The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #120-111

The artists keep getting better with each passing day.  Let's see what today has in store for us.

We go down under for our next act:

#120:  Easybeats--"Friday On My Mind"

This group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1964 at the Villawood Migrant Hostel (now the Villawood Detention Centre). All five founding members were from families who had migrated to Australia: lead singer Steve Wright, drummer Gordon Fleet, rhythm guitarist George Young, lead guitarist Harry Vanda and bassist Dick Diamonde. The group were inspired by the British Invasion, led by the Beatles, and the Easybeats quickly became one of the most popular bands in the city.

The group signed a production contract with Albert Productions, and then signed a recording contract with Parlophone Records. By 1965, the Easybeats were the most popular band in Australia, and their concerts were marked with fan hysteria. The Easybeats released several songs, all written by Young and Wright, that became hits in Australia, including "She's So Fine", "Women (Make You Feel Alright)", Come And See Her" and "I'll Make You Happy", all #1 songs in that country.

But popularity of the group was confined Down Under, until manager Mike Vaughan flew to New York City and secured a recording contract with United Artists Records. The Easybeats relocated to London in 1966 and recorded several songs at Abbey Road Studios. Since UA did not like any of the recordings, they enlisted the help of producer Shel Talmy, who had produced for the Who and the Kinks.

One of the tracks recorded with Talmy, "Friday On My Mind", was released as a single. It reached #1 in Australia, #6 in the U.K. and #16 in the United States, was a Top 10 song in Germany, Holland, France and Italy and sold over one million copies.

The Easybeats toured Europe and the United States with the Rolling Stones, but Fleet left the band. Tony Cahill replaced him, and the group released the singles "Good Times" and "Falling Off The Edge Of The World", which were minor hits. A follow-up album was recorded but never released because of financial and contractual problems.

In 1968, the Easybeats split up due to drugs and the independence of the Vanda-Young songwriting team. Vanda and Young returned to Australia, where they wrote and produced hits for John Paul Young including "Love Is In The Air". They then produced the first six albums for AC/DC, which featured George's younger brothers Angus and Malcolm Young.

The Easybeats released seven albums in their career, with "Friday On My Mind" being their only major success.

When this artist began, she was hailed as 'the next big superstar"...

#119:  Rickie Lee Jones--"Chuck E's In Love"

Jones was born in Chicago, Illinois; her family moved to Arizona in 1959 and then to Olympia, Washington. Rickie Lee moved to Venice, California and studied music and anthropology at Santa Monica College. At age 21, Jones began playing in clubs in Venice. When Jones moved to Hollywood, she was discovered by Dr. John and Little Feat's Lowell George.

Jones performed original material at the Ala Carte club in Hollywood. In 1978, Jones met producers Lenny Woronker and Tommy LaPuma and signed a recording contract with Warner Brothers Records. In 1979, Jones released her self-titled debut album and promoted it with a sparkling performance on Saturday Night Live. The album included performances by Michael McDonald, Randy Newman and Dr. John.

Jones released the single "Chuck E.'s In Love", which reached #4 in the United States. The follow-up "Young Blood", however, only reached #40. So it was her first single that was largely responsible for her five Grammy nominations: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female and Best New Artist. Jones won the Grammy for Best New Artist and, of course, the curse that goes with it.

After moving to New York City, Jones worked on her next album. Pirates was released in 1981, a full two years after her debut--a definite no-no in the music business. The most popular of the songs on Pirates was "A Lucky Guy", with a disappointing peak of #64, though it's a good track.

Jones did another tour, then moved again, first to San Francisco, then to France. She began performing more Jazz music and getting away from the songs that made her first album so popular. Jones and Walter Becker of Steely Dan wrote "The Horses", which was featured in the movie Jerry Maguire. In 1989, she released the album Flying Cowboys, co-written with Becker. "Satellites" became a minor hit on the Modern Rock chart. A cover of "Makin' Whoopee" done with Dr. John earned Jones a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Collaboration.

But after that, even Jones admitted she battled writer's block, and she never again produced the magic of her first album, nor her one hit, "Chuck E.'s In Love".

