The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #490-481

We've barely begun in our salute to the great One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era...

This talented group gave us one of the last of the great surfing instrumentals:

#490:  Pyramids--"Penetration"

Lead guitarist Skip Mercier, rhythm guitarist Willie Glover, bassist Steve Leonard, drummer Ron McMullen and saxophonist Steve Leonard formed this group in Long Beach, California in 1961.  They released "Penetration" in 1964, which peaked at #18; in fact, it was the last major instrumental surfing song.  

In July, the group appeared in the movie Bikini Beach, walking onstage with Beatle wigs, which were then lifted to reveal their shaved heads. 

But that was the last we heard of the Pyramids.  They released just one album and five singles in their career. 

A great Jazz musician checks in next:

  

 489:  Lee Ritenour--"Is It You"

Even though he only hit the Top 20 once, check out the catalog of Jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour.  He played guitar for the Mamas & the Papas when he was just 16.  He's also played for many other artists, including Tony Bennett and Lena Horne.  Lee was also brought in to play on "Run Like Hell" for Pink Floyd.  Eric Tagg sings lead on this #15 hit from 1982.

This talented act was able to score a hit in the 1980's:

#488:  Balance--"Breaking Away"

This group formed in New York City when lead singer Peppy Castro, formerly of Blues Magoos ("We Ain't Got Nothing Yet") joined guitarist Bob Kulick, arranger and keyboardist Doug Katsaros, drummer Chuck Burgi and bassist Dennis Feldman.

In 1981, Balance released their debut album that included "Breaking Away".  The song reached #22 and the band toured in support of the album.  But the follow-up single, "Falling in Love", only reached #58 and the group was unable to chart again.

Castro, Katsaros, Burgi and Feldman reunited briefly when they backed up Michael Bolton on his 1985 album Everybody's Crazy.

This British duo landed a big hit in 1963:

   

#487:  Caravelles--"You Don't Have to Be A Baby To Cry"

This British duo of Lois Wilkinson and Andrea Simpson named themselves after the French airliner.  "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry" was first recorded by Moon Mullican, then Tennessee Ernie Ford put it on the flip side of the single "Sixteen Tons".  

The Caravelles recorded it in 1963 and it hit #3 in the United States and #6 in the U.K.  But the duo were unable to sustain their success, and Wilkinson left for a solo career.  Simpson kept the group going into the 1990's with a series of replacements.  The Caravelles released a total of 10 singles in their career.  

This artist contained some great musicians that gave us this garage rock favorite:

  
#486:  Crazy Elephant--"Gimme Gimme Good Loving"

Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz of Super K Productions formed this studio group in the 1960's. Robert Spencer, former lead singer of the Cadillacs, was featured, while Kevin Godley, future member of 10cc, also handled lead vocals. 

In 1969, Crazy Elephant recorded "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" with bassist Gary Gaynor, Kenny Cohen (flute, saxophone), who later performed with the Eagles, Rod Stewart, Santana and B.B. King, drummer Bob Avery, keyboardist Larry Laufer and vocalist Hal King.  The single reached #12 in both the United States and the U.K.

But several follow-up singles failed to chart and the project dried up.

The one big song of this artist became a huge hit for the Dave Clark Five:

  
#485:  Chris Kenner--"I Like It Like That"

This artist from Kenner, Louisiana sang gospel music in his church choir, before moving to New Orleans in his teenage years.  He recorded a few songs for Baton Records in 1955 without success.  In 1957, Kenner recorded "Sick and Tired" for Imperial Records, a song Fats Domino later turned into a hit.

When Kenner began working with pianist and arranger Allen Toussaint, his fortunes improved.  Kenner signed with Instant Records and recorded "I Like It Like That", a #2 song in 1961 that sold over one million copies.  The song was famously recorded in 1965 by the Dave Clark Five.  Kenner also recorded "Something You Got", which wasn't a hit for him, but was covered by artists such as Ramsey Lewis, Fairport Convention and Bruce Springsteen. 

In 1962, Kenner recorded "Land Of A Thousand Dances", which Wilson Pickett turned into a big hit.  Kenner continued to record, released an album in 1966.  In 1968, Kenner was convicted of statutory rape of a minor and spent three years in prison.  Eight years later, he died of a heart attack at age 46.

This artist worked behind the scenes on some great albums of the 1960's before enjoying a big solo hit in 1972:

  

#484:  Hurricane Smith--"Oh, Babe What Would You Say"

This artist from Edmonton, England was a RAF glider pilot in World War II.  He began as a jazz musician, but when that didn't turn out, he joined EMI Records as an apprentice sound engineer in 1959.  Smith was the engineer on all of the EMI studio recordings by the Beatles until after the 1965 album Rubber Soul, when he was promoted to producer at EMI.  Smith recorded nearly 100 Beatles songs all told.

