The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #310-301

 Crank up the volume for these great songs, many of which you haven't heard in a while!

This group from Great Britain scored their big hit in 1980:

    

 #310:  Korgis--"Everybodys Got To Learn Sometime" 

Singer/bassist James Warren and singer/guitarist/keyboardist Andy Davis formed the Korgis along with unofficial members Phil Harrison (keyboards) and Stuart Gordon (violinist).  The group released their first single "Young 'n' Russian" in 1979 on Rialto Records, a label owned by their managers Nick and Tim Heath.  "If I Had You" followed and achieved a #13 ranking in their native U.K.

But in 1980, "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" became the group's first and only worldwide hit, topping out at #5 in the U.K. and #18 in the United States.  The single emerged from the Dumb Waiters album.  But subsequent singles did not continue that success and after a third album, Davis and Warren had gone their separate ways.  Warren released a solo album, and the Korgis reunited in 1990 for an album before breaking up again.

A reminder that a "One Hit Wonder" sung with an established star doesn't qualify under our rules, simply because they were helped along by that star, rather than doing it all by themselves. 

 Here we have one of the major proponents of smooth jazz:

    

 #309:  Spyro Gyra--"Morning Dance"  

Spyro Gyra formed in the mid-70's in Buffalo, New York.  Jay Beckenstein and keyboardist Jeremy Wall had formed a band during high school, and, although they went their separate ways in college, they spent summers playing outdoor concerts, and Wall moved back to Buffalo after graduating.  

Beckenstein and Schuman have been the only constants in the group since its founding, although guitarist Julio Fernandez is now in his third decade with the band.

The group has released 30 career albums and sold 10 million records.  They are cited as influential in the development of smooth jazz, making it all the more mysterious why just one of their songs caught on.

Another singer-songwriter checks in in The One-Hit Wonders*:

    

 #308:  Bobby Caldwell--"What You Won't Do For Love"

Caldwell began playing piano and guitar in his early years and formed a band at age 17.  Caldwell played Jimi Hendrix and Cream covers in small clubs.  

Bobby was signed to TK Records and recorded his self-titled solo album which yielded "What You Won't Do For Love".  The song was released as a red heart-shaped 45-rpm record, which is now quite a collector's item.  The single was an across-the-board hit, reaching #9 overall, #6 on the R&B chart and #10 on the Adult Contemporary chart.   

Future efforts by Caldwell did not compare, although his albums increasingly became popular in Japan.  In his career, Caldwell released 12 albums and 11 singles.  He did, however write several notable songs for other artists, such as "The Next Time I Fall" for Amy Grant & Peter Cetera, "Janet" for the Commodores and "All or Nothing at All" for Al Jarreau.   

A big hit in 1998 gave this artist her one and only:

    #307:  Jennifer Paige--"Crush"

Jennifer Paige began singing at local coffeehouses and restaurants at age five.  She studied voice, dance and drama at the performing arts school Pebblebrook High School in Marietta, Georgia.  At age 17, Jennifer toured the country with the group Vivid Image before moving to Los Angeles.

In 1996, Paige performed at the Olympic Games with the cover band called Joe's Band.  She then hooked up with producer Andy Goldmark and recorded a dance version of the Aretha Franklin song "Chain of Fools".  This impressed Edel Records, which signed Paige to a recording contract.

The lead single from her 1998 debut album was "Crush", which was #3 in the United States and #1 in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  Yet as bright as her prospects were, the best Paige could do after that was the dance chart.

The #305 artist was the first successful artist from Boise since Paul Revere & the Raiders:

    

 #306: Curtis Stigers--"I Wonder Why" 

Curtis Stigers grew up in Boise, Idaho, playing in jazz, rock and blues groups while training in clarinet and saxophone in high school. He was inspired by jazz musician Gene Harris, whom he jammed with at the Idanha Hotel.

Stigers moved to New York City to pursue rock music, but instead found himself singing and playing in a jazz trio.  Curtis signed with Arista Records and released two albums, his self-titled, multi-platinum debut in 1991 and Time Was in 1995.  "I Wonder Why" was taken from the former and reached #5 in the U.K. and #9 in the United States.  He was able to take "You're All That Matters To Me" to #6 in the U.K., but was unable to match the worldwide success of "I Wonder Why".

Stigers performed with Elton John, Prince, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, the Allman Brothers Band and Joe Cocker.  Stigers' version of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding appeared on the 17-million selling "The Bodyguard" Soundtrack.  

