The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #400-391

Remember the criteria for the list--an artist must have only one Top 20 hit or a maximum of two Top 40 hits to be eligible.  On with the countdown!

This One-Hit Wonder had a surprise hit in 1994:

#400:  Beck--"Loser"

Beck grew up in Los Angeles, then traveled to Europe and played as a street musician.  In the late 1980's, Beck moved to New York City and then returned to Los Angeles.  He worked several low-paying jobs while working on his music.  

In 1993, Beck released his first studio album, Golden Feelings, on Sonic Enemy Records.  An appearance on college radio station KCRW in Santa Monica, California led to Beck signing with Geffen Records.  

^{Beck achieved his breakthough single "Loser" in 1994, which reached #10 and sold over one million copies.  He received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year for his 1996 album Odelay, but it had no significant singles.  Beck won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance for the album Mutations and he was nominated for Best Album for Midnight Vultures.  Beck has released 11 studio albums but his music was targeted for a select few, and he was unable to achieve worldwide success after "Loser".}

This next group came up with a big hit in 1969:

  

   #399:  The Flying Machine--"Smile A Little Smile For Me"  

The Flying Machine consisted of Tony Newman on vocals and guitars, guitarist Steve Jones, lead singer Sam Kempe, Stuart Colman on bass and electric piano, drummer Paul Wilkinson and Edie Andrews on background vocals. The group released their first single in 1969. By December, "Smile A Little Smile For Me" had reached #5 in the United States and sold a million copies. The group's follow-up, "Baby Make It Soon", reached the Top 100 but the group split up shortly thereafter.

This act teaches us that you should never give up on your dream:

#398:  Primitive Radio Gods--"Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand"

The group the I-Rails formed in the late 1980's, an alternative rock band out of my old stomping grounds in Oxnard, California.  The I-Rails released four albums, none of which attracted much attention.  Thus, the band split up.

Bassist/singer Chris O'Connor persisted, however, with material originally intended for a fifth album.  He recorded tracks and sent the demo to music stations.  But this album too was ignored, and O'Connor left the music business to work as an air traffic controller at Los Angeles International Airport. 

In 1994, O'Connor rediscovered the demo tapes he had packed away several years before.  He decided to give it one more try, and mailed copies of the tape to every record label he could think of.  Fiction Records called him, interested in one of the tracks--"Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand".  O'Connor signed a publishing deal, then signed a recording contract with Columbia Records.

The song appeared on "The Cable Guy" Soundtrack in 1996 and the album he had worked on years before was re-released as Rocket.  "Phone Booth" was successful on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching #1 on the Modern Rock chart and becoming a Top 10 Airplay song in the United States and helped the album go Gold.

Due to the success of Rocket, O'Connor reunited with former bandmates Jeff Sparks (bass) and Tim Lauterio and added guitarist Luke McAuliffe to the mix.  The Primitive Radio Gods toured North America in the summer.  In 1997, the group began writing and recording but Columbia dropped the band from the label.

The band was able to sign with Hi-Fi/Sire Records for the album, Mellotron On! to be released.  But Sire dropped them as well.  Eventually, the Primitive Radio Gods were able to release the album in 2000 as White Hot Peach on an indie label.  

To date, the group has released nine albums and four singles, but "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In Hand" is far and away their best.

This singer stepped out of the shadows to enjoy a huge hit in 1991:

  
#397:  Lisa Fischer--"How Can I Ease The Pain"

Fischer began her music career as a backup singer for Luther Vandross on his albums and tours for 22 years.  She also sang backing vocals for Billy Ocean and Melba Moore.  

In 1984, Fischer's song "Only Love (Shadows)" was included in the movie Beat Streat.  Then in 1991, Fischer recorded the album So Intense, which included the single "How Can I Ease The Pain".  The song topped the R&B chart and won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and reached #11 overall.  Her song "Colors Of Love" on the "Made in America" Soundtrack is another example of her great talent.

Yet limited success on the R&B chart was all Fischer could do after "How Can I Ease The Pain".  "Save Me" was her next best, peaking at #74.  But Fischer continued to be a demanded backing vocalist, singing as a backing vocalist on tour with the Rolling Stones for 12 years, as well as working with Tina Turner, Roberta Flack, Teddy Pendergrass, Sting, Chaka Khan and Chris Botti.

At #397, the artist who gave us this great song:

#396:  Shawn Mullins--"Lullabye"  

Mullins graduated from Clarkston High School in Clarkston, Georgia, and became a solo acoustic musician and bandmaster of the military marching band at North Georgia College and State University.  He originally wanted to pursue a military career, and made 1st lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve.

But his passion for songwriting won out, and, after adding drummer Mickey Hendrix and bassist Carlton Brown, formed the trio Shawn Eric Mullins with Twice Removed.  The group was a popular regional act but soon, Mullins began performing as a solo artist.  He also taught music at Union County Elementary School in Blairsville, Georgia during this time.

"Lullabye" was released from Shawn's album Soul's Core.  The song peaked at #7 in the United States, #2 in Canada and #5 in Australia.  "Shimmer", from the "Dawson's Creek" Soundtrack was a minor hit for Mullins, but after 13 career albums, "Lullabye" has been far and away Shawn's best.