In 1967, Smith began working with a new group, Pink Floyd, producing their first four studio albums.  The following year, he produced one of the first rock concept albums, S.F. Sorrow by the Pretty Things. 

Still, Smith yearned to record songs himself.  In 1971, using the pseudonym of Hurricane Smith, he recorded "Don't Let It Die".  He had written the song originally in hopes that John Lennon would record it, but released the song himself as a single.  It reached #2 in the U.K. but the song didn't find a worldwide audience.

In 1972, Smith released "Oh Babe What Would You Say?", and this time, his success spread around the world.  It was #3 in the United States and #4 in the U.K.  Smith released his self-titled debut album, and another single, "Who Was It?" peaked at #23 in the U.K.

Further efforts were not successful, but he did tour for two years with a band and record a second album, Razzmahtazz Shall Inherit The Earth, in 1973.  

This group saw its end when it was ruled that its big hit copied one of their own songs:

  
#483:  Shep and the Limelites--"Daddy's Home"

James "Shep" Sheppard, Clarence Bassett and Charles Baskerville formed Shane Sheppard and the Limelites in Queens, New York in 1960, which quickly became Shep and the Limelites.

The group recorded "Daddy's Home", which Sheppard wrote, in 1961 for Hull Records.  The single hit #2 for the group in May.  Later releases did not approach the level of "Daddy's Home".  

Kahl Music, publisher of "A Thousand Miles Away" (written by Sheppard) sued Keel Music, publisher of "Daddy's Home" for copyright violation.  Keel Music lost the lawsuit, resulting in the end of both the Limelites and Hull Records in 1966.  Basset joined the Flamingos while Baskerville ended up being a member of the Drifters.  Sheppard re-formed the Limelites in the late 1960's but was murdered on January 24, 1970, found dead in his car on the Long Island Expressway. 

"Daddy's Home has been recorded by several artists since, including Cliff Richard and Jermaine Jackson.

This Icelandic group's debut album yielded their one and only big hit:

 

 #482.  Of Monsters and Men--"Little Talks"

From their 2011 album My Head is an Animal, Of Monsters and Men released the single "Little Talks".  Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir of the group says the song describes two loving people talking past each other and implies one is deceased, saying "maybe one person isn't really hearing the other one."  It was a big hit in Ireland (#1), New Zealand (#4) and Germany (#5) and its U.S. placing of #20 was one of the lowest in the world.

The group has released two more albums and scored several successes in both their native Iceland as well as the Rock chart, but none have spread beyond that segmented audience.

You may find yourself dancing to the music of this next artist:

  
#481:  Corona--"Rhythm Of The Night"

Francesco Bontempi and Olga Souza formed this group and Corona released their debut single "The Rhythm Of The Night" in Italy in 1993 on DWA Records.  The song reached #1 there for eight weeks, but success was confined to Italy.  Then, a remixed version of the song caught on in the U.K. in 1994, where it reached #2.  "The Rhythm Of The Night" then spread to Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain, where it peaked at #3 in each of those countries. The song also hit #4 in Switzerland, #5 in France and #8 in Australia. 

"The Rhythm Of The Night" finally spread worldwide in 1995, two years after its initial release, as Corona took it to #11 in the United States.  This led to the release of the album of the same name.  "Baby Baby" was a #1 hit in Italy and #5 in the U.K., but only #57 in the U.S.  "Try Me Out" reached #2 in Italy and #6 in the U.K. but this time, no luck at all in other parts of the world.  "I Don't Wanna' Be A Star" (#2) gave Corona four Top 2 songs in Italy, was #22 in the U.K., and again did not chart in the United States.  

Corona released their second album, Walking On Music, in 1998.  The album didn't yield any successful singles and a third release, And Me U met with similar results.  Souza kept the group alive and released songs well into the new millennium, having some success in Italy, Spain and Brazil, her native country.

We've heard just 20 One-Hit Wonders*, and it's amazing how many great songs and talented artists there are who enjoyed just one big song.  Visit us tomorrow for the third installment!

The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: #500-491

In compiling The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era*, we considered the initial and current popularity of the song and the artist, complexity of the song and the number and quality of future releases. Other factors taken into consideration include how much input the artist had into the One Hit Wonder: songwriting, instrumentation, production, etc. In other words, the more talented the artist, the more complex the song, the more popular the song, then and more importantly now, and the better their subsequent releases were, the higher the ranking.