The next One-Hit Wonder got his name from a hoodoo in New Orleans:

    

 #305:  Dr. John--"Right Place, Wrong Time" 

Dr. John was inspired by the minstrel tunes sung by his grandfather and by a number of aunts, uncles and cousins who played the piano.  His father, who owned a record shop in New Orleans, Louisiana, enabled Dr. John to be present in recording rooms of artists such as Little Richard.  John then moved into clubs and on stage with various local artists, notably Professor Longhair, at the age of 14.

Longhair made an indelible impression on the youngster, not only with his music but his style.  Longhair was dressed in a turtleneck shirt with a watch hanging on a gold chain and an Army fatigue cap.

John concentrated on guitar and played with several local bands.  He had a regional hit with "Storm Warning" on Rex Records in 1959.  

At 16, John was hired by Johnny Vincent as a producer at Ace Records.  He produced singles for Johnny Vincent and Joe Corona, among others.  Rebennack's career as a guitarist came to an end when his left ring finger was injured by a gunshot while he was defending singer/keyboardist Ronnie Barron.  After the injury, Rebennack concentrated on bass guitar before deciding on the piano. 

But John was exposed to the underworld and all of its trappings in New Orleans.  He became addicted to heroin and sold narcotics and ran a house of prostitution to get his next "fix".  Drugs led him to frequent shootouts in nightclubs and bouts with the police.  He was arrested several times that eventually led to prison time in Texas.  

When he wasn't out causing trouble or looking for drugs, John did gain much experience from his work in the studio and eventually moved to California in 1965, where he would adopt the stage name of Dr. John.

Dr. John became one of the top session musicians in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 70's, working for Sonny & Cher, Canned Heat and Frank Zappa among others.

Dr. John developed the idea of his Dr. John persona from a hoodoo guy in New Orleans by that name.  The original Doctor John came from Haiti and was a medicinal and spiritual healer.  He had a fascination with reptiles and his specialty was healing, in which he would sell voodoo amulets that supposedly protected the wearer from harm.

In 1968, Dr. John the singer released the acclaimed album Gris-Gris, combining voodoo rhythms and chants with the New Orleans music tradition.  Dr. John toured extensively and soon became known for a wildly theatrical stage show featuring Mardi Gras costumes and voodoo ceremonies.

He gained a cult following, including Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger, who both helped on his The Sun, Moon, and Herbs album. By this time, John had changed his style to more of a traditional R&B and funk type of music.  On the album Dr. John's Gumbo, he recorded what many consider to be one of his best.  On the album, John covered many New Orleans R&B standards.  

In 1973, Dr. John released the funk album In the Right Place, which contained the single "Right Place Wrong Time".  The song reached #9 while the follow-up single "Such a Night" landed at #42.  

John hoped to capitalize on the success of "Right Place Wrong Time" for his album Desitively Bonnaroo in 1974.  But it failed to capture any attention.  John then began an almost twenty-year long association with songwriter Doc Pomus.  Many of these collaborations would appear on Dr. John albums.  In 1976, John performed at the farewell concert for the Band, filmed and released as The Last Waltz.

But he ignored warnings from friends and family and continued his drug habit despite numerous attempts at rehabilitation.  Finally, after experiencing cardiac problems in New York City, Dr. John left his final rehabilitation stay, sober, in 1989.  

In addition to his solo recordings, John played piano for the Rolling Stones, backed James Taylor & Carly Simon on "Mockingbird" in 1974, and played on Neil Diamond's 1976 album Beautiful Noise.  John also sang and played piano for Maria Muldaur, co-produced Van Morrison and played keyboards on the landmark debut album by Rickie Lee Jones in 1979.  John has also written and performed in many movies, including the film version of Cannery Row in 1982.

Doctor John won five Grammy Awards in his career.  He released 27 albums and was elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a museum for which they let just about anybody in.  Yet he only had one song of note.

We're up to one of the key instrumentals early in the Rock Era:

    

 #304:  Bill Justis--
Raunchy"

Justis studied music at Christian Brothers College in Memphis, Tennessee and Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He played trumpet and saxophone, and performed with local jazz and dance bands while at Tulane.  

