We've almost heard 200 One-Hit Wonders*! Sit back and enjoy some awesome tunes here!
This group gave us one of The Top Instrumentals of the Rock Era*:
Drummer Isaac "Red" Holt and bass guitarist Eldee Young were former members of Ramsey Lewis' jazz trio, who formed their own group after adding pianist Don Walker in 1966. They were first known as the Young-Holt Trio and reached #40 with "Wack-Wack".
In 1968, the group renamed itself Young-Holt Unlimited, replacing Walker with Ken Chaney. "Soulful Strut" was the result, which was the backing instrumental track of "Am I the Same Girl" by Barbara Acklin. "Soulful Strut" sold a million copies and peaked at #3.
Future efforts did not prove to be successful and the trio broke up in 1974.
Imagine the good fortune of this artist when she received help from the Bee Gees at the peak of their career:
#329: Samantha Sang--"Emotion"
Sang began singing at age eight on Australian radio. In 1966, she released her debut single, "The Real Thing" on HMV Records.
Sang had a hit in her native Australia with "You Made Me What I Am" in 1967. In 1969, she moved to the United Kingdom, where Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees heard her and urged his manager, Robert Stigwood, to sign her. Sang released several songs that were minor hits in some European countries before returning to Australia in 1975.
Sang signed with Polydor and released a debut album. Then in 1977, she visited Gibb in France while the Bee Gees were recording songs for the upcoming "Saturday Night Fever" Soundtrack. The Brothers Gibb wrote "Emotion" for her, co-produced the song, and sang backing vocals. "Emotion" reached #3 in the United States, #2 in Australia and #11 in the U.K.
Sang followed that up with "You Keep Me Dancin'", a #56 song. That was as high as she would get again, however, despite three albums and eight single releases.
This group hit #7 with their initial release, but it all went downhill after that:
#328: Beastie Boys--"(You Gotta') Fight For Your Right (To Party!)"
For much of their career, the Beastie Boys have consisted of Michael Diamond on drums, Adam Yauch on bass and Adam Horovitz on guitar. They originally formed as a four-piece band in 1981 with guitarist John Berry and drummer Kate Schellenbach joining Diamond and Yauch. The Beastie Boys toured with Madonna in 1985 and released the album Licensed to Ill a year later. "(You Gotta') Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" reached #7.
A controversial tour followed that included a riot at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool, England that started just 10 minutes into the show. Horovitz was arrested by Merseyside Police on assault charges. After Liverpool's the Beatles made headlines on the music they produced, quite a different story with these guys.
The group signed with Capitol Records after their big album but subsequent releases did not come close to Licensed to Ill. Fans have purchased 22 million albums of the Beastie Boys in the United States despite the group having just one good song in their career.
Up next, an artist who capitalized on the CB craze of the 70's:
#327: C.W. McCall--"Convoy"
In 1976, CB radios were all the rage; they just weren't for 18-wheeler drivers anymore. McCall rode the wave with "Convoy", which reached #1 and sold over two million copies. Two years later, the movie Convoy was released, based on McCall's hit song.
McCall released eight albums and 12 singles, but "Convoy" was his only song to reach the Top 20. But he did serve as mayor of Ouray, Colorado for six years beginning in 1986.
At #326, this artist revolutionized guitar playing:
#326: Link Wray--"Rumble"
Some of music's most memorable innovations and creations dot the landscape that make up One Hit Wonders, one of the main reasons Inside the Rock Era chose to present this special. This artist introduced the power chord in electric guitar with this single in 1958. Without it, today's guitarists wouldn't know where to start, and the genres of punk and heavy rock wouldn't have been possible.
Wray first heard the slide guitar at the age of eight while growing up in Dunn, North Carolina. He began playing music while his family moved often. Wray served in the United States Army during the Korean War, but he contracted tuberculosis that would cost him a lung. Although he would eventually prove doctors wrong by being able to sing later, Wray concentrated on his guitar after his illness.
After being discharged from service, Wray and brothers Douglas and Vernon joined friends Shorty Horton and Dixie Neal in the band Lucky Wray and the Lazy Pine Wranglers, later known as Lucky Wray and the Palomino Ranch Hands. After several years, the band was hired as the house band on the television show Milt Grant's House Party. They recorded their first songs in 1956 for Starday Records.
On the television show, the group backed many artists including Ricky Nelson and Fats Domino. In 1958, at a live performance for the show, Wray and his group was encouraged to cover "The Stroll" by the Diamonds. They came up with a similar song in the style of the blues which they first named "Oddball". The song was a huge hit with the audience and eventually was heard by producer Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records. Bleyer hated it, especially after Wray had poked holes in his amplifier's speakers to make the recording sound more like the live version.
While searching for a title for the song, Bleyer listened to Phil Everly, who suggested the title "Rumble", because the song had rough undertones that reminded him of a street gang. The single became a hit in the United States and the United Kingdom, and was said to have an influence on the Who, the Kinks and Jimmy Page.