To be eligible, an artist must have either had only one Top 100 hit or they scored a big hit and either never hit the Top 20 before or after that or never had more than one other Top 40 hit.  Some organizations who construct similar One Hit Wonder lists eliminate an artist if they had two Top 40 or Top 100 hits.  However, these songs are only minor "hits" that the majority of the people do not ever hear.  By setting the bar at Top 20 hits, this list includes artists who scored a mainstream hit then essentially never tasted widespread success after their "One Hit Wonder".  

This does exempt groups like EMF ("Unbelievable"), which is not eligible to be called a "One-Hit Wonder" because "Lies" was a hit in 1991, reaching #18.  Similarly, A-Ha, which has enjoyed great worldwide success, landed the Top 20 hit "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." in addition to their smash "Take on Me".  Michael Murphey ("Wildfire" in 1975) was headed for status as having one of The Top One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era* until he landed at #19 with "What's Forever For" in 1982.  

Then you have an artist such as Berlin, which had the minor hit "No More Words" before their #1 "Take My Breath Away", and then nothing after that.  They are a judgement call.  In Berlin's case, "No More Words" was a big enough hit, in fact one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*, that they are classified as having two hits.  Stephen Bishop never hit the Top 20 after his Top 15 song "On and On".  But he had three other Top 40 hits, enough success to be excluded from One Hit Wonder status. 

Some artists, while perhaps having only one "hit" as defined by the industry, are nonetheless recognized as major stars and contributors to the Rock Era or to music in general, and can hardly be defined as One Hit Wonders.  One example would be Getz & Gilberto, who combined for one of the landmark albums of all-time, Getz/Gilberto.  Stan Getz did hundreds of albums in his career and won multiple Grammys and can i no way be called a "One-Hit Wonder".  Jimi Hendrix, Dave Brubeck, Bobby McFerrin and Joan Baez are others, who may have had only one big hit, but are regarded as significant long-term stars.  The inability of an organization or trade publication to gauge popularity of an artist or their music doesn't make them "One Hit Wonders".  

Artists who were part of a successful group and only had one Top 20 solo hit are also a judgement call.  Essentially, if the artist in question did an album occasionally away from the group, then continued on with the group does not fit the category.  An example here is Ace Frehley of Kiss, who had the Top 20 hit "New York Groove".  Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane and Starship only had one Top 10 hit, "Hearts".  But obviously, his contributions to one of the best groups of the Rock Era are so great that he doesn't fit the category.  

Another judgement call is how serious the group was in staying together.  This might seem silly but there are several instances in which a group of musicians just got together for a "one-off", to do one song or one album.  An example is the Firm ("Radioactive").  Temporary groups are not eligible for inclusion in this special.

An artist who only had one big hit in collaboration with another separate artist isn't eligible as a One Hit Wonder.  Brooklyn Dreams comes to mind.  They scored a Top 5 song with Donna Summer with "Heaven Knows" in 1979 and were never heard from again.  The group reached the Top 5 largely because of Summer, and without her, they couldn't maintain that success.   There are numerous other examples of artists whose only big hit was largely the result of collaboration with and major contributions made by an established star.

If an artist that had only one big hit isn't here, it doesn't mean they're not a One Hit Wonder--just that they don't rank among The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders*.

Starting us off, this Swedish group who enjoyed an unlikely worldwide hit in 1994:

  
#500:  Rednex--"Cotton-Eye Joe"

Swedish producers Janne Ericsson, Örjan "Oban" Öberg and Pat Reiniz created this group that mixes American folk music with Eurodance.  They remade the folk song "Cotton-Eyed Joe" into a dance song in 1994 with huge worldwide success.  The song hit #1 in the U.K., Germany, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland and reached #25 in The United States.

The album Sex & Violins was released following the single's success.  Annika "Mary Joe" Ljungberg sang most of the lead vocals on the album and was joined by Arne "Ken Tacky" Arstrand, Kent "Bobby Sue" Olander, Jonas "Billy Ray" Nilsson and Pat "Mup" Reiniz.  Urban Landgren (BB Stiff) replaced Reiniz shortly afterwards.  A follow-up album Farm Out was released in 2000, which contained "Spirit of the Hawk", a #1 song in Germany.  

Rednex records their songs with studio musicians and have rotated 19 different stage performers that are responsible for the image of the group at live shows.  

The group has achieved near- superstar status in Germany with four Top 5 songs and have spent 25 total weeks at #1 in that country.  Rednex has also been particularly popular in their home country of Sweden and has had hits in other parts of Europe, but "Cotton-Eyed Joe" has been their only worldwide hit.  Rednex has released 17 singles in their career.

