The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #130-121

These artists provided some of the great songs of our lifetimes.  Let's hear 10 more!

This great vocal group gave us one of the early rock standards:

#130:  Penguins--"Earth Angel"

Cleveland Duncan and Curtis Williams were classmates at Fremont High School in Los Angeles and after graduation, the two added Dexter Tisby and Bruce Tate and formed the Penguins in 1953. The group blended rhythm and blues and rock and roll.  

Williams had co-written "Earth Angel" with Gaynel Hodge when those two were in the group the Hollywood Flames. The song was included on the "B" side of the Penguins' first single "Hey Senorita" in late 1954. But, as is often the case, radio makes up for mistakes made by record companies, and a DJ flipped the 45 over to play "Earth Angel" instead. And it is that song that made the Penguins famous, as it reached #1 for three weeks in 1955.

Technically, that was before the Rock Era was born (famously when "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley & the Comets reached #1), but the doo-wop sound of the record transcended into the Rock Era and helped define its infancy.

"Earth Angel" was simultaneously recorded by the Crew-Cuts, which reached #3 and became their biggest hit. Most people feel the version by the Penguins is better, however.

The group's story is ironic in that, after "Earth Angel", Buck Ram agreed to manage them. Ram of course was the manager of the Platters, which at that time had no hit singles but were a popular touring group. With the Penguins, Ram was able to get Mercury Records to agree to a 2-for-1 deal, in which the company agreed to sign the Platters as long as they could have the Penguins. The Platters became the label's most successful act, and the Penguins never found the chart again!

The Penguins were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, which speaks volumes of potential that was never realized.

This artist achieved success after she built her own home recording studio:

#129:  Donna Lewis--"I Love You Always Forever"

Lewis began playing piano at age six and began composing original songs as a teenager. She majored in classical composition for piano and flute at the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales. Donna taught music for a year in Sussex, England before moving to Birmingham to sing in a bar band.

Lewis set up a home studio and began recording demos. She began attracting attention as a live performer and in 1993 began sending her demos to record labels. Atlantic Records signed her to a recording contract and released the single "I Love You Always Forever". The song became one of The Top #2 Songs of the Rock Era*, reaching the bridesmaid's spot for nine weeks in the United States and #5 in the U.K. The single propelled her debut album Now in a Minute to Platinum status.

Lewis then recorded "At the Beginning" with Richard Marx for the animated movie Anastasia. The song was a #2 Adult Contemporary song but only #45 overall. Her second album, Blue Planet in 1998, was well received by critics, but not by the public. Lewis then left Atlantic and independently produced her own albums.

This big Adult Contemporary song caught on with the mainstream in 1979:

#128:  Randy VanWarmer--"Just When I Needed You Most"

Randy VanWarmer was born in Indian Hills, Colorado but at age 15, three years after the death of his father in an automobile accident, Randy and his mother moved to Cornwall, England.

Soon VanWarmer was writing songs and performing in folk music clubs in England. Then, a girlfriend from the United States came to see him for several months before returning home. The experience prompted VanWarmer to write "Just When I Needed You Most".

In 1979, Bearsville Records released the single "Gotta' Get Out Of Here" with "Just When I Needed You Most" as the B-side. But when a DJ flipped the single, "Just When I Needed You Most" caught fire. The song reached #4 in the United States (#1 Adult Contemporary) and #8 in the U.K. Dolly Parton and Smokie are among those who have remade the song.

VanWarmer's follow-up album Terraform was dark in lyrical content. It achieved some airplay in Manhattan, New York, where VanWarmer had moved by that time. The album sold moderately in Japan and the Australia but little elsewhere.

VanWarmer recorded two more albums for Bearsville Records and reached #55 with "Suzi Found a Weapon" in 1981. VanWarmer released 10 albums and 11 singles in his career. He went on to write several songs for the Oak Ridge Boys. Charley Pride, Alabama and Michael Johnson also recorded his songs.

At #127, one of a handful of One-Hit Wonders to score a #1 song with their only hit:

#127:  Lemon Pipers--"Green Tambourine"

The members of this Oxford, Ohio group had previously played in college bars with different groups before forming the Lemon Pipers. Keyboardist Robert "Reg" Nave was with the Wombats while guitarist William Bartlett, drummer William Albaugh and bassist Ron Dudek were part of Tony and the Bandits. Steve Walmsley soon replaced Dudek.

The Lemon Pipers played covers of songs by the Who and the Byrds. They played regularly in the Oxford bar called The Boar's Head, and in underground rock venues in Cincinnati such as The Mug Club and The Ludlow Garage. They released their debut single "Quiet Please" on Carol Records.

