The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #10-1

We've listened to 490 songs from the great One-Hit Wonders of all-time.  Here, we believe, is the cream of the crop!

This heavy metal band gave us an epic masterpiece for the ages:

 

#10:  In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida--Iron Butterfly

Here's a group formed in San Diego, California in 1966.  They rehearsed in the garage of the parents of tambourine player Darryl DeLoach on a near-nightly basis.

In 1968, Iron Butterfly released "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" on their album of the same name.  At over 17 minutes, the song takes up the entire second side of their album.  The lyrics are heard only at the beginning and end of the song.  The song reached #30, itself not a huge hit at the time, but the song remains one of the most popular of the Rock Era, essentially discounting the ranking of the song by those not knowing how to gauge the popularity of songs.

As evidence of the above, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is among the world's 40 best-selling albums, selling more than 30 million copies.

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is significant in that it was released at a time when psychedelic music began to form heavy metal. The song has been featured numerous times in pop culture, including the television shows Home Improvement and That 70's Show.

Iron Butterfly has released six albums and 13 singles but the highest they could get after "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was with "Easy Rider" in 1970, which only made it to #66. Despite the complex musicianship obvious in the song, Iron Butterfly could never come close with subsequent efforts.

Up next is the German band whose worldwide hit featured some of the most poignant lyrics ever written:  
#9.  99 Luftballons--Nena   

Gabriele Susanne Kerner was born in Hagen, West Germany.  She spent her early years in Breckerfield and later lived in Hagen.  She acquired the nickname of "Nena" (little girl) while on a vacation to Spain. In 1979, guitarist Rainer  Kitzmann offered Nena a position as lead singer in the Stripes.  The group had a minor hit with "Ecstasy" but soon disbanded.

In 1981, Nena and then-boyfriend Rolf Brendel moved to West Berlin, where they met guitarist Carlo Karges, keyboardist Uwe-Fahrenkrog-Petersen and bassist Jürgen Dehmel.  Together, they formed the band Nena in 1982, and their first single, "Nur getraumt" (Only dreamt") became an instant hit in Germany after the group performed on the German television show Muiskladen.  "Nur getraumt" reached #2 in Germany, but success was contained to their home country.

In 1983, Nena released their self-titled album, which contained the singles "Leuchtturm" ("Lighthouse") and "99 Luftballons".  Fahrenkrog-Petersen wrote the music while  Karges wrote the original German lyrics.  While attending a Rolling Stones concert in West Berlin, Karges noticed that balloons were being released.  As he watched them move towards the horizon, he noticed them shifting and changing shapes, where they looked like strange spacecraft.  Karges thought about what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall to the Soviet sector, and featured that as the main focus of the composition.

Nena first recorded the song in German, then in English.  "99 Luftballons" hit #1 in West Germany, Canada, Australia and Ireland and #2 in the United States.  The English version was a #1 song in the U.K. and was a smash hit the world over.

Nena released five international singles and had 14 hits on the German charts but they were never heard outside of Germany again.  

This innovative and hugely-talented band gave us this great song from 1967:

#8:  Pictures Of Matchstick Men--Status Quo  

The group had its origins in 1962 as Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster formed the Spectres.  After several lineup changes, the band became the Status Quo in 1967.  

In November, Status Quo released "Pictures of Matchstick Men" as their first single.  It hit #7 in the U.K., #8 in Canada and #12 in the United States.  The song was several in the 60's to feature audio effect phasing.  The "matchstick men" in the song refers to paintings of L.S. Lowry.

"Pictures of Matchstick Men" was featured in a television ad for Target stores and in 2012, the original version was played in Men in Black 3.

Status Quo has released 29 albums, many of which have done very well in their home country of Great Britain. They had 76 hits in the U.K., but they found out that the United States is a tough nut to crack, even if you've already had a big hit like "Pictures of Matchstick Men". The best Status Quo could do after their debut was when "Ice In The Sun" reached #70 in 1968.

 

 #7:  Torn--Natalie Imbruglia

Scott Cutler, Anne Preven and Phil Tornalley wrote this song in 1991 as a solo song for Preven, who recorded and performed the song live but "Torn" was not released until Danish singer Lis Sørensen  released it under the title "Brændt" ([pʁænˀt], meaning 'burnt') in 1993.