Lots of great songs in this special--Here's one from 2004:

#499:  Howie Day--"Collide"

This artist begin playing piano at the age of five and when he was 13, his father bought him a Fender Stratocaster guitar.  Howie performed with the group Route 66 through 1997 and also appeared occasionally for solo gigs in local venues around Maine until agent Shawn Radley discovered him.

Day self-financed his first album, Australia, in 2000.  That's great, but to really make it in the music business, one needs the full force and promotion of a major label, and Howie realized that, finally signing with Epic in 2002.

This single from Howie Day's second album clicked.  Written by Dan and Better Than Ezra lead singer Kevin Griffin, "Collide" landed in the Top 20 in 2004.  

Despite the promise shown on this record, Howie was never able to enjoy another hit.  He toured for five years before releasing his next album, far too long to keep him in the public eye.

 

#498:  Corrs--"Breathless"

This Irish group includes siblings Andrea (lead vocals, mandolin, ukulele, tin whistle), Sharon (on violin, keyboards and vocals), Caroline (playing drums, percussion, piano and on vocals), and Jim (guitar, piano, keyboards and vocals).  

"Breathless" rolled all the way to #1 in several countries, including the U.K.  Although it stalled at #34 in the U.S., the Grammys proved radio stations wrong when the song was nominated for the prestigious award of Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

The Corrs released seven studio albums but were never able to come up with another hit.

Up next, an artist doomed by the number of years between album releases:

  
#497:  Billie Myers--"Kiss The Rain"

Myers was born in Coventry, England and after school, worked as a nurse and an insurance agent.  She soon turned to music and was discovered in a club by producer Peter Harris.  Encouraged by Harris, Myers began writing songs for a debut album.

Myers inked a recording contract with Universal Records in 1997.  The album Growing, Pains was produced by Desmond Child and contained the single "Kiss The Rain", which hit #4 in the U.K. and #15 in the United States.  "Kiss The Rain" helped the album go Gold and the song and other singles appeared in television commercials and in the television series Dawson's Creek.   "Tell Me" was released as the next single and reached #28 in the U.K. but only charted on the Adult chart in the U.S.  Two other singles from Growing, Pains went nowhere.

Myers then went three years before another album, a cardinal sin in the music business.  Myers wrote the score for the movie Down to You, but when she finally released Vertigo in 2000, the public had largely forgotten about her.  Both singles from Myers' second album failed to chart. 

In 2005, Myers released the single "Just Sex", and although it was a Dance hit, the song didn't get played beyond that.

Myers released her third album nine years after Vertigo.  By that time, she had been dropped from Universal, and she started her own record company, Fruit Loop Records.  Of course, she didn't have the capacity to promote the album that major labels do, and although "Wonderful" received airplay in clubs, radio ignored it.

Myers has released three albums and nine singles in her career.

This group launched their career when they convinced a department store in San Diego, California to play their music through the listening booths in the store's record department:

  
#496: Rosie & the Originals--"Angel Baby"

This group at #496* received exposure in a most unique way.  The group recorded the song, then took the master to a department store and convince a manager to play it in the listening booth of the store's music department.  Listeners responded in such a way that Highland Records signed the band and promoted "Angel Baby". The song hit #5 in 1960.

Rosie & the Originals wrote their own music and released four other singles after their One Hit Wonder.  But lengthy legal battles with their record label over royalties and credits doomed them.

The Golden Sixties give us this great song:

 

 #495:  Friend and Lover--"Reach Out Of The Darkness"

Folk duo Friend and Lover (the husband and wife team of Jim and Cathy Post) met at a fair in Alberta, Canada in 1964.  They married soon after and began performing together, gaining recognition in some clubs in Chicago, Illinois.  The duo signed with Verve Forecast Records and recorded this song co-produced by Joe South (he of the "Games People Play" and "Walk A Mile In My Shoes" fame).  Ray Stevens played piano and arranged the strings and he and South were among the backing singers.

Friend and Lover began receiving airplay in Northern California and soon, their song was being played nationwide.  They reached #6 in Canada and #10 in the United States with "Reach Out Of The Darkness".  

Friend and Lover did not record any other albums, and the best they did besides "Reach Out Of The Darkness" was  #86. 

This One-Hit Wonder* is so 1985: 

 #494:  Bowling for Soup--"1985"

This group from Wichita Falls, Texas formed in 1994 with lead singer and guitarist Jaret Reddict, drummer Gary Wiseman and bassist Rob Felicetti.