In 1967, the group went all the way to the finals of the Ohio Battle of the Bands before losing to the James Gang. The Lemon Pipers then recruited Ivan Browne, who was the lead singer for Ivan and the Sabres in Miami, Ohio. Noted music industry entrepreneur Mark Bargar was instrumental in getting the group signed to Buddah Records (later renamed Buddha Records).

The Lemon Pipers began playing larger concert hall venues around the U.S., including an appearance at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Their first single on Buddah was the Bartlett song, "Turn Around and Take a Look". However, Buddah saw the Lemon Pipers as a bubblegum group rather than the rock group they actually were.

The label turned to the Brill Building songwriting team of Leka and Shelley Pinz to write a song for the Lemon Pipers. The result was "Green Tambourine", which the band reluctantly recorded. The song reached #1 in 1968 in the United States, #7 in the U.K. and was a hit all over the world. "Green Tambourine" sold over two million copies.

That success led to pressure by Buddha for the group to stay in the bubblegum genre. They released another Leka/Pinz song, "Rice Is Nice", which reached #46. The Lemon Pipers only recorded the song because they knew they would be dropped from the record company if they refused.

The Pipers' debut album, Green Tambourine, contained five Leka/Pinz songs, and two extended tracks written by the band. The contrast could not be more obvious. The differences between Buddah and the group continued on the album Jungle Marmalade, which contained another Leka/Pinz song called "Jelly Jungle", which reached #51, as well as the 11-minute, 43-second song "Dead End Street"/"Half Light".

The Lemon Pipers left Buddah in 1969 and later broke up. Bartlett, Walmsley and Nave formed Starstruck, whose recording of "Black Betty" was remixed and released in 1977 under the name of Ram Jam.

 The music in this set, like most other music featured on Inside The Rock Era, is best heard at high volume...

An association with Mike Post helped this aspiring artist get off the ground:

#126:  Joey Scarbury--"Theme From The Greatest American Hero (Believe It Or Not)"

At age 14, Joey Scarbury was discovered by songwriter Jimmy Webb's father and was signed to a recording contract with Dunhill Records. However, his first single, "She Never Smiles Anymore" didn't find an audience and he was dropped from the label.

Scarbury persisted, however, working as a backup singer for Loretta Lynn and continuing to record. In the late 1970's, Joey worked for producer and composer Mike Post. Post and Stephen Geyer were hired to write the theme song for the new television series The Greatest American Hero and Scarbury was called on to record it.

The full-length version was edited to one minute for broadcast but the show's success prompted Elektra Records to release it as a single. "Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe It Or Not)" reached #2 in 1981. However, after the follow-up "When She Dances" peaked at #49, Scarbury again disappeared from the charts.

He did record "Back To Back" for the television show Hardcastle and McCormick and recorded the theme to the television show Jennifer Slept Here. Scarbury also wrote songs for the Oak Ridge Boys and other artists, but only recorded one career album and had just one career hit.

What's even more unbelievable that this artist never scored another Top 20 hit is that this great song was only the third single released from his debut album:

  

  #125:  James Blunt--"You're Beautiful"

James Blunt was a captain in the British Army in the aftermath of the Kosovo War.  After leaving the army, Blunt recorded the album Back to Bedlam, which contained "You're Beautiful".

"You're Beautiful" was a monster hit, #1 in the United States, Canada and the U.K. with worldwide sales over three million.

Of the song, Blunt told Oprah Winfrey in 2006:

     It's kind of miserable.  It was about seeing my ex-girlfriend on the Underground in                       London with her new man, who I didn't know existed.  She and I caught eyes and                       lived a lifetime in that moment, but didn't do anything about it and haven't seen each                   other since.

Blunt's follow-up album, All the Lost Souls, reached #1 in 12 countries.  But that and subsequent albums, with dozens of singles released, weren't enough to crack the Top 40 again.  

We hope you're enjoying The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era*. This act scored their big hit in 1977:

#124:  Hot--"Angel In Your Arms"

Gwen Owens began singing in church in Detroit, Michigan, and wound up recording for local labels in the mid-1960's. Her single "Keep On Living" in 1969 reached #40 on the Soul chart. Owens opened in local concerts for artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Al Green.

Owens moved to Los Angeles and began a session career, working for Billy Preston, Al Wilson and Stanley Clarke and singing in live performances with the O'Jays, Lou Rawls, Nancy Sinatra and Jose Feliciano. Owens and Cathy Carson began performing and touring under the name Sweet Talk. In 1976, Owens, Carson, and the newly-recruited Juanita Curiel began work on an album as Hot.

