Redartz: Don't know about you, but I've been listening to a lot of music lately. Which is saying something, as I listen to quite a bit of music during 'ordinary' times. Anyway, among the extensive tunes by the Beatles, Steely Dan and the Moody Blues, I am also enjoying the likes of The Champs, Terry Jacks and Jump 'n' the Saddle. To clarify, those charming acts known collectively as 'one hit wonders'. Incidentally, the singular hits from those acts just mentioned were "Tequila", "Seasons in the Sun", and "The Curley Shuffle". But you knew that.
Those single-hit sensations take numerous forms. Some represent the sole chart appearance of an act with a more extensive catalogue. One such example is Thomas Dolby, who gave the word "She Blinded Me With Science". Some know him only from that excellent tune, but I found his album cuts most enjoyable.
Some one-hitters are basically novelty hits. The above- mentioned "Curley Shuffle" fits that category. And then, other one hit acts are just that, acts that made one brief splash and then disappeared into the ether. Anyone remember Clint Holmes and "Playground in my Mind"?
So, here for your auditory assessment are a few of my favorite 'one hits'. What other such hits do you remember (or prefer to forget)? What acts do you know of that had great material that went undiscovered by the majority of the listening public? And perhaps you might even consider some acts that should have been 'one hit wonders'; that is, they should have quit while they were ahead.
Let the discussion begin!
Norman Greenbaum: "Spirit in the Sky"
Daddy Dewdrop: "Chick-a-Boom"
Rockwell: "Somebody's Watching Me"
56 comments:
Great subject Red! Nice to explore the other pop culture venues!
It's hard to think this through at 6:15 as I head off to work, but I would like to heartily second Thomas Dolby's two albums: The Golden Age of Wireless and This Flat Earth. Highly listenable, most enjoyable. I would say that "Blinded me with Science" is actually the odd piece on his first album? In any case both are quite good I find! Cheers All!
Jumpin' in quick with a HUGE Bronze Age Favorite chart-topper--:
"Hurricane" Smith's OH BABE WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?---
Yeah? Yeah? Remember that one? That was my favorite tune for several weeks (possibly during 7th grade?), and man it had constant airplay on our local radio stations. . . as well as WLS, iirc. And I, no kidding, STILL HAVE the vinyl lp that was released within about 15 minutes of its chart success. "Hurricane Smith's Greatest Hits" Which technically should have simply repeated that one track 10 or 12 times, if the marketing folks were being accurate-- heh. I mean, that's probably a whole legit side-thread of its own--- "Greatest Hits" Albums that have one notable hit (at most, two), and the rest is slapped-together filler. . .
My daughter has a quirky & kinda popular Youtube channel, and she will often pull up some forgotten gems that surprise even me, including recently (for today's topic--)
TIE ME KANGAROO DOWN SPORT by Rolf Harris (again, LOVED it when I was a kid!)
and
I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING by the New Seekers-- which I'm sure I've cited here before as one of my dearest childhood favorites. The New Seekers even performed it on the Mike Douglas Show-- looking as uncomfortable as just about every musical act ever did on that program. . . from Roy Clark to KISS. . . Did this group ever have another notable song on the charts?
Did Debbie Boone ever give us anything other than YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE?
There are, of course, whole KTel, Ronco, and Rhino Records collections given over to this genre, oh yeah---
(good topic Red!)
HB
Kajagoogoo's "Your Too Shy" was a big fav during the 80s New Wave phenom! I know they had maybe a few more albums but I can't think of a single tune from any but for this. Cheers!
Pre-bronze but I bet most of you know it is Vanity Fair's "Hitchin a Ride."
I'm lucky that I can get MeTV in the car on 87.7 and they play all the hits from the 50s, 60s, 70s... including the 1-hit wonders and I just heard this song last week in the car. It's a nationwide station but does not stream. Check it out!
HB - WLS's Bob Sirrot is back on the air at WGN for all us "old timers" lol. He may be the nation's oldest / longest running DJ at this point in time. It's a variety type of talk show though, not music.
The absolutely excellent "Spirit in the Sky" is always the first song I think of whenever the topic of one-hit wonders comes up.
And yeah, I think it's come up before here, but "Playground in My Mind," with the section sung by a little kid ('My name is Michael, I've got a nickel...'), really brings back early childhood memories. That song got a lot of AM airplay in the early '70s, so there was a point when I recall hearing it pretty much every morning on the little radio my mom had playing in the kitchen while she made breakfast and packed lunches for my older sister and brother.
HB: on the New Seekers, wasn't that song a Coke ad jingle before the references to Coke were dropped and it became a 'legitimate' song? In that regard, I'm surprised the New Seekers didn't really record anything else of note.
To answer your question about Debbie Boone: no, I don't think so...
Anyway, besides Norman Greenbaum, here's a few of my other favorite one-hit wonders:
Sugarloaf - "Green-eyed Lady"; just love, love, love this song. According to Wikipedia, Sugarloaf had another top 10 hit, "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" that I've never heard in my life (just checked on YouTube, didn't ring any bells).
Strawberry Alarm Clock - "Incense and Peppermints"; possibly the platonic ideal of a psychedelic pop/rock song. The band cut four albums, but who's familiar with anything else they've done?
