol Records.  Prior to recording their first major album, Rick Burch replaced Porter on bass.   "Rockstar" from their 1996 album Static Prevails was their first single release.  

The group's 1999 album Clarity, which contained the single "Lucky Denver Mint", gained a following.  However, Capitol dropped the group and Jimmy Eat World had to self-finance their next album, Bleed American, in 2001.  The album became their breakthrough, as four singles became hits on the Modern Rock chart.  "The Middle" hit #1 in that genre and reached #5 overall, helping Bleed American go platinum.

Jimmy Eat World followed that album up with Futures, which featured "Pain", another #1 Modern Rock song.  But "Pain" paled by comparison to "The Middle" overall, only reaching #93.  Although the album Chase This Light in 2007 helped the group continue their Modern Rock success, they would never again  come up with another worldwide hit.

Jimmy Eat World released eight albums and 16 singles in their career, with "Sweetness" in 2002 being their next-biggest song.

This group recorded a song in 1972 that became their big hit as well as the standard for future love songs:

 

#97:  Precious and Few--Climax  

When the 1960's group the Outsiders split up, this band was formed in 1970 by lead singer Sonny Geraci, songwriter and guitarist Walter Nims, keyboardist and songwriter Nick D'Amico and drummer Jon Jon Guttman.  The group released their first singers under the Outsiders name, but changed their name to Climax after legal action was threatened.

The first album released following the name change was Climax Featuring Sonny Geraci.  "Precious and Few", which was originally recorded in 1970, was stored in the archives of Bell Records for two years before an executive at Bell heard it on a Santa Barbara, California radio station.  Bell subsidiary Carousel Records released the song in Hawai'i as a test market.  After more tests in Buffalo, New York and Boston, Massachusetts in 1972, the song took off and "Precious and Few" made it all the way to #3 and sold over one million copies.

Climax released "Life and Breath" as the follow-up, but only reached #52 with it.  Bell did not have a powerful marketing arm and this hurt the song.  Further, Bell did not release Climax's debut album while "Precious and Few" was hot, failing to capitalize on the moment.  Of note, Climax was the first group to record "Rock and Roll Heaven", a song co-written by new keyboardist Johnny Stevenson that later became a comeback hit for the Righteous Brothers.

Climax released seven other singles before breaking up.

The woman with the amazing voice is at #96:

 

  #96:  And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going--Jennifer Holliday

Jennifer was born in Riverside, Texas, and began her career at age 19, when she earned a part the same day she auditioned for the Broadway production of Your Arms Too Short to Box with God.  Two years later, Holliday landed the role she would become famous in, that of Effie Melody White in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls.

 

Holliday's performance in Dreamgirls was widely acclaimed, especially her show-stopping performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going".  Jennifer became famous for the song, which reached #22 in the United States and #1 on the R&B chart, and she won the Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance, Rhythm and Blues.

Holliday won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical and remained with the musical for four years.  She then toured in the musical Sing, Mahalia, Sing in 1985. 

Holliday continued to record, and had success on the R&B chart, but amazingly, the success in that genre didn't carry over to mainstream success.  She did, however, lend her amazing vocals to Foreigner's #1 song "I Want to Know What Love Is" in 1985.  Holliday sang gospel songs, including those the 1995 album On & On.  In 2011, she released the Christian CD Goodness and Mercy.

Holliday has also appeared on television, including performances on Touched by an Angel and Ally McBeal.

Jennifer received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.  She has released seven albums and 14 singles in her career.

#95:  Bad Day--Daniel Powter

This veteran musician landed a big solo hit in 1970:

 

  #94:  I Hear You Knockin'--Dave Edmunds

Edmunds hails from Cardiff, Glamorgan, South Wales.  He played in the piano duo the Edmunds Brothers Duo with older brother Geoff.    The two then joined the Stompers, which later was known as the Heartbeats.  Dave and Geoff then joined the 99'ers.  Edmunds  was the leader of the Raiders of 1961, not the Paul Revere & the Raiders from Boise, Idaho that became superstars.

Edmunds recorded with the Image in 1965 and 1966 before forming the short-lived Human Beans.  That group evolved into the band Love Sculpture, which scored a Top 5 hit in England--"Sabre Dance".

In 1970, Edmunds released the solo single "I Hear You Knocking" on MAM Records.  The song reached #1 in the U.K., #3 in Australia and #4 in the United States and Australia and sold over three million copies.