"Angel In Your Arms" was recorded and picked up by Big Tree Records for release. The single reached #3 in Canada, #6 in the United States and #7 in New Zealand, was a multi-format smash and sold over one million copies.

Two other singles: "Right Feeling At The Wrong Time" and "You Brought The Woman Out Of Me" were only minor hits in the group's attempt to keep the ball rolling. Hot recorded two more albums before Big Tree Records was shut down.

This act was one of the promising newcomers of 1976:

#123:  Jigsaw--"Sky High"

Tony Campbell formed Jigsaw in 1966 with musicians from Coventry and Rugby, England. The original lineup of Jigsaw was Dave Beech on vocals and drums, Clive Scott on keyboards and vocals, bassist Barrie Bernard, Campbell on guitar and Tony Britnell and Kevin Mahon on saxophone. Des Dyer replaced Beech after the first year and took over lead vocals for the group.

In 1970, Jigsaw opened for Arthur Conley for his European tour. Scott and Dyer wrote "Who Do You Think You Are?", which was a hit for Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, and the song was included on Jigsaw's 1974 album I've Seen the Film, I've Read the Book. But soon the group was dropped from their recording label, BASF.

But Jigsaw carried on, signing with Splash Records, and recording the single "Sky High" for the movie The Man from Hong Kong. The song became a worldwide hit, reaching #3 in the United States, the Top 10 in the U.K. and #1 in Japan.

Jigsaw recorded five career albums and released 15 singles, but they couldn't continue the success they achieved with "Sky High".

Here's yet another act whose songwriting and musicianship is behind some other popular songs that you know:

#122:  Boy Meets Girl--"Waiting For A Star To Fall"

Singer Shannon Rubicam and vocalist and keyboardist George Merrill sang backup on Deniece Williams' 1984 smash, "Let's Hear It For The Boy". They also wrote two #1 hits for Whitney Houston, "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna' Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", as well as songs for Williams and Bette Midler.

Boy Meets Girl released their debut album in 1985, which include the minor hit "Oh Girl". In 1988, the duo released the follow-up album, Reel Life, which contained "Waiting For A Star To Fall". The single peaked at #5 overall and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States and #9 in the U.K.

"Bring Down The Moon" was the next-best song after their One Hit Wonder, peaking at #49. Boy Meets Girl recorded four albums in their career, and, although they were a One-Hit Wonder as an duo, Rubicam and Merrill made significant contributions beyond the group.

 This next artist may have had one big hit but he had a hand in some of Motown's greatest successes:

#121:  Johnny Bristol--"Hang On In There, Baby"

Johnny Bristol was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, and after serving in the United States Air Force, joined the duo Johnny & Jackey in the Detroit area. The two recorded two singles in 1959 for Anna Records and four for Tri-Phi Records but none spread beyond being regional hits.

By the mid-1960's, Motown had absorbed Tri-Phi and Bristol began working as a songwriter and producer. Among the singles Bristol produced at Motown were Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Your Precious Love" and "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You" and Edwin Starr's "Twenty-Five Miles". Bristol wrote for Gladys Knight & the Pips, Jr. Walker & the All Stars and Jermaine Jackson. The final single released by the Supremes with Diana Ross, "Someday We'll Be Together" in 1969, was a remake of a song Bristol wrote in 1961 while with Johnny & Jackey.

Bristol left Motown in 1973 and joined CBS as a producer, working with artists such as Johnny Mathis and Boz Scaggs. But when CBS showed little interest in Bristol's recording career, Johnny signed a recording contract with MGM Records.

Bristol recorded "Hang On In There Baby" in 1974, and the single reached #3 in the U.K. and #8 in the United States. Following the huge hit, Bristol released a string of singles that unfortunately were only successful on the much-smaller R&B chart. He reached #5 in that genre with "Do It To My Mind". Bristol was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Johnny then recorded two albums on Atlantic Records, and continued to produce for Scaggs, Tom Jones and Tavares. Bristol's lack of mainstream success led him to focus on Europe, but his duet with Amii Stewart on "My Guy - My Girl" only reached #39 in 1980. Bristol recorded "Man Up In The Sky" and a remake of "What Does it Take to Win Your Love" by the Jr. Walker & the All Stars, which Bristol had written years before.

Bristol released six albums and eight singles in his career, with "Hang on in There Baby" being his only big worldwide hit.

We're nearly up to the 100 artists we've chosen that essentially surprised us the most by not having another big hit.  But before we get to that, there's 20 more artists, and we'll hear from them the next two days on Inside The Rock Era!