After returning to Memphis in 1954, he was hired by Sam Phillips at Sun Records, where he recorded his own music and arranged music for artists such as Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Charlie Rich.  In 1957, Justis released the single "Raunchy" which he co-wrote.  Billy Vaughn and Ernie Freeman also recorded the song, but the Justis version was the best.  It became the first rock and roll instrumental hit, landing at #2 in the United States, #1 in Australia and #11 in the U.K.  The single also sold over one million copies.  When George Harrison was 14, he performed "Raunchy" for John Lennon and his playing was so perfect that Lennon invited him to play in his band the Quarrymen, which later became the Beatles.

In 1961, Justis moved to Nashville and became a successful producer and arranger for Monument and Mercury Records.  He played sax on the "Kissin' Cousins" Soundtrack and became manager of Ronny & the Daytonas.  Justis enjoyed a #1 song in Australia with "Tamoure", but worldwide success eluded him.  Justis also wrote the music for several movies including Smokey and the Bandit and Hooper.

"College Man" at #42 would be the next-best song that Justis recorded.  

Up next, a keyboard whiz:

    

 #303:  Harold Faltermeyer--"Axel F"

Harold Faltermeyer began playing piano at the age of 6 and he spent his youth training in classical music.  He played organ in a rock combo and studied trumpet and piano at the Munich Music Academy.

While waiting to begin his university studies, Faltermeyer began working at a recording studio.  Within three years, he was engineering major classical sessions for Deutsche Grammophon Records.  In 1978, Georgio Moroder discovered his talent and brought him to Los Angeles to play keyboards and arrange the soundtrack to Midnight Express.  Moroder and Faltermeyer worked together over the next decade, producing albums for Donna Summer and many other artists.

Faltermeyer also worked on the score for American Gigolo and was soon writing songs, performing and producing complete movie scores and songs for other artists.  

Faltermeyer's big break came when he wrote the score for Beverly Hills Cop.  One of the tracks ("Axel F") was credited to him as an artist.  "Axel F" was released as a single and reached #3 overall and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States.  It was also #1 in Ireland and the Netherlands and #2 in the U.K., Canada and Switzerland.

Faltermeyer went on to record three albums, but his work with other artists is well recognized.  Faltermeyer wrote, arranged and/or produced four albums for Summer (including "Bad Girls"), and has worked with Barbra Streisand,  Bob Seger, Blondie, Cheap Trick, Glenn Frey, Laura Branigan, Billy Idol, Jennifer Rush, Bonnie Tyler and the Pet Shop Boys, just to name a few.  He won a Grammy for Best Album of Original Score as a co-writer of the "Beverly Hills Cop" Soundtrack and another for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the "Top Gun Anthem" from the soundtrack.

This Canadian group struck it big in 1972:

    

 #302:  Edward Bear--"Last Song"

Larry Evoy and Craig Hemming first formed the Toronto, Ontario, Canada group Edward Bear in 1966.  They signed with Capitol Records in 1969 with a lineup that included Evoy, Danny Marks and Paul Welson.  

In 1972, the group scored its hit when "Last Song" reached #1 in Canada and #3 in the United States and sold over one million copies.  Evoy rebuilt the group twice before Edward Bear finally broke up.

 This artist took a Brenda Russell song and made it into a hit:

    

 #301:  Oleta Adams--Get Here       

Adams grew up with gospel music and, after moving first to Yakima, Washington then Los Angeles, was rejected by most music executives.  Following the advice of her singing coach, Lee Farrell, Adams moved to Kansas City, Missouri and performed local shows.  Oleta began her career in the early 1980's with two albums she financed herself that were not successful.

In 1985, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears for Fears discovered Adams performing in a hotel bar in Kansas City while the group were on tour.  Two years later, the duo invited Adams to sing on their album The Seeds of Love.  The album contained "Woman in Chains", a duet by Adams and Orzabal with Phil Collins on drums.  

Adams went on a world tour with Tears for Fears in 1990, opening for the group, then remaining onstage with the group to sing and play piano.  Following the tour, Adams signed a recording contract with Fontana Records, with Orzabal co-producing her album Circle of One.  The album peaked at #1 in the U.K. and contained Oleta's cover of Brenda Russell's "Get Here".  

"Get Here" reached #4 in the U.K. and #5 in the United States and was nominated for a Grammy Award.  Adams recorded "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" for the Elton John tribute album Two Rooms, and it became a minor hit in the U.K.  But despite 8 albums and 17 singles, Adams never again found the magic that would result in a major worldwide hit.

Hard to believe, but we're reaching the halfway point in our special.  The talent level of the artists in this range should be obvious to those with even an elementary knowledge of music.  We have 300 left to go--be sure to join us tomorrow for the next installment of The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era*.