The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #320-311

Combined, there's a lot of talent these 500 artists had.  But not one of them had more than one big hit.

One of a few German groups in the special checks in next:

#320:  Culture Beat--"Mr. Vain"

 

Torsten Fenslau formed Culture Beat, which has changed lineups several times. Fenslau had worked at the nightclub Dorian Gray in Frankfurt, Germany for 11 years when he decided to start the group with friends Jens Zimmermann and Peter Zweier. Culture Beat was at their best when singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme were in the group.

The group's first single, "Der Erdbeermund" reached #11 in Germany.  Culture Beat then recruited singer Lana Earl and Supreme to the group.  "No Deeper Meaning" peaked at #5 in the Netherlands, and Culture Beat's first, album, Horizon, was released in 1991.

Evans replaced Lana in 1993 and the group released "Mr. Vain" as a single.  "Mr. Vain" was a #1 song in no less than 13 countries including the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany.  It reached #17 in the United States and went gold, giving the group their first and only worldwide hit.

Culture Beat's second album, Serenity, received acclaim at the German ECHO Awards, with Fenslau winning Best Producer of the Year and the group winning for Best-Selling German Act Abroad.  

But Fenslau was killed in a car accident in Messel at age 29.  The group continued on without him, recording four albums and releasing 20 singles.  But "Mr. Vain" will long be the one people remember Culture Beat for.

This #1 song from the 50's was adapted from Mozart's "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star":

#319:  Elegants--"Little Star"                

Vito Picone, Arthur Venosa, Frank Tardogno, Carmen Romano and James Mochella formed the Elegants in 1958 in Staten Island, New York.  They began playing under the boardwalk by their homes.  

Venosa and Picone wrote "Little Star", and it became a number one song in the United States and #25 in the U.K. in 1958  The group toured with Buddy Holly, Dion and the Belmonts, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.  None of their further singles, however, made the chart.

This group recorded ten albums in the 70's and 80's:

    

 #318:  Brass Construction--"Movin'" 

Brass Construction, originally known as Dynamic Soul, formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1968. They signed with Epic Records in 1975 and released "Movin'" in 1976. The single hit #14 overall and was #1 in the smaller genre of R&B in the United States and #23 in the U.K.

Brass Construction charted nine entries on the R&B chart, but "Movin'" was the only song to enjoy widespread success.

The leader of this group once played in a band that included Jimi Hendrix:

    

 #317:  Spirit--"I Got A Line"   

Spirit evolved from the Los Angeles group the Red Roosters, which included guitarist and vocalist Randy California, Mark Andes on bass and Jay Ferguson on vocals and percussion.  When drummer Ed Cassidy and keyboardist John Locke were added, the group changed their name to Spirits Rebellious before shortening it to simply Spirit.  California had also played in the band the Blue Flame, which featured a young talent known as Jimmy James, who would later change his name to Jimi Hendrix.

Spirit released their self-titled debut album in 1968.  The album attracted a following and stayed on the Album chart for over eight months.  Later in the year, Spirit released the single "I Got A Line On You", which reached #25 in the United States and #28 in Canada.  The group went on tour, with new group Led Zeppelin opening for them.

Spirit recorded music for the "Model Shop" Soundtrack before recording the album Clear in 1969.  The following year, Spirit recorded the song "1984", which peaked at #69.  Spirit recorded the album Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, which contained fine work, but nothing approached the success of "I Got A Line On You".

After a tour to support Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, Ferguson and Andes left the group.  Ferguson would go on to enjoy solo success with "Thunder Island" and "Shakedown Cruise", while Andes has been a member of Canned Heat, Firefall and later versions of Heart.  

Two accomplished studio musicians teamed for one big hit:

   
#316: LeBlanc & Carr--"Falling"  

Lenny LeBlanc and Peter Carr were studio musicians of considerable respect before they joined together.  They bounced from city to city and from band to band before settling in Muscle Shoals, Alabama in 1976.  Carr once played in a group with elite guitarist Duane Allman and Carr was the lead guitarist for the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. He was a musician, engineer and producer for another One-Hit Wonder, Sailcat, on "Motorcycle Mama".

LeBlanc played bass and sang for artists such as the Supremes, Amy Grant, Roy Orbison, Joan Baez and Crystal Gayle.  LeBlanc recorded a solo album which producer Carr sent to Atlantic Records, which subsequently decided to pair the two as a duo.  "Falling" reached #13 in 1978 but a rift between the two ended in their demise.  "Falling" was recently cited for going over one million airplays by BMI.

LeBlanc has recorded several Christian albums while Carr became an accomplished producer, overseeing the albums There Goes Rhymin' Simon by Paul Simon and Bob Seger's Stranger in Town and Against the Wind, among others.  Carr has also played on albums by Barbra Streisand, Boz Scaggs, Joe Cocker, Wilson Pickett and the Staple Singers.