Cutler and Preven formed the group Ednaswap that year and released "Torn" in 1995.  The best version, however, is from Australian singer and actress Natalie Imbruglia, who remade the song for her debut single in 1997, produced by Thornalley.  Imbruglia's version was recorded in London with David Munday on lead guitar, Thornalley playing bass and rhythm guitars, Chuck Sabo on drums, Sam Hardaker on drum programming and Katrina Leskanich singing backing vocals.

Imbruglia was well-known in the early part of the decade as Beth Brennan in the television soap opera Neighbours.  After leaving the show, Natalie moved to the U.K. to start her recording career.

"Torn" was a monster hit the world over, reaching #1 in Canada, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Belgium and Iceland, #2 in the U.K., Australia, the Netherlands, Scotland and Switzerland, and a Top 10 song everywhere in the world...except in the United States.  

In the U.S., "Torn" reached #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart but because of a glitch in Billboard chart methodology, only made it to #42 on the Popular chart.  Why do we describe it as a glitch?  Because "Torn" was #1 for 11 weeks on Billboard's "Radio Songs" chart, essentially the top songs played by radio around the country. 

The record company wanted to spur sales of the album and thus did not release "Torn" as a single initially.   But because Billboard had foolishly from 1955-1998 required a song to be released as a single to make its charts, "Torn" was not even listed on the Popular chart for most of its run.  Finally, after industry-wide criticism of Billboard's policy to not rank "Torn", the magazine relented and changed its rule, but by that time, "Torn" was on its way down and only peaked at #42.

The single sold four million copies globally and was Imbruglia was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards, losing to Celine Dion for "My Heart Will Go On".

Imbruglia released five more albums and the best she could do after "Torn" was #64, the highest-ranked of 16 subsequent singles.

At #6, the artist who had the what was at the time the fastest-selling song in the history of Warner Brothers Records:

 

#6:  Vehicle--Ides of March

The Ides of March released their first single, "Like It Or Lump It", on their own Epitome record label in 1965.  The group changed their name to the Ides of March in 1966, taken from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.  They released "You Wouldn't Listen" on Parrot Records and reached #42 in the spring.  The Ides of March released six singles prior to signing with Warner Brothers.  Their third single on Warner, "Vehicle", was written by lead singer Jim Peterik, who would later form the group Survivor.

"Vehicle" went to #1 and sold a million copies, the fastest-selling single in Warner Brothers history in 1970.  The Ides of March toured extensively that year, opening for many top acts including Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

The Ides of March released four more albums and a total of seven singles. "You Wouldn't Listen", their debut single, reached #42. Despite the huge success of "Vehicle", the Ides of March afterwards could only manage to get as high as #64 with "Superman" in 1970 and "L.A. Goodbye" (#73 in 1971).

"Vehicle" is featured in the movie Lock Up with Sylvester Stallone.

With a #1 song, immense songwriting ability, great vocals and harmonies, a Grammy for Best New Artist, and their own television show, this group seemed destined to be superstars:

 

#5:  Afternoon Delight--Starland Vocal Band

Members of the group originally backed John Denver. Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert co-wrote "Take Me Home, Country Roads" with Denver.  Denver subsequently signed them to his label Windsong Records.  Danoff and Nivert began as a husband/wife duo called Fat City. Jon Carroll (keyboards and vocals) and Margot Chapman (vocals), also married, soon joined.

Starland Vocal Band began with one of the best debut albums in history.  "Afternoon Delight" led the way, reaching #1 in the summer of 1976.  The group was nominated for four Grammy Awards and won two of them--for Best New Artist and Best Arrangement (vocals).  Starland Vocal Band was also nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "Afternoon Delight".  

The group was flying high, and hosted their own television variety show on CBS in the summer of 1977.  David Letterman was a writer and regular on the show.

The group's follow-up album Rear View Mirror was a disappointment, and the band broke up in 1981 after a total of four studio albums, a Christmas album, and seven singles, unable to match the lofty success of "Afternoon Delight".  The next-best song they had was "California Day", which peaked at #66.  The members each pursued their own solo careers.  

 The wizardry of producers Chapman & Chinn helped this group score one of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era*:

 

#4:  Kiss You All Over--Exile

They were originally known as the Exiles, founded in Richmond, Kentucky.  They began playing local shows and then toured with Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars in 1965, opening for major rock artists of the time.  In 1973, the group shortened their name to Exile.

 The group changed styles often throughout the late 60's and early 70's and had a few regional hits.  Exile released their eponymous debut on Wooden Nickel Records in 1973.  Singles were unsuccessful, and it would be five years before the group released a follow-up album.  Exile shocked the world with their release of "Kiss You All Over", which was a smash #1, one of the top songs of 1978, and became one of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era*.

