The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #90-81

 You may love some of these songs more than ones by established artists--that's how good they are.

This song hit #1 four years after the group had split up:

#90:  Sheriff--"When I'm With You"

Vocalist Freddy Curci, guitarist Steve DeMarchi, keyboardist Arnold Lanni, bassist Wolf Hassel and drummer Rob Elliott formed the group Sheriff in 1979 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The group released their self-titled debut album in 1982, which featured a hit in Canada, "You Remind Me", as well as "When I'm with You".  

The single reached #8 in Canada and #61 in the United States.  Frustrated by their lack of success and internal tensions, the band split up in 1985, having never released another record.

Six years after "When I'm with You" had been a hit in Canada, disc jockeys in the United States began playing the song.  When they reported strong listener response, Capitol Records re-released the song.  Amazingly, Sheriff had a hit six years after its release and four years after they had broken up!  It became a #1 song in both Canada and the United States.  Curci continues to be listed in the Guinness Book of Records for holding the longest note in a popular song for the last note in "When I'm with You".

The success led Curci and DeMarchi to attempt to reunite Sheriff, but the other members were not interested.  So, the pair hooked up with former members of Heart to form the group Alias, who enjoyed a #2 song with "More Than Words Can Say".

When this group came out, people didn't quite know what to make of them.  We do--they are ranked #89 in The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era*: 

#89: Crazy World of Arthur Brown--"Fire" 

In their prime, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown consisted of Brown on lead vocals, bassist Sean Nicholas Greenwood, keyboardist Vincent Crane, Carl Palmer and Jeff Cutler on drums and Dick Heninghem and Pete Solley on organ.

"Fire" was released as a single in 1968 and reached #1 in the United Kingdom and Canada and #2 in the U.S. "Fire" sold over one million copies.

The song has been covered several times by artists such as Pete Townshend, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and the Ventures.

It isn't just the song that is ranked, but the talent and level of musicianship of the artist, and this group scores high in the latter category:

  

   #88:  Malo--"Suavecito"  

Guitarist Jorge Santana, Arcelio Garcia, Pablo Tellez and Richard Bean played in the group the Malibus while guitarist Abel Zarate, Roy Murray and Richard Spremich played in the band Naked Lunch.  The seven musicians formed Malo in San Francisco.  

Bean played timbales and wrote "Suavecito" as a poem for a girl in his high school algebra class.  Malo recruited some of the top musicians in the Bay Area, including trumpet players Forrest Buchtel, Jr., Ron Smith, Paul C. Saenz, Luis Gasca and Tom Harrell.

Why Malo didn't have a smash hit with "Suavecito" (it peaked at #18) and why they didn't have further hits are both great mysteries.  Following the release of their debut album, many of Malo's original members left.  Buchtel went on to play with Blood, Sweat and Tears while Harrell became one of the top lyrical trumpet soloists of all-time. 

Malo released eight studio albums and seven singles.

These talented artists gave us plenty to think about with this one:

 

   #87:  Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians--"What I Am"  

Brickell graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas.  While attending Southern Methodist University, Brickell joined the local Folk Rock group the New Bohemians as their lead singer. 

When the group signed a recording contract, they changed their name to Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians.  In 1988, the band recorded the highly underrated album Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars.  The song "What I Am" was one of many worthy tracks on the album, but became the group's only hit.  It was co-written by Brickell and Kenny Withrow of the group and peaked at #1 in Canada, #7 in the United States and #31 in the U.K.  Brickell played a Folk singer in the 1989 movie Born on the Fourth of July.  The group's follow-up album Ghost of a Dog in 1990 did not fare as well. 

Brickell married Paul Simon in 1992.  She released two solo albums and in 2008, released an album as part of the group the Heavy Circles that included Sean Lennon.

We're saluting the top artists of the Rock Era who enjoyed one big hit, and we're up to #85:

  

#86:  Crow--"Evil Woman Don't Play Your Games With Me" 

Crow formed in 1967 with lead singer David Wagner, guitarist Dick Wiegand, Larry Wiegand on bass, keyboardist Kink Middlemist and drummer Harry Nehls forming as South 40.  The group used the name until "Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games With Me)" was recorded, when Denny Craswell replaced Nehls.  Crow signed a recording contract with Amaret Records.