Edmunds appeared in the film Stardust, then began producing for other artists, working with Brinsley Schwarz among others.  He worked well into the night at Rockfield Studios near Rockfield, Monmouth.

The work with Brinsley Schwarz led to a collaboration with Nick Lowe and they formed the group Rockpile.  Edmunds had hits in the U.K. with songs such as "Girl's Talk", but those never became worldwide hits.

Edmunds worked with Paul McCartney, the Stray Cats, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Status Quo during the 1980's.  In 1983, Edmunds collaborated with Jeff Lynne and two songs--one of which, "Slipping Away", reached #39 in the United States.  "Slipping Away" became his only other hit in the western part of the world.

Edmunds joined Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band for tours in 1992 and 2000.  Edmunds released 12 albums and 25 singles in his career.

This song hit #1 four years after the group had split up:

#93:  When I'm with You--Sheriff 

Vocalist Freddy Curci, guitarist Steve DeMarchi, keyboardist Arnold Lanni, bassist Wolf Hassel and drummer Rob Elliott formed the group Sheriff in 1979 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The group released their self-titled debut album in 1982, which featured a hit in Canada, "You Remind Me", as well as "When I'm with You".  

The single reached #8 in Canada and #61 in the United States.  Frustrated by their lack of success and internal tensions, the band split up in 1985, having never released another record.

Six years after "When I'm with You" had been a hit in Canada, disc jockeys in the United States began playing the song.  When they reported strong listener response, Capitol Records re-released the song.  Amazingly, Sheriff had a hit six years after its release and four years after they had broken up.  It became a #1 song in both Canada and the United States.  Curci continues to be listed in the Guinness Book of Records for holding the longest note in a popular song for the last note in "When I'm with You".

The success led Curci and DeMarchi to attempt to reunite Sheriff, but the other members were not interested.  So, the pair hooked up with former members of Heart to form the group Alias, who enjoyed a #2 song with "More Than Words Can Say".

When this group came out, people didn't quite know what to make of them.  We do--they are ranked #82 in The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era*: 

#92:  Fire--Crazy World of Arthur Brown 

In their prime, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown consisted of Brown on lead vocals, bassist Sean Nicholas Greenwood, keyboardist Vincent Crane, Carl Palmer and Jeff Cutler on drums and Dick Heninghem and Pete Solley on organ.

"Fire" was released as a single in 1968 and reached #1 in the United Kingdom and Canada and #2 in the U.S. "Fire" sold over one million copies.

The song has been covered several times by artists such as Pete Townshend, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and the Ventures.

It isn't just the song that is ranked, but the talent and level of musicianship of the artist, and this group scores high in the latter category:

 

  #91:  Suavecito--Malo  

Guitarist Jorge Santana, Arcelio Garcia, Tellez and Bean played in the group the Malibus while guitarist Abel Zarate, Roy Murray and Richard Spremich played in the band Naked Lunch.  The seven musicians formed Malo in San Francisco.  

Richard Bean soon joined as the timbale player, and wrote "Suavecito" as a poem for a girl in his high school algebra class.  Malo recruited some of the top musicians in the Bay Area, including trumpet players Forrest Buchtel, Jr., Ron Smith, Paul C. Saenz, Luis Gasca and Tom Harrell.

Why Malo didn't have a smash hit with "Suavecito" (it peaked at #18) and why they didn't have further hits are both great mysteries.  Following the release of their debut album, many of Malo's original members left.  Buchtel went on to play with Blood, Sweat and Tears while Harrell became one of the top lyrical trumpet soloists of all-time. 

Malo released eight studio albums and seven singles.

These talented artists gave us plenty to think about with this one:

 

  #90:  What I Am--Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians  

Brickell graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas.  While attending Southern Methodist University, Brickell joined the local folk rock group the New Bohemians as their lead singer. 

When the group signed a recording contract, they changed their name to Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians.  In 1988, the band recorded the highly underrated album Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars.  The song "What I Am" was one of many worthy tracks on the album, but became the group's only hit.  It was co-written by Brickell and Kenny Withrow of the group and peaked at #1 in Canada, #7 in the United States and #31 in the U.K.  Brickell played a folk singer in the 1989 movie Born on the Fourth of July.  The group's follow-up album Ghost of a Dog in 1990 did not fare as well. 