This group was able to score their big hit when a lead singer with good background and success joined them:

   
#395:  Brooklyn Bridge--"Worst That Could Happen"

Johnny Maestro was the original lead singer of the Crests, which also included Patricia van Dross, older sister of Luther Vandross. The Crests enjoyed a big hit with "16 Candles" and released several other singles before Maestro left the group for a solo career.  He had a couple of Top 40 hits with "What A Surprise" and "Model Girl" in 1961.

By 1967, another New York City group, the Del-Satins, who had recorded several songs between 1959 and 1967 and were noted for backing Dion after he left the Belmonts, were looking for a lead singer.  Fred and Tom Ferrara, Les Cauchi and Bobby Faila rant into Maestro at a local gymnasium and offered him a spot in the group.

In 1968, Maestro was a guest star on a Battle of the Bands talent search show in Long Island, backed by a seven-piece brass group called The Rhythm Method.  Maestro's manager, Betty Sperber, suggested the next day that Maestro, the four Del-Satins and The Rhythm Method form a group.  The name the Brooklyn Bridge came about after a comment that "it would be easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge" than promote the proposed 11-piece act.  

The Brooklyn Bridge signed a recording contract with Buddah Records and released their version of Jimmy Webb's song "Worst That Could Happen", a nearly identical version to that recorded by the 5th Dimension on their album The Magic Garden.  The song became a #3 hit for the Brooklyn Bridge and sold over a million copies.  The group performed on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Della Reese Show, among others.  Two follow-up singles reached the Top 50, but that was the best the group could do.

The Brooklyn Bridge was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005.

After landing his Top 10 song, this artist became more known as an actor:

#394:  Mel Carter--" Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me"

Carter recorded for Sam Cooke's SAR Records in the early 1960's, releasing his first record, "When a Boy Falls In Love", at age 19 in 1962. Carter moved to Imperial Records in the mid-60's and released the single "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me".

The song reached #8 in 1965 and sold over a million copies.  Carter released a total of seven career singles, and had some success on the Easy Listening chart, but nothing more than that.  He became a television actor, appearing on episodes of Quincy, Sanford and Son, Marcus Welby, M.D. and Magnum, P.I.  

You might have caught this act live if you went to concerts by the Beach Boys or Sonny & Cher in the 60's:

  

#393:  Gentrys--"Keep On Dancing" 

Seven classmates (vocalists Bruce Bowles, Jimmy Hart, lead singer and guitarist Larry Raspberry, Bobby Fisher on saxophone and keyboards, Jimmy Johnson on trumpet, Pat Neal on bass and drummer Larry Wall) at Treadwell High School in Memphis, Tennessee formed the Gentrys in 1963.  Rob Straube replaced Wall and keyboardist Larry Butler was later added.

"Keep On Dancing" is actually one short recording repeated with the second half (after the false fade) the same as the first.  The song was stretched out to conform to the normal 45 record length of the period.  The group's biggest hit was sung by guitarist Raspberry.  "Keep On Dancing" reached #4 in 1965, opening up possibilities for the group that included appearances on Hullabaloo, Shindig! and Where the Action Is.

The Gentrys toured with acts such as the Beach Boys and Sonny and Cher.  But despite the exposure and six single releases, the group could not never produce a follow-up and after appearing in the 1966 movie It's a Bikini World, the Gentrys broke up.

The group reformed in the early 70's with little success.

Just ahead of the Gentrys, this R&B group:

 

#392:  Persuaders--" Thin Line Between Love & Hate" 

Douglas "Smokey" Scott, Willie Holland, Thomas Hill, Sr., James Holland and Charles Stoghill formed the Persuaders in New York City in 1969.  The group signed with Atlantic Records in 1971.  

Some One-Hit Wonders come and go and are nearly forgotten, but this group illustrates the lasting legacy that can be achieved. The group recorded the original soul versions of many songs, such as "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me", later a hit by Gladys Knight & the Pips, "Some Guys Have All The Luck", a hit for Rod Stewart, and their one hit--"Thin Line Between Love And Hate". "Thin Line" reached #15 overall and was a #1 R&B hit in 1971 and sold over a million copies.  The song appeared in the 1996 movie of the same name.

The Persuaders released four albums in the 1970's and the group continues to perform with new members.

This artist who enjoyed a worldwide hit in 1983:

  

#391:  Taco--"Puttin' On The Ritz"

Taco Ockerse is his name; he was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, but lived in the Netherlands, the United States, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany.  He graduated from the International School of Brussels, Belgium in 1973.  Taco finished acting school in Hamburg, Germany and played the lead in many school productions including Fiddler on the Roof and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Taco continued his love of theater as an ensemble member of the Thalia Theater in Hamburg and directed and choreographed the musical Nightchild.  In 1979, he played "Chino" in West Side Story at the Hamburg Opera House.  He formed his first band, Taco's Bizz, later in the year.

In 1981, Taco signed with Polydor Records and released his first single, "Puttin' On The Ritz".  In late 1982, RCA picked up the song for release in the United States and it became a #4 song in 1983 and sold over a million copies.  The song also topped charts in Sweden and New Zealand and was in the Top 5 in a number of other countries.  Taco toured Europe and appeared on shows such as The Bob Hope Show, The Merv Griffin Show, Solid Gold and Good Morning America.

Taco released six albums in his career.

Be sure to join us tomorrow on Inside The Rock Era!