The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #300-291

Hey, we've got 200 in the books and are ready to dive into The Top 300*!

One of the Rock Era's great instrumentals gave this duo its one and only hit:  

 

 #300:  Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell--"Dueling Banjos"  

Weissberg graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Julliard School of Music.  He played with the Tarriers as a singer, banjo player, guitarist and mandolin player.  The Tarriers opened for Judy Collins on a tour of Poland and Russia, but split shortly after.  

However, Collins was impressed enough with Weissberg to invite him to play on her 1965 album Fifth Album and others in her career.  It was in this direction that Weissberg chose to go, playing on albums by Bob Dylan, John Denver, Billy Joel, Jim Croce, Melanie, Art Garfunkel and others.  

"Dueling Banjos" was written by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith.  The version by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell was #2 for four weeks in 1973, behind only the Roberta Flack classic "Killing Me Softly With His Song".  

This next group made quite an impression in concerts:

#299:  Blues Traveler--"Run-Around" 

Blues Traveler began as a high school garage band in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. Singer, guitarist and harmonica player John Popper and drummer Brendan Hill formed a group called the Establishment with Hill's brother on bass and a rotating group of guitarists. The group renamed themselves Blues Band, and added guitarist Chan Kinchla and Bobby Sheehan became the new bassist.

Eventually, the group changed to Blues Traveler. After Popper, Hill and Sheehan graduated from Princeton High School, they studied music at The New School while Kinchla went to New York University. Blues Traveler began playing shows on the New York club circuit at places like the Wetlands and the Nightingale. 

Patrick Clifford from A&M Records discovered the band at one of their performances and Blues Traveler signed a recording contract.  The group began a relentless touring schedule up and down the east coast. 

Blues Traveler released their self-titled debut album in 1990 and a second album, Travelers and Thieves, followed in 1991.  After famous promoter Bill Graham's death that year, the group released a live EP, On Tour Forever, as a tribute that included legendary guitarist Carlos Santana.  David Letterman introduced Blues Traveler as "his favorite band" to his audience on the television program The Late Show, and Blues Traveler has made more appearances on that show than any other musical artist.  In 1992, the group founded the H.O.R.D.E Music Festival and began recording their third album Save His Soul.  The single "Conquer Me" became a minor hit on the Mainstream Rock chart.

But it was the album Four that launched the group.  "Run-Around" became a rare Top 15 hit on three formats--Adult Contemporary, Popular and Modern Rock.  Grammy Award and broke a Rock Era record for most weeks on the chart.

The group is known for their improvisational live performances.  Sheehan's death and Popper's struggle with obesity limited their success, and A&M Records dropped the group in 2002.

A great garage rock song is next:

    

 #298:  Swingin' Medallions--"Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)"

The group formed in Greenwood, South Carolina in 1962 as the Medallions, adding the "Swingin'" in 1965.  Original members were keyboardists John McElrath and Ken Johnson,  guitarist Jim Doares, Carroll Bledsoe and Charles Webber on trumpet, Brent Forston and Steven Caldwell on sax, bassist James Perkins and drummers Irven Hicks, Joe Morris and Richard Wrenn.  Johnny Cox and Hack Bartley replaced Fortson and Caldwell in 1967.

The Swingin' Medallions released their first single "I Wanna' Be Your Guy", which did not chart.  But the second, "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" hit #17.  But the best they could do after that was #71 with "She Drives Me Out of My Mind".

The group continued to popular in the American South and in 2009, reunited do do their One Hit Wonder with Bruce Springsteen at his concert in Greenville, South Carolina.  

One of several artists in our feature to be honored with a Grammy nomination is next:

    

#297--Dorothy Moore:  "Misty Blue"

Dorothy Moore began singing with The New Strangers Home Baptist Church Choir at age five and graduated from Lanier High School in Jackson, Mississippi.  While attending Jackson State University, Dorothy formed an all-female group called the Poppies.  The group recorded for Date Records, a subsidiary of Epic, and hit #56 in 1966 with "Lullaby Of Love".  

In 1975, Moore released the single "Misty Blue", which reached #3 in the U.S. and #5 in the U.K.

Moore released many other albums and singles, but "I Believe You" (#27) in 1977  was the closest she would get to the Top 20 after "Misty Blue".

The story of this next One Hit Wonder becomes all the more amazing when you realize the tremendous musicianship of the group:

    

 #296:  Focus--"Hocus Pocus" 

Classically-trained organist/flautist Thijs van Leer formed the group Focus in 1969.  Elite guitarist Jan Akkerman, bassist Martin Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver joined van Leer and issued their debut album Focus Plays Focus in 1970.  The album was not noticed outside their native the Netherlands, but the group attracted a small but loyal following in their homeland.  

Akkerman left the group to form another band with bassist Cyril Havermans and drummer Pierre van der Linden.  When Cleuver and Dresden left Focus, Van Leer joined Akkerman, Van der Linden and Havermans as the new lineup of Focus. In 1971, the group released Focus II, which contained the massive worldwide instrumental hit "Hocus Pocus".  Later in the year, Havermans quit and was replaced by Bert Ruiter.

The double album Focus 3 was panned by critics who said the material didn't warrant a double album.  It did contain the single "Sylvia", which was a hit in Europe but failed to become recognized worldwide.  Future attempts met with declining success, though the group has released 11 albums and 8 singles.

"Hocus Pocus" was the theme for the Nike 2010 World Cup commercial, giving Focus renewed fame.  The group has reunited several times with different lineups.