At #118, one of the key members of Sly & the Family Stone:

#118:  Larry Graham--"One In A Million You"

Graham was born in Beaumont, Texas. From 1966 to 1972, he played bass in Sly and the Family Stone. He is credited with inventing the "slap-pop technique" on the bass, in part to provide percussive and rhythmic elements in addition to the notes of the bass line. To play slap-pop, the player uses a percussive thumb-slapping technique of the lower strings with an aggressive finger-snap of the higher strings.

After leaving Sly and the Family Stone, Graham formed his own band, Graham Central Station, and released seven albums under that name. He had a following, but no songs were popular with the masses.

In 1980, Graham recorded the song "One In A Million You", the title song from his album that he released that year under his own name. The song was an across-the-board hit, reaching #9 overall, #1 on the R&B chart, and Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Graham released four other solo albums, with "Just Be My Lady" at #67 being his next-best song. Larry reformed Graham Central Station in the early 1990's and performed with the band for several years. Graham played bass on tour with Prince from 1997-2000. Graham is the uncle of rapper Aubrey Graham (Drake).

This act from the City of Brotherly Love enjoyed a big R&B hit in 1974 that crossed over to the mainstream:

#117:  Blue Magic--"Sideshow"

This group was founded in 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by lead singer Ted Mills, Vernon Sawyer, Wendell Sawyer, Keith Beaton and Richard Pratt. Blue Magic signed a recording contract with Atco Records.

The singles from Blue Magic's debut album in 1973 were mostly confined to the R&B chart. But on 1974, "Sideshow" became a big hit, rising to #8 and selling over one million copies. The group performed on television shows including Soul Train and The Mike Douglas Show. "Three Ring Circus" reached #36 overall and #5 on the R&B chart.

Blue Magic was able to land further R&B hits, but they would never enjoy another popular song. They released 9 albums and 22 singles in their career.

This group unfortunately didn't record anything for three years following this smash, and it doomed them:

#116:  Love and Rockets--"So Alive"

Daniel Ash (vocals, guitar and saxophone), bassist David J and Kevin Haskins (drums and synthesizers) formed Love and Rockets in 1985 in England after the group Bauhaus split in 1983. Love and Rockets enjoyed a minor hit with a remake of the classic "Ball Of Confusion" by the Temptations.

Love and Rockets released their first studio album Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven in 1985. They followed this with Express in 1986, which included the dance hit "Yin And Yang (The Flowerpot Man)". In 1987, the group released the album Earth, Sun, Moon, which received some airplay on Modern Rock radio stations.

In 1989, Love and Rockets released their self-titled album, and the second single, "So Alive", caught on, reaching #3 in the United States. The success of "So Alive" led to a major touring schedule, and the group took a few years off afterwards before returning to the studio. Music pros will tell you this is a cardinal sin in the music business.

And history bears this out. RCA Records dropped the group, and they had to sign with the small label American Records. Love and Rockets released Hot Trip to Heaven in 1994, five years after their last album, and American struggled to promote it. The group released two more albums before breaking up in 1999.

This artist achieved his big hit after his musician father died.

#115:  Eagle-Eye Cherry--"Save Tonight"

Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Cherry and his sister Neneh spent several months on the road with their father, Jazz artist Don Cherry, each year. At the age of 12, Cherry was sent to school in New York. Upon graduation, he stayed in New York City to work as an actor and a drummer in several bands. Eagle-Eye appeared in the 1988 movie Arthur 2: On the Rocks and in 1993, he starred in the television show South Beach.

In 1995, his father died and Cherry moved back to Stockholm to focus on music. He began writing songs and recording his debut album Desireless in his bedroom studio. The album contained "Save Tonight", which was released as the first single. The song reached #2 in Sweden, #3 in Ireland, #5 in the United States, #6 in the U.K., #7 in Switzerland and #9 in The Netherlands and helped the album sell four million copies worldwide.

In 1998, Cherry reached #8 in the U.K. with the single "Falling In Love Again", but the success there did not spread to other countries. Cherry co-wrote and sang on "Wishing It Was" on Santana's blockbuster 1999 album Supernatural as well as in several movies.

Cherry has released six albums and 11 singles in his career.