The group was helped immensely by emerging producer Mike Chapman, who took the group's sound and molded it into a classic.  Chapman co-wrote the song with songwriting partner Nicky Chinn.  "Kiss You All Over" was #1 for four weeks and was a best-seller for over six months.  Exile was on top of the world, touring with Heart, Aerosmith, Boston, Seals & Crofts and other top acts throughout the United States, Europe and Africa.   

Several follow-ups, however, brought little success, so in 1983, they aimed for the much smaller and easier country music market.  The group did well in that genre, but never could come close to success with the mass audience as they had in 1978.  Several of their songs were covered by other artists, including "The Closer You Get" and "Take Me Down", both recorded by Alabama.  Pennington's songwriting talent was recognized as BMI Writer of the Year and he was named as one of BMI's Top 100 Writers of the Century.  

"Kiss You All Over" was included in the movies Happy Gilmore and Employee of the Month.  The song has been remade several times, including a 1997 version by No Mercy.

Exile released 12 albums and 38 singles in their career. But other than "You Thrill Me" (#40 in 1978), the group could never come close to their classic smash with the mass audience. 

This group was the foundation for some of the greatest music of the Rock Era:

 

#3: For What It's Worth--Buffalo Springfield

Stephen Stills and Neil Young first met at the Fourth Dimension in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.  Young was the leader of the Squires from Winnipeg while Stills was on tour with the group the Company.  Although they wouldn't hook up for another year, the two knew they wanted to work with each other.  

After the Company broke up following the tour, Stills moved to California, where he worked as a studio musician and auditioned unsuccessfully for the Monkees.  Producer Barry Friedman indicated to Stills that his prospects were good if he could assemble a band.  Stills invited Richie Furay and former Squires bassist Ken Koblun to join him.  Both agreed, though Koblun soon left for other opportunities.

Meanwhile in Toronto, Young met Bruce Palmer, whose band the Mynah Birds needed a lead guitarist.  Young accepted, but just as the Mynah Birds were about record an album, lead singer Ricky James Matthews (later known as Rick James) was arrested by the United States Navy for being AWOL and the record company canceled the record deal.  Young and Palmer decided to go to Los Angeles in hopes of meeting up with Stills.

A week later, disappointed at being unable to find Stills and ready to leave for San Francisco, they were stuck in traffic when Stills, Furay and Friedman recognized Young's black 1953 Pontiac hearse, which happened to be passing by in the opposite direction.  Furay made a quick u-turn and after some shouting and much excitement, the four musicians connected.  Drummer Dewey Martin, who had played with the Standells, was added to the lineup less than a week later, and Buffalo Springfield was born, with the name taken from the side of a steamroller, made by the Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company, that had been parked outside Friedman's house.

Buffalo Springfield made their live debut on April 11, 1966 at the Troubadour in Hollywood and a few days later, they began opening for the Byrds in concert.  Following the tour, Chris Hillman of the Byrds urged the owners of the famous Whisky a Go Go to give Springfield an audition.  The group became the house band for seven weeks from May to June. These performances caused a buzz with the group giving sensational live shows and several record companies became interested.  The band signed with Atlantic Records and began recording in Hollywood.

Buffalo Springfield released the single "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing", but the song was essentially only a hit in L.A.  The group was so dissatisfied that they reworked some of their early recordings for the rest of their self-titled album.

In November 1966, Stills composed "For What It's Worth" after witnessing police actions against young people who had gathered on the Sunset Strip to protest the closing of a nightclub.  Springfield performed the song on Thanksgiving night at Whisky, recorded it in the next few days, and it was on the air at legendary L.A. station KHJ soon after.  By March of '67, they had a #7 song, the popularity of which has grown immensely since then.  Atco, which handled distribution, replaced the song "Baby Don't Scold Me" with "For What It's Worth" and re-released the album.  "For What It's Worth" went on to sell over one million copies.  

In 1967, Buffalo Springfield traveled to New York to perform, but Palmer was arrested for possession of marijuana and was deported back to Canada. The group moved between recording sessions and live appearances on both coasts, using several different bassists. Work on the next album was tense. Young and Stills distrusted their producers and argued amongst themselves, with each insisting on producing the songs that they had written.

