The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #390-381

We hope you're enjoying The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders*, brought to you in the summer of 2025 exclusively by Inside The Rock Era!

At #390, this talented singer-songwriter from England:

 

#390:  Charlie Dore--"Pilot Of The Airwaves"        

Dore worked for two years at the Tyneside Theatre Company in Newcastle, England.  She then starred in several theatre productions before moving to London to join the television series Rainbow. 

A friend, blues guitarist Sam Mitchell, asked her to join him at Obelisk, a pancake house where he played.  Dore brought in several other musicians to form her first band, Hula Valley.  The group changed names several times, from Prairie Oyster to Fresh Oyster to Charlie Dore's Back Pocket.   

In 1978, an A&R man from Island Records discovered Dore and signed her to a solo recording contract.  Dore co-wrote the songs on her first album, Where To Now, but the Island brass felt the album was "too country" and brought in producers Alan Tarney and Bruce Welch to re-record several tracks, including "Pilot of the Airwaves".  The song just missed the Top 10 in the U.S., reaching #13, but it won Dore the New Female Artist of the Year from Record World and an award from ASCAP.

Dore left for Chrysalis Records and her second album, Listen, featured most of the members of Toto as backing musicians.  She continued to act and also wrote several songs for other artists.  Charlie co-wrote "Strut", a big hit for Sheena Easton, and she had her songs recorded by George Harrison, Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Paul Carrack and others.  Dore produced for artists such as Dion, Lisa Stansfield and Status Quo.  Dore also co-founded the comedy-improv Dogs On Holiday, which hosted and performed at The Hurricane Club in Soho.

"Pilot of the Airwaves" has the distinction of being the final song played by Radio Caroline as an unlicensed offshore radio station before it signed off the air for good.

Up next, this hit from the summer of 1980:

 

#389:  Ali Thomson--"Take A Little Rhythm"  

Scotland's Ali Thomson is the brother of Doug Thomson of Supertramp. Ali began singing and playing piano in several bands. He signed with A&M Records and the title track from his debut album reached #15 overall and #4 on the Adult Contemporary charts. A follow-up, "Live Every Minute" did not make the Top 40.

Thomson co-wrote "Really Wanna' Know You" for Gary Wright in 1981. He has continued to write, penning tunes for A1, Steps and Lisa Stansfield.

We have back-to-back One-Hit Wonders by artists with famous brothers:

  

#388:  Frank Stallone--"Far From Over 

Stallone went to Lincoln High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He began his career singing and playing guitar on street corners.  

Stallone wrote and recorded "Far From Over" for the 1983 movie Staying Alive, directed by Frank's brother Sylvester Stallone.  It peaked at #10 and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture.  The soundtrack album was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.

Stallone released a self-titled album that included a remixed version of the song and "Darlin'", which peaked at #81.  He released nine other albums in his career.  

There are hits from every time period of the Rock Era through the cutoff of 2020.  Here's one from 1961:

#387:  Curtis Lee--"Pretty Little Angel Eyes"

This artist from Yuma, Arizona began recording in 1959 and was signed by Dunes Records. Lee began writing songs with Tommy Boyce, who later became part of the songwriting-producing-singing duo Boyce and Hart ("I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight"). Lee's first two singles did not chart but when he released "Pretty Little Angel Eyes", the song clicked and rose to #7.

Phil Spector's production was a key to the song's sound and success. Spector arranged for the R&B group the Halos to sing backup. They would later provide backing vocals for Barry Mann on "Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)". Another Spector production for Lee, "Under the Moon of Love", reached #46 but without Spector's further assistance, the hits dried up for Lee.

Like several struggling artists, the performer at #386 enjoyed success as a songwriter before his big hit:

  

#386:  Bobby Day--"Rockin' Robin"  

Bobby Day (real name Robert Byrd) was born in Fort Worth, Texas, but moved to Los Angeles at the age of 15.  While a member of the group the Hollywood Flames, he used his stage name to perform and record.  He wrote and recorded the original version of "Little Bitty Pretty One", made popular by Thurston Harris, and also wrote "Over and Over", a huge hit for the Dave Clark Five in 1965.

But it was "Rockin' Robin" in 1958 that became his signature song, reaching #2 and selling over one million copies.  Despite numerous recordings with several record labels, Day never achieved another Top 40 song apart from "Rockin' Robin".