Here's one of the top songs of the early 60's:

#114:  Bruce Channel--"Hey! Baby"

Channel got his start on the Louisiana Hayride radio show before teaming up with Delbert McClinton. Channel co-wrote "Hey! Baby" with Margaret Cobb in 1959 and performed the song for two years before recording it.

The single was originally released on the small LeCam label, but when it caught fire, Smash Records picked it up and distributed it. "Hey! Baby" reached #1 for three weeks in 1962 in the United States, hit #2 in the U.K. and sold over one million copies. Bruce toured Europe and at one gig the Beatles, who were still unknown, opened for him.

Channel did reach the Top 100 with four other singles, but his next best was "Number One Man" at #52. He then concentrated on songwriting, writing songs for T.J. Sheppard, John Conlee, Janie Fricke and Mel McDaniel.

"Hey! Baby" is now part of football tradition for Louisiana State and Penn State, with the entire student section singing the song during the third quarter of games.

 

 #113:  Hoobastank--"The Reason"

Lead singer Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse and bassist Markku Lappalainen formed this act in Agoura Hills, California.  They released their first album in 1998 and signed a recording contract with Island Records in 2000.

Early on, you could catch Hoobastank at Cobalt Cafe, where up-and-coming groups such as Incubus and Linkin Park could be heard at the same time.  Hoobastank made it to #68 with "Crawling In The Dark" and #44 with "Running Away".    

"The Reason" topped the Modern Rock chart and made it all the way to #2 overall in the United States, reached #1 in Canada and Italy and hit the Top 10 in 16 other countries.  The song also led to two prestigious Grammy Award nominations:  Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals as well as Best Rock Album.  The band was also nominated for Top Duo/Group of the Year, Hot 100 Artist Duo/Group of the Year, Modern Rock Artist of the Year, Mainstream Top 40 Single of the Year and Top Digital Song at the Billboard Music Awards "The Reason" has sold over five million copies worldwide, helping the album sell over two million units.

Hoobastank was off and running.  But despite that huge success and enormous potential, the group never enjoyed another Platinum album and 16 subsequent singles failed to make the Hot 100.

We're up to the #1 smash that included Phil Spector:

#112:  Teddy Bears--"To Know Him Is To Love Him"

After graduating from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, Phil Spector was convinced his song, "To Know Him Is To Love Him" should be recorded by his group, the Teddy Bears. Spector, Marshall Leib, Harvey Goldstein and Annette Kleinbard went into Gold Star Studios and recorded the session. Spector also arranged and produced the song.

The single was released on Dore Records in 1958, and it rose to #1 for three weeks. It became one of the biggest songs of the year.

But subsequent releases by the Teddy Bears did not sell and after a year, Spector broke up the group. Of course, Spector went on to much fame as creator of "The Wall of Sound" production. Kleinbard changed her name to Carol Connors, and wrote "Hey Little Cobra" for the Rip Chords and co-wrote "Gonna' Fly Now" for the "Rocky" Soundtrack.

 This duo landed one of the biggest hits of the new millennium:

#111:  Crazy Town--"Butterfly"

Bret Mazur and Seth Binzer formed this group in 1995 in Los Angeles, California, although they didn't get serious with recording until much later. By 1999, the group added guitarist Rust Epique, James Bradley, Jr., Doug Miller, Adam Goldstein and Antonio Lorenzo Valli.

Crazy Town released their debut album The Gift of Game in 1999 and opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on tour. Kraig Tyler replaced Epique while the album was being mixed. "Toxic" and "Darkside" were released as singles but neither one caught on.

Two years later, the group released the single "Butterfly" and the third time was the charm. It became a smash #1 song in the United States, Switzerland and Austria, #2 in Finland, #3 in the U.K., #4 in Australia and #8 in the Netherlands and gave the album 1.5 million in sales. A fourth single, "Revolving Door" was not successful.

In 2002, Crazy Town released the album Darkhorse with new drummer James Bradley. "Drowning" was only a minor hit and the album did not sell well. Shortly after the album's release, the group broke up.

Hard to believe these artists didn't score a second major hit.  We've got 10 more winners tomorrow!