One of the big dance songs of the past 35 years is next:

 

 #315:  Haddaway--"What Is Love"  

Haddaway moved from Trinidad to Europe in the early 1970's before moving to the United States.  He graduated from Meade Senior High School in Laurel, Maryland in 1983.  Haddaway played in the school's jazz, marching, symphonic and stage bands.  He performed gigs with a cover band called Chance while studying history and political science at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

In 1989, Haddaway returned to Europe and moved to Cologne, Germany.  He played football for the Cologne Crocodiles in the German Football League and worked several odd jobs.  In 1992, Haddaway signed a recording contract with Coconut Records in Germany.  His first single "What Is Love" became a huge European hit, peaking at #2 in both the United Kingdom and Germany.  The song hit #11 in the United States and sold over a million copies, with worldwide sales pegged at 2.6 million.

Haddaway's second single "Life" continued his success in Europe, but it was only #41 in the United States.  Follow-up singles "I Miss You" and "Rock My Heart" also became hits in Europe but again, his success was confined there.

"What Is Love" enjoyed renewed popularity when the song was used as the theme for the head-bobbing Butabi brothers (Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan) on Saturday Night Live.  Haddaway has released six albums and 17 singles, but struggled to match his first single.

Here's the story of a group that didn't give up, even reforming for one last try at success:

#314: King Harvest--"Dancing In The Moonlight" 

Four American expatriates formed King Harvest in Paris, France in 1970.  Dave "Doc" Robinson on lead vocals, bass and keyboards, keyboardist Ron Altbach, guitarist Ed Tuleja and Rod Novak on saxophone have been the constant in an ever-changing group lineup.

"Dancing In The Moonlight" was released in Paris but the single did not do well and King Harvest broke up.  But they got back together for the re-release of the song in the United States.  The song was written by former band member Sherman Kelly and reached #13 in the United States.

However, future releases were unable to continue the momentum.    

At #313, the One-Hit Wonder that went on to provide a springboard to other artists:

    

 #313:  Sylvia--"Pillow Talk"

Here we have one of the only people in the Rock Era to be part of two One-Hit Wonders.  She did it as half of Mickey and Sylvia, and here is Sylvia with "Pillow Talk".  

She began recording in 1950 for Columbia Records and teamed up with Mickey Baker in 1954.  Mickey and Sylvia had the one hit, "Love Is Strange" in 1957 before splitting up in 1959.  

In 1967, Sylvia and her husband formed the soul music label, All Platinum Records.  The new label signed the Moments, who enjoyed the hit "Love On A Two-Way Street", which Sylvia co-wrote and produced.  "Shame, Shame Shame" by Shirley and Company, yet another One-Hit Wonder, was another song on the All Platinum label.

In 1972, Sylvia wrote "Pillow Talk" and sent it to Al Green.  When Green passed on the song,  Sylvia decided to record it herself.  The song hit #3 overall and #1 on the R&B charts in the United States and #14 in the U.K.  "Pillow Talk" sold over one million copies.  Sylvia had a few other R&B hits and recorded four solo albums.

In the 70's, Sylvia and her husband founded Sugar Hill Records, and she co-wrote and produced "The Message" for Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. 

Sylvia may have been a two-time One-Hit Wonder, but she did much for the music industry. 

This artist may not have had the big hit he did without the help of one Michael Jackson:

 

#312.  Rockwell--"Somebody's Watching Me"

Kennedy William Gordy (Rockwell) is the son of Berry Gordy, head of Motown Records.  Rockwell not only had the fortune to have Michael Jackson singing with him, but also backing vocals from Michael's brother Jermaine.  "Somebody's Watching Me" topped the French chart and reached the Top Five in the U.S., Canada and West Germany, among others.

Rockwell released two further albums and eight singles but was never able to reach the Top 40 again.

This duo may have only had one big hit, but they were instrumental to R&B music behind the scenes:

    

 #311:  McFadden & Whitehead--"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"

This duo wrote and produced some of the top R&B songs of the 1970's.  While teenagers, Gene McFadden and John Whitehead formed a group known as the Epsilons.  Otis Redding discovered and toured with them  until Redding's death in 1967.

McFadden & Whitehead found their way to Philly International Records, where they wrote a string of hits, beginning with "Back Stabbers" for the O'Jays.  They also wrote "Wake Up Everybody" for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and worked with Stevie Wonder, Freddie Jackson, Gloria Gaynor, the Jackson 5, Gladys Knight, James Brown and Lou Rawls.

The pair formed under the name McFadden & Whitehead in 1977 and two years later, "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" was #13, sold over eight million records worldwide and was nominated for a Grammy.

McFadden & Whitehead went on to release eight singles, but only the one hit that they recorded.  So, they were a "One-Hit Wonder" as a recording act but their contributions to the music industry away from recording was immense.

We're glad to have you along for this amazing music special--join us again tomorrow for another 10!