The group SR-71 wrote this song, and to the great fortune of Bowling for Soup, gave it to them to record.  "1985" made it, with the single hitting #8 in Canada and #23 in the United States.

The group has released 11 career albums and released over three dozen singles, with only "1985" reaching the Top 40.

A song from this group's second album made the big time:

 

#493:  the Wanted--"Glad You Came"

Over 1,000 singers auditioned for a spot in the British group the Wanted.  The boy band recorded their debut album in 2010, which was a big success in the U.K.  "Glad You Came", from their second album, reached #2 in Canada and #3 in the U.S.

The Wanted released another album and enjoyed several hits in the U.K., but "Glad You Came" was their one and only worldwide hit.

This next artist proved that optimism pays!

#492:  Timbuk3--"The Future's So Bright (I Gotta' Wear Shades)"

Timbuk 3 was formed by the husband and wife team of Pat (acoustic, electric, bass and MIDI guitars, harmonica, vocals and drum programming) and Barbara MacDonald (electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin, rhythm programming and vocals).

Timbuk3 signed with I.R.S. Records in 1986 and released their debut album, Greetings from Timbuk 3.  The duo was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards and appeared as the house band in a bar in the 1988 movie D.O.A.  "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta' Wear Shades" reached #19 in the United States and #21 in the U.K.

Despite releasing seven more albums, the group could not follow up their success  and broke up in 1995.  Pat moved to Barcelona and has released several albums on Ulftone, an independent label in Germany.  Barbara has released three albums, including a set of acoustic covers of Timbuk3 songs.

 

#491:  Marshall Crenshaw--"Someday, Someway"

This talented singer-songwriter should have been a big star. His 1982 release "Someday, Someway" made the Top 40, a place he would never get to again.

And there you have the first 10.  Join us tomorrow for the next edition!

The Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era Revisited: Prelude Part Four

We've lined up another great set of songs leading up to the premiere of the all-new Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era* tomorrow, exclusively on Inside The Rock Era.

  
Wadsworth Mansion--"Sweet Mary"

This group's one and only reached #7 in 1971 and they were never heard from again.

Paul Nicholas--"Heaven On The Seventh Floor"

A popular film star in the U.K. switched to recording for this #6 song from 1977.

Sweet Sensation--"Sad Sweet Dreamer"

One of the top songs outside our list is this one from 1975, a #1 smash in the U.K. that also reached #14 in the U.S.

  Greg Guidry--"Goin' Down"

This tasty song from 1982 was just one spot away from reaching the Top 10 for Greg Guidry.  The promising artist never scored another big hit again.

Ray Price--" For The Good Times"

This song written by Kris Kristofferson reached #1 for Ray Price in 1970.

Marcie Blane--"Bobby's Girl"

Teenager Marcie Blane posted a #3 smash with this one in 1962.

  

Autograph--"Turn Up The Radio"

This Rock group reached #29 with this in 1985, their only Top 40 entry.

 

Bob Carlisle--"Butterfly Kisses"

A song Bob Carlisle wrote for his 16-year-old daughter became a #1 Adult Contemporary smash in 1997.

   

David Soul--"Don't Give Up On Us"

This guy was an actor on the television show Starsky & Hutch.  He recorded this song in 1977 which reached #1 on both sides of the Atlantic.

  
Company B--"Fascinated"

This song started out of Miami, Florida  in 1986 and created so much excitement that radio stations across the country began playing it.  As a result, Company B signed a major recording contract with Atlantic Records, which re-released it and were able to distribute the song much more efficiently.  It reached #1 on the Dance chart and #21 overall.

 Marshall Hain--"Dancing In The City

A #3 smash in their native U.K., duo Marshall Hain's "Dancing In The City" is one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era* in the U.S. with a peak of just #43.

 

Lit--"My Own Worst Enemy"

This American Rock group formed in Southern California nearly a decade before their One-Hit Wonder* in 1999.

 

 New Colony Six--"Things I'd Like To Say"

  

This group from Chicago, Illinois was passed over at Columbia Records in favor of Boise's Paul Revere and the Raiders, so their parents had to fund the band until they could record their first album in 1966. 

  
  Stars on 45--"Medley"  

The Dutch group Stars on 45 recorded this medley of mostly Beatles hits in 1981 and it reached #1 in several countries.

That concludes our Prelude*.  Hope you enjoyed it and if you haven't yet, be sure to listen to each of the four segments.  We'll kick off the brand new Top 500 One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era* tomorrow, July 4th, exclusively on Inside The Rock Era!