Artists Whose First Hit Was Their Biggest--Part Two

We continue with our look at the many artists who exploded on the scene with a great song, but were unable to match that first release after that.  Before most people hear of an artist, they have labored for years in dimly lit nightclubs as they honed their craft.  These artists spent countless hours writing songs in the hopes of becoming a recording artist.  Once they made it, we see the difficulty that even these recording artists had of matching their first big hit.  The list contains the biggest One Hit Wonders of the Rock Era*, but some much more successful artists who hit it big with their first single which wound up being their greatest.

Toni Basil

"Mickey"

This woman is better known as one of the great choreographers of the Rock Era, working on the movie American Grafitti and the television shows Shindig and Hullabaloo.  She enlisted the help of the 1981 Dorsey High School cheerleaders for the video which helped take her first release go to #1.  Basil's next best effort was the #77 song "Shoppin' From A To Z".

Shirley Bassey

"Goldfinger"

This artist from Wales gave us what many call the best James Bond theme ever, the #8 song "Goldfinger".  Although she continued to have success in England, she never matched her first great song, and never hit the Top 40 again in America.

Bay City Rollers

"Saturday Night"

In 1975, the latest in a long line of acts aiming to emulate the teen appeal that the Beatles had.  They all, of course, fell painfully short.  Although this Scottish group did have some other good songs and two other Top 10's, they never came close to this #1 song again.

Archie Bell & the Drells

"Tighten Up"

This act from Houston, Texas gave us this #1 smash in 1968.  Their follow up, "I Can't Stop Dancing", reached #9, but they never hit the Top 10 again.

Mr. Acker Bilk

"Stranger On The Shore"

This great instrumental from English clarinetist Mr. Acker Bilk reached #1 in 1962, but he never came close to the Top 40 again.

Marcy Blane

"Bobby's Girl"

One of the big hits of 1962 was this song from this artist from Brooklyn, New York.  Her only other hit was a #82 song.

Bloodstone

"Natural High"

This soul act scored a Gold record with this #10 song in 1973, but never came close to it after that.

Blue Oyster Cult

"(Don't Fear) The Reaper

Great song here from Blue Oyster Cult.  They put out some great hard rock in the '70s and '80s, and a song that should have been a bigger hit, "Burnin' For You", but never came close to matching this.

Blues Image

"Ride Captain Ride"

The lead singer and guitarist of this group, Mike Pinera, joined Iron Butterfly after the demise of this group and was Alice Cooper's guitarist for two years as well.  Blues Image showed great potential but alas, is another One Hit Wonder.

Blues Magoos

"(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet"

Here's another great song from the '60s that leaves one scratching their head when they find out that this group never had another Top 40 hit afterwards.