Crow wrote their one hit that appeared on their debut album album Crow Music in 1969.  The single hit #19 and Black Sabbath covered it their next year.  Crow then recorded the albums Crow and Mosaic in successive years, but those albums didn't contain songs of the caliber of "Evil Woman".  

Crow longed to record for Elektra Records, but Amaret would not release them from their contract and the group disbanded in 1972.  Crow reformed in 1980 with a different lineup and recorded one album.  All told, the group released five albums and nine singles in their career. 

One of the big hits from 1971 is next:

  

   #85:  Undisputed Truth--"Smiling Faces Sometimes"  

The Undisputed Truth shared many singles with the Temptations, for whom they shared producer Norman Whitfield.  Among them:  "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone", which the Undisputed Truth took to #63.  

"Smiling Faces Sometimes", in fact, was originally recorded by the Temps, but in this case, the Undisputed Truth had the bigger hit, with "Smiling Faces" hitting #3 in 1971.  Lead and backing vocals were handled by Joe Harris, Billie Rae Calvin and Brenda Joyce.  Rare Earth and Joan Osbourne are among the artists to cover the song.

When Whitfield left Motown to set up his own record company in 1975, the Undisputed Truth followed him.  But they had little success, and faded from view after two more albums.  They did receive some R&B airplay and hit #43 in the U.K. with "You + Me = Love".  In all, the Undisputed Truth recorded eight albums and 15 singles. 

This artist once took over as one of the primary songwriters for the Supremes:

#84:  R. Dean Taylor--"Indiana Wants Me"

Taylor, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was hired by Motown Records in 1964 as a songwriter and recording artist.  He released his debut single "Let's Go Somewhere" in 1965.  The song was written by Taylor and Brian Holland and produced by Holland and Dozier, fresh off five #1 songs by the Supremes.

Taylor wrote "All I Need" for the Temptations and "I'll Turn To Stone" for the Four Tops.  In 1968, Taylor's "Gotta' See Jane" became a Top 20 hit, but only in the U.K.  After the famous team of Holland/Dozier/Holland left Motown, Taylor became part of the prime creative team for Diana Ross & the Supremes.  Taylor co-wrote "Love Child" and "I'm Livin' In Shame" for the supergroup.

Taylor became one of the first artists to be assigned to Motown's new subsidiary Rare Earth Records.    His first single on that label was "Indiana Wants Me", which reached #1 in his native Canada, became #2 in the #2 and hit #5 in the United States.  Taylor appeared on American Bandstand to promote the song.

"Gotta' See Jane" was re-released, and peaked at #2 in the U.K. but was not a worldwide hit.  Taylor released three albums and 34 singles in his career.  "Ain't It A Sad Thing" at #66 was the best R. Dean could do after a big hit.  But Taylor is recognized as a very successful songwriter.  In addition to the above mentioned songs, he also wrote for Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Marvelettes, Jackie DeShannon, Golden Earring and Brenda Holloway.

Sweden produced this entry in our special at #82:

#83:  Cardigans--"Lovefool"

Peter Svensson and Magnus Sveningsson formed this group in October of 1992 in Jonkoping, Sweden with lead singer Nina Persson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg and keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson. The group began living together in a small apartment and recorded a demo tape.

Ola Hermanson heard the demo and signed the Cardigans to Trampolene Records. In 1994, the group released their debut album Emmerdale, which was re-released internationally in 1997. The album contained the single "Rise & Shine". Emmerdale attracted a loyal base of fans in Sweden.

The Cardigans toured Europe, then recorded the album Life in 1995, which sold over one million copies worldwide. Still, most people around the world had not heard of the Cardigans, but it did get the group the exposure they needed to sign a major recording contract with Mercury Records.

Armed with the Mercury deal, the Cardigans released the album First Band on the Moon in 1996. "Lovefool", written by Svensson and Persson, was a worldwide hit (#2 in the U.K., #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart and #1 in New Zealand), leading the album to Platinum status in just three weeks in Japan. The song was featured in the movie Romeo + Juliet, which gave it great exposure, as did videos on MTV, which used to stand for Music Television.