This ordinary working guy who had a passion for music realized his dream in 1974:

    

 #295:  William DeVaughn--"Be Thankful For What You Got"   

DeVaughn was a drafting technician and part-time singer when he wrote "A Cadillac Don't Come Easy".  The song was eventually reworked to become "Be Thankful for What You Got", and DeVaughn worked with Omega Sound production studio in Philadelphia.

DeVaughn recorded the song at Sigma Sound Studios, with accompaniment by members of MFSB ("TSOP" from 1974) and the song was released on Roxbury Records.  "Be Thankful for What You Got" sold nearly two million copies and reached #4 (#1 R&B) in the United States and #31 in the U.K.  

When success was realized, DeVaughn quit his government job to record an album.  "Blood Is Thicker Than Water", however, was only a top 50 song and future efforts paled in comparison to his big hit.  DeVaughn lost interest in the industry and went back to work as a draftsman.  

At #293, these prolific and important songwriters:

    

 #294:  Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart--"I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" 

Bobby Hart served in the Army after leaving high school.  Upon his discharge, Bobby moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a singer.  Tommy Boyce was also in the city working on the same thing, and wrote "Be My Guest" for Fats Domino.  The song reached #8 in the United States and #11 in the U.K. and sold over one million copies.

Boyce and Hart met in 1959 and formed a successful songwriting partnership.  They wrote "Come a Little Bit Closer" for Jay & the Americans, "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" for Paul Revere and the Raiders and "Words" for the Monkees, as well as the theme song for the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives.  Hart also co-wrote "Hurt So Bad" for Little Anthony & the Imperials.

The duo wrote, produced and performed the soundtrack for the first episode of the television show the Monkees.  Boyce and Hart recorded all the backing tracks for the first season of the show and the group's debut album.  Every studio album from the group included songs written by Boyce and Hart.

The pair also began to record on their own, releasing three albums on A&M Records.  In 1968, the song "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" caught on and reached #8.  It also sold over one million copies.  They came close to the Top 20 with "Alice Long" (#27) and also charted with "Out and About" (#39).  Boyce & Hart's music was also featured on the television show Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie and The Flying Nun and I.

Boyce and Hart also produced music for motion pictures and created commercial jingles for Coca Cola and the United States Army Reserve.  In the mid-1970's, Boyce and Hart reunited with Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz to perform the songs Boyce and Hart had written for the Monkees a decade earlier.  They toured venues throughout North America, Japan and Thailand.  

All told, Boyce and Hart wrote over 300 songs and their music sold more than 42 million records.  So although they only had one hit as performing artists, they made contributions to the Rock Era that go beyond their recording career.

This talented artist gave us one of the big hits of 1980:

    

 #293:   Terri Gibbs--"Somebody's Knockin'"

Born blind, Gibbs learned how to play the piano at age three.  She sang in the church choir in Grovetown, Georgia as a youth and at age seventeen, opened a concert for Bill Anderson.  Chet Atkins advised Terri to move to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a career limited to country music, which she did at age eighteen.

Unable to land a recording contract at first, Gibbs joined the band Sound Dimension and then started the Terri Gibbs Trio, which performed at Steak & Ale in Augusta, Georgia.  Gibbs sent a demo tape to producer Ed Penney of MCA Records, and finally signed a contract in 1980.

Gibbs recorded the album Somebody's Knockin', and the title track was released as a single.  It reached #13 overall and #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song.  "Rich Man" was a minor country hit but just skimmed the popular chart.

Committed to country music even though she did better with popular music, Gibbs' second album, I'm a Lady, was not as successful as her debut.  Gibbs released eight albums and 13 singles in her career, but with only a limited audience to hear her music, she was never able to match "Somebody's Knockin'".  

After 13 years of recording, this Jamaican artist scored his one big hit after forming his own record label:

  

#292:  Ini Kamoze--"Here Comes The Hotstepper"  

Ini Kamoze released his first single in 1981 called "World Affairs".  In 1984, he released a mini-LP on Island Records.  By 1988, however, Kamoze had basically disappeared because of a lack of interest in his music.

But this next song in our feature is about a lesson in persistence.  Kamoze founded his own label and after several other releases, recorded "Here Comes the Hotstepper", which was a reworking of Chris Kenner's "Land of 1000 Dances".  Two years after being recorded, "Here Comes the Hotstepper" reached #1 in the United States, Australia and New Zealand and #4 in the U.K.

Although nothing else from Kamoze caught on, he has released 10 career albums.

 We're up to #291, and it's by a soul artist who gave us this great song:

#291:  Timmy Thomas--"Why Can't We Live Together"   

Thomas played for Donald Byrd and Cannonball Adderly, before working as a session musician in Memphis, Tennessee.  Thomas released singles on Goldwax Records as part of the group Phillip & the Faithfuls, but had little solo success until he switched to Glades Records.

In 1972, Thomas released the single "Why Can't We Live Together".  The song made it all the way to #3 overall, was a #1 R&B hit, and was a Top 10 song in several other countries.  Sales of the single have topped two million copies.  

Thomas released singles for both Glades and the T.K. Disco label.  He enjoyed several R&B hits, including
"People Are Changin'" and "Gotta' Give A Little Love (Ten Years After)", but the best he could do after his great song "Why Can't We Live Together" was #75 on the popular chart.  He also did session work for other T.K. artists, including Gwen McCrae, and later became a producer.

Inside The Rock Era began this special on July 1st and we're featuring 10 songs every day through August 22.  Be sure to join us tomorrow!