Brickell married Paul Simon in 1992.  She released two solo albums and in 2008, released an album as part of the group the Heavy Circles that included Sean Lennon.

We're saluting the top artists of the Rock Era who enjoyed one big hit, and we're up to #79:

 

#89: Evil Woman Don't Play Your Games with Me--Crow 

Crow formed in 1967 with lead singer David Wagner, guitarist Dick Wiegand, Larry Wiegand on bass, keyboardist Kink Middlemist and drummer Harry Nehls forming as South 40.  The group used the name until "Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games With Me)" was recorded, when Denny Craswell replaced Nehls.  Crow signed a recording contract with Amaret Records.

Crow wrote their one hit that appeared on their debut album album Crow Music in 1969.  The single hit #19 and Black Sabbath covered it their next year.  Crow then recorded the albums Crow and Mosaic in successive years, but those albums didn't contain songs of the caliber of "Evil Woman".  

Crow longed to record for Elektra Records, but Amaret would not release them from their contract and the group disbanded in 1972.  Crow reformed in 1980 with a different lineup and recorded one album.  All told, the group released five albums and nine singles in their career. 

One of the big hits from 1971 is next:

 

  #88:  Smiling Faces Sometimes--Undisputed Truth  

The Undisputed Truth shared many singles with the Temptations, for whom they shared producer Norman Whitfield.  Among them:  "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone", which the Undisputed Truth took to #63.  

"Smiling Faces Sometimes", in fact, was originally recorded by the Tempts, but in this case, the Undisputed Truth had the bigger hit, with "Smiling Faces" hitting #3 in 1971.  Lead and backing vocals were handled by Joe Harris, Billie Rae Calvin and Brenda Joyce.  Rare Earth and Joan Osbourne are among the artists to cover the song.

When Whitfield left Motown to set up his own record company in 1975, the Undisputed Truth followed him.  But they had little success, and faded from view after two more albums.  They did receive some R&B airplay and hit #43 in the U.K. with "You + Me = Love".  In all, the Undisputed Truth recorded eight albums and 15 singles. 

This artist once took over as one of the primary songwriters for the Supremes:

#87:  Indiana Wants Me--R. Dean Taylor

Taylor, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was hired by Motown Records in 1964 as a songwriter and recording artist.  He released his debut single "Let's Go Somewhere" in 1965.  The song was written by Taylor and Brian Holland and produced by Holland and Dozier, fresh off five #1 songs by the Supremes.

Taylor wrote "All I Need" for the Temptations and "I'll Turn to Stone" for the Four Tops.  In 1968, Taylor's "Gotta' See Jane" became a Top 20 hit, but only in the U.K.  After the famous team of Holland/Dozier/Holland left Motown, Taylor became part of the prime creative team for Diana Ross & the Supremes.  Taylor co-wrote "Love Child" and "I'm Livin' In Shame" for the supergroup.

Taylor became one of the first artists to be assigned to Motown's new subsidiary Rare Earth Records.    His first single on that label was "Indiana Wants Me", which reached #1 in his native Canada, became #2 in the #2 and hit #5 in the United States.  Taylor appeared on American Bandstand to promote the song.

"Gotta' See Jane" was re-released, and peaked at #2 in the U.K. but was not a worldwide hit.  Taylor released three albums and 34 singles in his career.  "Ain't It A Sad Thing" at #66 was the best R. Dean could do after a big hit.  But Taylor is recognized as a very successful songwriter.  In addition to the above mentioned songs, he also wrote for Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Marvelettes, Jackie DeShannon, Golden Earring and Brenda Holloway.

Sweden produced this entry in our special at #76:

#86: Lovefool--Cardigans

Peter Svensson and Magnus Sveningsson formed this group in October of 1992 in Jonkoping, Sweden with lead singer Nina Persson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg and keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson. The group began living together in a small apartment and recorded a demo tape.

Ola Hermanson heard the demo and signed the Cardigans to Trampolene Records. In 1994, the group released their debut album Emmerdale, which was re-released internationally in 1997. The album contained the single "Rise & Shine". Emmerdale attracted a loyal base of fans in Sweden.

The Cardigans toured Europe, then recorded the album Life in 1995, which sold over one million copies worldwide. Still, most people around the world had not heard of the Cardigans, but it did get the group the exposure they needed to sign a major recording contract with Mercury Records.