Despite making major inroads with "Rumble", Wray was never heard from again with a major song. He had several other hard-rocking instrumentals in the late 1950's and early 1960's. In 2009, the Library of Congress added "Rumble" to its National Recording Registry. Wray was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and in 2012, he was posthumously honored by Dunn, North Carolina when Link Wray Day was declared on May 2.
This artist broke through for his only hit and then achieved a rare feat nine years after its initial release:
#325: Benny Mardones--"Into The Night
Benny Mardones began his career as a songwriter, penning songs for artists such as Brenda Lee and Chubby Checker. Mardones used to perform demos of his songs and at the suggestion of Columbia Records executive Tommy Motola, Benny began recording.
"Into the Night", from the album Never Run, Never Hide, was one of those songs Mardones wrote that he recorded in 1980. The song reached #11 and eventually sold over two million copies. On the strength of his single "Into The Night", Mardones was signed to Curb Records. In 1989, radio station KZZP in Arizona ran a segment called "Where Are They Now?", featuring "Into the Night". Program Director Scott Shannon of Pirate Radio in Los Angeles added the song to the company's playlist, and the song became a hit all over again nine years after its release. That made "Into The Night" one of just 10 songs to reach the Top 20 twice and the longest-charting single of the 1980's by a solo artist with a total of 37 weeks in its two chart runs.
Mardones has released nine career albums, but "Into The Night" was his only major success.
Famed producer Gus Dudgeon stepped in and helped this artist enjoy his only big hit:
#324: Chris Rea--"Fool (If You Think It's Over)"
After high school, Rea worked in several jobs, including for his father's ice cream business. Chris bought his first guitar at age 22 and began his musical career, a rather late start in the business. In 1973, he joined the band Magdalene, replacing David Coverdale, who later joined Deep Purple and formed Whitesnake. Rea then joined Beautiful Losers before beginning a solo career in 1974.
Rea inked a deal with Magnet Records and released his first single "So Much Love". But it wasn't until 1978 that Chris released his debut album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? The album was produced by Gus Dudgeon, famed producer for Elton John of some of EJ's greatest career albums. The first single was "Fool (If You Think It's Over)", which went to #12 and was a #1 Adult Contemporary hit. It was nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys, losing to "Just the Way You Are" by Billy Joel.
Dudgeon also produced Rea's second album, but despite all that potential, Chris did not capitalize on his initial success. "Water Sign" was a hit in Ireland and mainland Europe, and Rea continued to do well in Europe, particularly in Great Britain. He released 23 albums and 68 singles, but "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" is the only song that a vast majority of people know about.
High hopes for this group when they released this song in 1994:
#323: Brownstone--"If You Love Me"
Monica Doby, Charmayne Maxwell and Nichole Gilbert formed Brownstone in Los Angeles, having met at various auditions around the city. One year later, they signed with Michael Jackson's MJJ Records and recorded their debut album From the Bottom Up. "If You Love Me" was released as a single in 1994 and Brownstone was off and running. It reached #8 in both the United States and the U.K. and was #1 in New Zealand. The song was nominated for Best R&B Performance at the Grammy Awards and Brownstone received six nominations at the Billboard Music Awards, capturing the trophy for Top Hot R&B Singles Airplay for "If You Love Me". Great beginnings and the sky seemed to be the limit.
However, after a successful world tour, Doby left the group. Kina Cosper replaced her and the group has attempted several comebacks, but the magic was gone and things were never the same.
A Dutch duo checks in at #322:
#322: Mouth and Macneal--"How Do You Do?"
Producer Hans van Hemert brought together Mouth (Willem Duyn) and Maggie MacNeal (Sjoukje van't Spijker) in the Netherlands in 1971. Both had previous experience, with Mouth being in the group Speedway and MacNeal having released a solo single.
The duo's first single, "Hey You Love", was #5 on the Dutch chart. "How Do You Do", however, was a hit throughout Continental Europe, Scandinavia, and North America. It reached #8 in the United States and sold over a million copies. Global sales of the single topped two million. Mouth and Macneal released the album How Do You Do in 1972 and represented the Netherlands in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest, famously won by ABBA.
Shortly afterwards, the group split up, and nothing they ever did would top "How Do You Do".
In 1984, a promising English group released this song:
#321: Style Council--"My Ever-Changing Moods"
Singer/guitarist Paul Weller and keyboardist Mick Talbot formed the Style Council in 1983. The group soon included drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, singer Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracey Thorn from the group Everything but the Girl ("Missing") and Tracie Young also collaborated with the Style Council.
By the end of the year, the group recorded a mini-album called Introducing The Style Council. In 1984, the single "My Ever-Changing Moods" was released and reached #29 in the United States.
However, after a live album and two studio albums failed to meet the standard set with "My Ever-Changing Moods, Polydor Records rejected their final album. The group did well in their native England, and they had several hits in both Australia and New Zealand, but could never match the magic of their first single. The Style Council broke up in 1989.
A tasty song to conclude this segment! Join us tomorrow for 10 more great songs!
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