By the time Palmer returned, Young had left before the group performed at the famous 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. The group used guitarist Doug Hastings and guest David Crosby in their performance. Young eventually returned in October and the group convinced their management to release their producers. The band continued to play live shows while putting the finishing touches on their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again.
The group released "Bluebird", which reached #58, and "Rock 'N' Roll Woman", which peaked at #44. The studio version of "Bluebird" wound down after the instrumental break, but in live performances, the opening verses served as a springboard for an extended jam session, during which Stills, Young and Furay intertwined guitars for minutes on end. It wasn't a hit, but it's the one you want to hear.

Strong reviews poured in all over the country, not only for the live shows but for their second album. But in 1968, Palmer was once again deported for drugs. This time, the group fired him and replaced him with Jim Messina. Young became disinterested, and often didn't appear for concerts, with Stills left to handle all the lead guitar parts by himself. The group finished recording material for a third album when Young, Furay, Messina and Eric Clapton were all arrested for drugs.

This was the final straw for the group. They gave their final concert in Long Beach, California on May 5, 1968. After playing their best songs, including a 20-minute version of "Bluebird", Buffalo Springfield officially broke up. Despite their popularity, the Springfield was never highly successful, other than their big hit. The group's legend grew stronger after their breakup, fueled by the later successes of its members.

Stills and Nash went on to solo careers as well as forming the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Furay and Messina were founding members of Poco, Furay joined J.D. Souther and Hillman in the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, while Messina also teamed with future superstar Kenny Loggins in the duo Loggins & Messina.

Unfortunately, the group was plagued by infighting, drugs, arrests, and line-up changes that forced their breakup after just two years. What might have been.

Springfield was a springboard for the careers of Stills, Young and Furay. They combined rock, folk and country into their own unique sound, and "For What It's Worth" helped change the world. Buffalo Springfield spawned the supergroup of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, as well as Poco and Loggins and Messina--an immense array of high-quality music for the world to enjoy for generations. The group was recognized for its influence with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Buffalo Springfield released three albums and nine singles
in their career.

With prophetic lyrics and the amazing imagination it took to write one of the biggest songs in history, it seemed the sky was the limit for this duo:

 

#2:  In The Year 2525-- Zager & Evans

Rick Evans wrote this song in 1964 and the duo Zager & Evans released the song on the small regional label Truth Records in 1968. One year later, a radio station in Odessa, Texas popularized the song, and RCA Records pounced on it for nationwide distribution.

"In the Year 2525" reached #1 for six weeks in the United States and also was #1 in the U.K. It was nominated for a Hugo Award that same year. By 1970, the song had sold over four million copies and the total sales of the song, the album and compilations are now over 10 million.

This classic, one of The Top 200 Songs of the Rock Era*, has been covered at least 60 times in 7 different languages. One key version is by the U.K. group Visage; another by Greek singer Takis Antoniadis in the 1970's.

The duo released two more albums and three more singles.  Mr. Turnkey" (a song about a rapist who nails his own wrist to the wall as punishment for his crime), failed to hit the popular charts on either side of the Atlantic.  And Zager and Evans' meteoric rise to the top of the charts was over without an encore.

This group’s #1 smash was so popular everyone wanted to record it:
  
#1:  Venus--Shocking Blue

Robbie van Leeuwen, guitarist for the Shocking Blue, wrote both the music and lyrics of this great song.  Van Leeuwen also played sitar, sang background vocals, and co-produced the record along with Jerry Ross.  Mariska Veres sings lead on the song released in 1970.  "Venus" was remixed and released in 1990 and gave the group a Top 10 hit in the U.K. and Australia 20 years after the original.

"Venus" hit #1 in the U.S. and in five other countries in 1970.  Bananarama remade the song in 1986 and took it to #1 as well.  The classic, another of The Top 200 Songs of the Rock Era*,  has been featured in numerous films, television shows and commercials and covered dozens of times by artists around the globe.  It has been featured in Remember the Titans, The Brady Bunch Movie and Grumpier Old Men just to name a few.  

"Venus" was certified Gold shortly after release and has now sold over 7.5 million copies.  And yet the group could never follow it up.    They released 11 albums in their career and ended up selling over 13 million records.  The Shocking Blue released 25 singles ("Venus" was the fifth single). "Mighty Joe" at #43 in 1970, however, was the highest they could get besides "Venus".

We hope you enjoyed The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era*.  Please feel free to catch up on episodes you may have missed, and to revisit the special often.  We'll provide you with a handy link to do just that, and you can always find links to this and all other Inside The Rock Era specials by clicking on the "Charts and Lists" link at the top of the website.  Have a great day!