Armed with the Mercury deal, the Cardigans released the album First Band on the Moon in 1996. "Lovefool", written by Svensson and Persson, was a worldwide hit (#2 in the U.K., #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart and #1 in New Zealand), leading the album to Platinum status in just three weeks in Japan. The song was featured in the movie Romeo + Juliet, which gave it great exposure, as did videos on MTV, which used to stand for Music Television.

Yet despite six albums and 17 singles, the Cardigans could never match "Lovefool" with mass audiences. They did find success in the U.K., their native Sweden and Australia, and "My Favorite Game" reached #16 among the much smaller Alternative Rock audience.

#85:  Missing You--Jon Waite

One of the biggest worldwide hits of the 90's gave this group their only hit:

 

  #84: What's Up--4 Non Blondes

Bassist Christa Hillhouse and guitarist Shaunna Hall, who were roommates, met drummer Wanda Day when they joined a group Day was already a part of. Soon the three left that band and began playing as a three-piece. Lead singer Linda Perry was invited to join the group shortly afterwards and the group became 4 Non Blondes.

The band signed with Interscope Records in 1991 after 4 Non Blondes opened for Primus.  As they prepared for their debut album, Day was fired and Richardson replaced her.  Producer David Tickle also didn't feel Hall's guitar playing was what the group needed and she was fired as well.  Other guitarists such as Cara Crash and Louis Metoyer were brought in to finish the album.  Roger Rocha eventually joined after the album was completed and stayed with the group until 1994.  

The album was called Bigger, Better, Faster, More!  "What's Up?", a song written by Perry, was released as the album's second single.  It was a worldwide smash, hitting #1 in Austria, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Switzerland and Sweden, #2 in the U.K. and Australia and reaching #14 and selling over one million copies in the United States.  "What's Up?" was the #1 song of the year in Austria and the Netherlands.

Despite the huge success, 4 Non Blondes broke up after just one album.

Perry went on to begin two record labels and has become a major songwriter and producer.  She has written and produced for several artists, including Pink ("Get the Party Started"), Christina Aguilera ("Beautiful") and Gwen Stefani "What You Waiting For?").  Perry won two ASCAP Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for Song of the Year for "Beautiful".  Perry also discovered and signed James Blunt to a recording contract and worked with Celine Dion, Alicia Keys, Cheap Trick, Faith Hill, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge, Enrique Iglesias, Vanessa Carlton and Joan Osbourne, among others.

Here we have a rock band that played this disco song and others only with reluctance:

 

  #83:  Play That Funky Music--Wild Cherry

Rob Parissi (lead vocals and guitar) formed the band Wild Cherry in 1970 in Steubenville, Ohio.  The original lineup included Ben Difabbio (drums), Louie Osso (guitar, lead and background vocals), bassist Larry Brown and keyboardist Larry Mader.  Wild Cherry played clubs in the Ohio Valley region, West Virginia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  

Parissi's cousin, Coogie Stoddart (guitar) and bassists Joe Buchmelter and Buckie Lusk joined later, replacing Osso, Brown and Mader.  Wild Cherry released several songs in the early 1970's, including "You Can Be High (But Lay Low)" and "Something Special On Your Mind".   The group signed a recording contract with Brown Bag Records and released several more singles.

But Parissi became disillusioned and left the music business to become the manager of a local steakhouse, only to realize he wanted to give the band one more try.  Parissi re-formed the band with Bryan Bassett (guitar), drummer Ron Beitle and bassist Allen Wentz.  

The new quartet performed at a feverish pace and built a devoted following in the Pittsburgh area.  Their fans wanted them to play disco music, with one specific table of fans coming up to tease the group by asking "Are you gonna' play some funky music?".    

One night between sets, Beitle said the phrase "Play That Funky Music, White Boy".  Parissi was inspired to write a song around the phrase on a drink order pad.  It took a total of five minutes to write.  When the group went into the studio to record the song, engineer Ken Hamann was so impressed he brought the band to the attention of Epic subsidiary Sweet City Records, who immediately signed the band.

Keyboardist Mark Avsec, who was hired to play on two of the album's tracks, was asked to become a permanent member of the band on tour.  "Play That Funky Music" became a #1 smash for three weeks and a Platinum single.  Billboard named Wild Cherry Best Pop Group of the Year.  The group also won an American Music Award for Top R&B Single of the Year, and they also were nominated for Grammys for Best New Vocal Group and Best R&B Performance by a Group or Duo.