Yet despite six albums and 17 singles, the Cardigans could never match "Lovefool" with mass audiences. They did find success in the U.K., their native Sweden and Australia, and "My Favorite Game" reached #16 among the much smaller Alternative Rock audience.

One of the biggest worldwide hits of the 90's gave this group their only hit:

  

  #82: 4 Non Blondes--"What's Up"

Bassist Christa Hillhouse and guitarist Shaunna Hall, who were roommates, met drummer Wanda Day when they joined a group Day was already a part of. Soon the three left that band and began playing as a three-piece. Lead singer Linda Perry was invited to join the group shortly afterwards and the group became 4 Non Blondes.

The band signed with Interscope Records in 1991 after 4 Non Blondes opened for Primus.  As they prepared for their debut album, Day was fired and Richardson replaced her.  Producer David Tickle also didn't feel Hall's guitar playing was what the group needed and she was fired as well.  Other guitarists such as Cara Crash and Louis Metoyer were brought in to finish the album.  Roger Rocha eventually joined after the album was completed and stayed with the group until 1994.  

The album was called Bigger, Better, Faster, More!  "What's Up?", a song written by Perry, was released as the album's second single.  It was a worldwide smash, hitting #1 in Austria, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Switzerland and Sweden, #2 in the U.K. and Australia and reaching #14 and selling over one million copies in the United States.  "What's Up?" was the #1 song of the year in Austria and the Netherlands.

Despite the huge success, 4 Non Blondes broke up after just one album.

Perry went on to begin two record labels and has become a major songwriter and producer.  She has written and produced for several artists, including Pink ("Get the Party Started"), Christina Aguilera ("Beautiful") and Gwen Stefani "What You Waiting For?").  Perry won two ASCAP Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for Song of the Year for "Beautiful".  Perry also discovered and signed James Blunt to a recording contract and worked with Celine Dion, Alicia Keys, Cheap Trick, Faith Hill, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge, Enrique Iglesias, Vanessa Carlton and Joan Osbourne, among others.

Here we have a rock band that played this disco song and others only with reluctance:

  

   #81:  Wild Cherry--"Play That Funky Music"

Rob Parissi (lead vocals and guitar) formed the band Wild Cherry in 1970 in Steubenville, Ohio.  The original lineup included Ben Difabbio (drums), Louie Osso (guitar, lead and background vocals), bassist Larry Brown and keyboardist Larry Mader.  Wild Cherry played clubs in the Ohio Valley region, West Virginia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  

Parissi's cousin, Coogie Stoddart (guitar) and bassists Joe Buchmelter and Buckie Lusk joined later, replacing Osso, Brown and Mader.  Wild Cherry released several songs in the early 1970's, including "You Can Be High (But Lay Low)" and "Something Special On Your Mind".   The group signed a recording contract with Brown Bag Records and released several more singles.

But Parissi became disillusioned and left the music business to become the manager of a local steakhouse, only to realize he wanted to give the band one more try.  Parissi re-formed the band with Bryan Bassett (guitar), drummer Ron Beitle and bassist Allen Wentz.  

The new quartet performed at a feverish pace and built a devoted following in the Pittsburgh area.  Their fans wanted them to play disco music, with one specific table of fans coming up to tease the group by asking "Are you gonna' play some funky music?".    

One night between sets, Beitle said the phrase "Play That Funky Music, White Boy".  Parissi was inspired to write a song around the phrase on a drink order pad.  It took a total of five minutes to write.  When the group went into the studio to record the song, engineer Ken Hamann was so impressed he brought the band to the attention of Epic subsidiary Sweet City Records, who immediately signed the band.

Keyboardist Mark Avsec, who was hired to play on two of the album's tracks, was asked to become a permanent member of the band on tour.  "Play That Funky Music" became a #1 smash for three weeks and a Platinum single.  Billboard named Wild Cherry Best Pop Group of the Year.  The group also won an American Music Award for Top R&B Single of the Year, and they also were nominated for Grammys for Best New Vocal Group and Best R&B Performance by a Group or Duo.

Wild Cherry released four albums and 11 singles, but "Baby Don't You Know" at #43 in 1977 was the next-best they could do.

Inside The Rock Era has all the great One-Hit Wonders.  Join us tomorrow!