After he had helped the Spice Girls get off the ground, a manager turned his attention to this act:

#385:  S Club 7--"Never Had a Dream Come True"    

This group was created by Simon Fuller after he was fired as manager of the Spice Girls.  Fuller selected members for the group from over 10,000 hopefuls who auditioned.  The winners were Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens.

S Club 7 starred in the BBC television series, Miami 7 (S Club 7 in Miami in the United States), in 1999, an inspiration for modern musicals such as High School Musical and Glee.  Fuller landed a contract for the group on Polydor Records. 

The group's first single was "Bring It All Back", which landed at #1 in the U.K. but success was limited there.  They released the album S Club and received a BRIT Award for British Breakthrough Act.  After several other singles, the group finally enjoyed worldwide success with "Never Had a Dream Come True"

The group had four #1 songs in their native U.K. but only one worldwide hit. In 2002, the group shortened their name to simply S Club. They released four albums and 11 singles in their career. They broke up in 2003, but Cattermole and McIntosh reunited in 2008 for nightclub performances.

This next act once won a Bay Area Battle of the Bands contest of 100 groups that included the Golliwogs, who later became Creedence Clearwater Revival:

#384:  Syndicate of Sound--"Little Girl" 

The Syndicate of Sound was formed from two San Jose, California area bands, the Pharoahs and the Aristocrats.  Don Baskin (vocals and guitar), bassist Bob Gonzalez, Larry Ray, guitarist Herb Kislinger, John Sharkey (guitar and keyboards) and drummer John Duckworth were original members.

The band rapidly became popular in the Bay Area.  The prize for winning the Battle of the Bands contest was a contract with Del-Fi Records, but a single was unsuccessful.    Baskin & Gonzalez persevered with their songwriting, and the Syndicate recorded "Little Girl" on Hush Records in 1966.  After it was a regional hit in San Jose, executives at Bell Records released the song nationally and offered the group a contract.  

After guitarist Jim Sawyers replaced Ray, the Syndicate of Sound recorded a debut album and opened on tour for the Rolling Stones, the Young Rascals and the Yardbirds.  "Little Girl" reached #8 but the best the group could do after that was "Rumors", a #55 song.  "Little Girl" is in regular rotation at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

This Dutch group scored their big hit in 1969:

#383:  Tee Set--" Ma Belle Amie" 

This group of lead singer Peter Tetteroo, Dill Bennink (guitar, flute, banjo), guitarist Ferry Lever, drummer Joop Blom, Franklin Madjid on bass and keyboardist Hans Van Eijck formed in Delft, Netherlands.  The Tee Set recorded "Ma Belle Amie" in 1969, which sold over 100,000 copies in their native country and reached #5 in the United States.

"Ma Belle Amie" sold over a million copies worldwide.  The group's follow-up, "She Likes Weeds" reached #1 in the Netherlands, but was banned in the United States by a suspecting older generation which thought the song referred to drugs.  The Tee Set broke up in 1975, but reunited briefly in 1979 and 1983.

David Gates wrote a song for this group from the early Rock Era, and it became their one and only hit:

#382:  Murmaids--"Popsicles, Icicles"      

Sisters Carol and Terry Fischer and Sally Gordon formed the Murmaids in 1963. The trio recorded demos produced by Mike Post, a friend of Terry. While the group was doing sessions at Gold Star Studios, producer Kim Flowley of Chattahoochee Records heard them and offered to record a single for them.

That single was "Popsicles and Icicles", written by David Gates, the future lead singer of Bread. The song broke nationally in November of 1963 and reached #3. 

Terry Fischer went on to enjoy a career as a backing vocalist with appearances on The Tonight Show and The Merv Griffin Show.

The segmented Mainstream Rock format gives us this next One-Hit Wonder:

  

#381:  Tonic--"If You Could Only See"

Tonic was formed in 1993 by Emerson Hart and Jeff Russo.  They added bassist Dan Rothchild and drummer Kevin Shepard.  The group signed a recording contract in 1995 and released their debut album Lemon Parade in 1996.

The single "If You Could Only See" reached #11 in the United States and #20 in Australia, helping the album go Platinum.  Tonic toured for much of the next two years (300 shows) before releasing the albums Sugar in 1999 and Head on Straight in 2002.  Tonic was nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Take Me As I Am" and for Best Rock Album.

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