Wild Cherry released four albums and 11 singles, but "Baby Don't You Know" at #43 in 1977 was the next-best they could do.

Since hitting #1, this song has taken a life of its own, played repeatedly at sporting events by those with poor sportsmanship:

 

#82: (Na Na Hey Hey) Kiss Him Goodbye--Steam  

Garrett DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer and Paul Leka were in a Bridgeport, Connecticut band called the Chateaus.  The trio separated but kept in touch.  Leka took a job as a songwriter with Circle Five Productions and produced the #1 song "Green Tambourine" for the Lemon Pipers.  In 1969, Leka was working at Mercury Records and convinced the label to sign DeCarlo.  DeCarlo recorded four singles and to fill up the B-side of the first single, DeCarlo and Leka were asked to record a throwaway flip side.

Frashuer stopped by and inspired Leka to find a song "Kiss Him Goodbye" the three had written in 1961 but never recorded.  The trio recorded the song without any help from studio musicians.  Leka used the drum track from one of DeCarlo's singles and played the keyboard himself.  Since neither Leka or DeCarlo wanted to have their names on it, the song was attributed to a non-existent band named Steam.

What followed surprised everyone.  A Georgia disc jockey flipped the single over and played ("Na Na Hey Hey) Kiss Him Goodbye" on the radio.  Requests poured in and other stations soon picked it up.  Soon, the song appeared on the Billboard chart, sparking further interest, and popularity snowballed.  The single reached #1 for two weeks in 1969 and worldwide sales have now topped 6.5 million.

An album was recorded by studio musicians and released as Steam, but the "group" never released anything further.

We remember one of the greatest acts from Switzerland:

 

#81: Captain of Her Heart--Double

Kurt Maloo (vocals and guitar) and Felix Haug (drums and keyboards) were in the trio Ping Pong when they formed Double (pronounced Doo-blay) in 1983 in Zurich, Switzerland.  The duo enjoyed some success with singles and music festival dates around Europe.

In 1985, Double released their debut album Blue, which contained "The Captain of Her Heart".  The single, also produced by Maloo and Haug, hit #3 in Italy, #4 in Canada, #8 in the U.K., and was a #4 Adult Contemporary hit in the United States (the dominant musical format) and #16 overall.  Boz Scaggs is one of several artists to cover "The Captain of Her Heart".

Double released the album Dou3le in 1987, which failed to emulate the success of their debut and the duo split shortly afterwards.  Maloo released four solo albums before dying of a heart attack in 2004.

Other than that one hit in 1975, this group will be best known as the one that kick-started the career of Paul Carrack:

 

#80:  How Long--Ace 

The members of Ace were assembled from several other bands as Ace Flash and the Dynamos, but the name was quickly abbreviated to Ace.  Lead singer and keyboardist Paul Carrack and Terry "Tex" Comer were in the band Warm Dust while lead guitarist Alan "Bam" King played with Mighty Baby.  Drummer Steve Witherington and guitarist Phil Harris.  Ace became popular on the pub rock circuit.  Drummer Fran Byrne replaced Witherington on drums prior to recording.

Ace recorded their debut album Five-A-Side in 1975 and released the single "How Long".  The song hit #3 in the United States and Canada and the Top 20 in the U.K.  Ace moved to the United States and Jon Woodhead replaced Harris in 1976.  The group released the album No Strings in 1977 before disbanding.  "Rock & Roll Runaway" (#71) in 1975 was their next biggest song.

Carrack became one of The Top Vocalists of the Rock Era*, first joining Eric Clapton's band, then Roger Waters's the Bleeding Heart Band.  He became the lead singer for Squeeze in the early 1980s and was the frontman for Mike + the Mechanics as well as achieving moderate success as a solo artist.

This group was all too happy to record a song originally written for the Temptations:

 

#79:  Do You Love Me--Contours  

In 1959, Joe Billingslea and Billy Gordon founded the group the Blenders in Detroit, Michigan.  After adding Billy Hoggs, Leroy Fair and Hubert Johnson, the group changed their name to the Contours and in 1960, auditioned for Motown Records.  Motown turned them down, but after a visit from Jackie Wilson (Johnson's cousin), the group signed a recording contract with Motown.

The Contours' single "Whole Lotta' Woman" did not chart in 1961 and Fair was replaced by Benny Reeves, brother of Martha Reeves.  Reeves left to serve in the United States Navy and was replaced by Sylvester Potts.  In 1961, the single "The Stretch" did not chart, so the next year, the Contours recorded "Do You Love Me", a song originally meant for the Temptations, that was written by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr.  

With Gordon singing lead, the song reached #1 on the R&B chart, was #2 overall in 1962 and sold over one million copies.  The group reached the chart with "Can You Do It" (#41), "Shake Sherry" and "Can You Jerk Like Me", although they paled in comparison with their big hit.  Despite several lineup changes and further recordings, the Contours could not match the magic of "Do You Love Me". 

"Do You Love Me" was featured on the "Dirty Dancing" Soundtrack in 1987 and became a #11 hit 26 years after its initial release.  The Hollies, the Dave Clark Five and the Tremeloes all recorded versions of the Contours hit. 

Garage Rock at its finest:

 

#78: Lies--Knickerbockers  

The Knickerbockers formed in 1962 in Bergenfield, New Jersey with brothers Beau (guitar) and John (bass) Charles.  The two brothers were joined by an ever-changing group of musicians  until 1964, when Buddy Randell (vocals and sax) joined the group.  Randell was with the Royal Teens, who had the hit "Short Shorts" in 1958.  Drummer Jimmy Walker completed the band.

Singer-songwriter Jerry Fuller spotted the group playing at the University Twist Palace and signed them to Challenge Records.  For the first three years, the Knickerbockers worked hard without much to show for it.  Finally in 1966, they released "Lies", which hit #20.  

The follow-up single was "One Track Mind" might have been a hit, but Challenge couldn't handle the distribution, and the single peaked at #45.  But the Knickerbockers continued to work hard, appearing in the movie Out of Sight and as regulars on Dick Clark's Where the Action Is on television.

The Knickerbockers were kept down by the problems of their label, and Walker left in 1967 and Randell soon after.  The Charles brothers continued to record under the group's name, then forming the group Lodi in 1971.   

This act gave us a worldwide smash in 1991:

 

#77:  Stay--Shakespeare's Sister

Siobhan Fahey left Bananarama in 1988 and conceived Shakespeare's Sister as a solo project. Marcella Detroit joined her, initially as another songwriter, then as a member of the group.  Shakespeare's Sister released their debut album Sacred Heart, which contained a Top 10 song in the U.K.--"You're History", but it was largely undiscovered by most of the world.  

In 1991, the duo released Hormonally Yours.  The second single from that album, was a worldwide smash, hitting #1 in the U.K. for eight weeks and #4 in the United States.  Further singles from the album continued to do well in the U.K., but they didn't share worldwide mass success with "Stay".

Detroit left the group in 1993, leaving Fahey as the sole member of the project until 1996.  The group has released five albums and 18 singles in their career.

Indeed one of the classical instrumentals of the Rock Era is next:

 

#76: Classical Gas--Mason Williams

Williams was born in Abilene, Texas, and graduated from Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Mason went to Oklahoma City University and North Texas State University before serving in the United States Navy.

In 1968, Williams released the single "Classical Gas", which rose to #1, sold over one million copies and won three Grammy Awards (Best Instrumental Composition, Best Instrumental Performance and Best Instrumental Orchestra Arrangement.  He also wrote "Cindarella Rockefella", a big hit in the U.K. for Esther and Abi Ofarim, and songs for the Kingston Trio.  Mason's "Concert for Bluegrass Band And Orchestra", also titled "Symphonic Bluegrass", has been performed by over 40 symphonies.  


Williams went on to record over a dozen albums, but never could match the success of "Classical Gas".  The song has now been played over six million times on radio stations. 

Williams was also a stand-up comedian.  He wrote over 175 hours of music and comedy for network television programming and was a key force behind The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  Williams created the 1968 political satire "Pat Paulsen for President" campaign.  Williams won an Emmy Award in 1968 for his work as a comedy writer.

Williams also wrote material used on television for Andy Williams, Glen Campbell, Dinah Shore, Roger Miller and Petula Clark.  In 1980, Williams briefly worked as head writer for Saturday Night Live on NBC-TV.  

We don't do these type of productions that often; that's what makes them "special".  We have just three days remaining, so be sure to catch up on any installments you've missed.