Count Five - "Psychotic Reaction"; like the above example, this is arguably the platonic ideal of a '60s garage band tune. It's a completely and utterly excellent track - and the band never produced anything else of note.
Syndicate of Sound - "Little Girl"; very similar to the Count Five, in that it's this absolutely cool, fun rocker, but the band didn't really produce anything else memorable.
Peter Schilling - "Major Tom"; a quintessentially '80s sci-fi pop song.
Altered Images - "I Could be Happy"; maybe Altered Images was more popular in the UK, but in the US, I only ever recall hearing that song (which I still love).
I've never heard of Jump 'n' The Saddle!
Here in the UK the New Seekers had several hits - "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" stayed at #1 for 4 weeks and "Beg, Steal Or Borrow" reached #2 and I think it was Britain's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971 or '72. In January 1974 the New Seekers had a second #1 hit - "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me".
Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit In The Sky" was a one-hit wonder here too (reaching #1 in 1970) but in 1986 a cover version by Doctor & The Medics also made #1.
The only other Kajagoogoo song I can think of is "Big Apple".
Altered Images other big hit was "Happy Birthday" which reached #2 in 1981 - in the same year Stevie Wonder also reached #2 in the British singles chart with a song called "Happy Birthday" (dedicated to Martin Luther King). The lead singer of Altered Images, Claire Grogan, is more famous nowadays as an actress.
Rolf Harris was a major TV personality in Britain in the '70s and '80s but he is currently in prison after being convicted of paedophilia.
HB, what's your daughter's YouTube channel called?
This topic might well reveal some transatlantic differences, particularly when it comes to the 80s.
My fave one-hit wonder is Laurie Anderson's "O Superman", which was somewhat surprisingly a massive hit in the UK. It was generally perceived as a bit of a novelty record at the time, but I thought it just sounded great and enjoyed the other records she made too (Mr Heartbreak had William Burroughs on it!)
The Floaters "Float On" - corny, but kinda amazing at the same time. I found an old 12" - or I suppose maxi-single would be the correct term back then - of the long version in a charity shop a few years ago, which is definitely the way to hear it.
Who doesn't have a soft spot for "In The Year 2525"?
-sean
Rolf Harris wasn't locked up for releasing his version of "Stairway to Heaven"? (Fair enough I suppose if Led Zep didn't go to jail for inflicting it on us in the first place)
Also, I should have mentioned - for Charlie's benefit if no-one else's - the city of Sheffield's finest (caught between the past and the future!) Jilted John's "Jilted John". I believe he won the BBC One Hit Wonder World Cup...
-sean
As I came to this post, Brownsville Station's Smokin' in the Boys Room came on my Bluetooth speaker.
Karma...
Doug
Ha-- yep, Sean, my second thought was that immortal Zaeger&Evens dystopian anthem, but I didn't want to be greedy and grab all the good ones for myself, o'course. . .(heh-heh). In fact, I just came across TWO of it (45's) in a box of treasured memorabilia in the basement a couple of weeks ago--
Come to think of it, back during the Christmas season of '86, I was part of a small group doing a DOD-sponsered mini-tour of US military bases in Germany-- an oldies/jukebox retrospective kind of thing-- VERY low on the show-biz spectrum, produced by Catholic University of America-- and at one of the bases, our main contact for the "venue" was their AV guy. He was a sort of dumpy, amiable fella-- clerk/supply sergeant type, but definitely older than just about everyone else that wasn't an officer. Walrus mustache & surprisingly messy hair. He had kind of a perpetually-out-of-his-depth atmosphere about him-- but was clearly a good guy. As he's helping us set up mics and cables he mentions in passing, "Yeah, I used to be in a band back in the 60's-- we had a record that did pretty good. Didja ever hear of a group called 'The Lemon Pipers'?" And I was, like, "Wait-- Green TAMBOURINE?? THAT Lemon Pipers???" Him: "Oh wow! Yeah, I was the drummer--- yeah---!" And of course my mind is racing along wondering what on EARTH his story could be that took him from a gold-record single to being an AV/clerk at a tiny military base in Germany's version of Hooterville... But there was never the opportunity to find out-- pressing clerical matters (a petty on-base power-scuffle) pulled him away. . .
COLIN-- Thank you for asking! Search for MerryRose Howley. It's a very low-tech channel---a girl and her camera, basically. But she does have about 47.4 thousand subscribers, so she's got a bit of her own fan-base (no merchandise yet--ha!). Her channel's initial focus was on Eating Disorder recovery, although she's moved on from that-- and tends to be more about Vegan Life, cooking, Day in the Life of a Musical Theater College Student, musings about life--- alllllll stuff that doesn't sound remotely watchable when itemized, and yet. . . she's a hoot. She's also got a natural gift for film editing that I wish to HEAVEN we could have gotten her to pursue while she was in school. . . (just graduated two weeks ago--)
HB
"The Night Chicago Died" was a favorite when I was a kid.......was it by Paper Lace? For some reason, that rings a bell.
One of my favorite bands, The Tail Gators, does a dynamite cover of "Psychotic Reaction" on one of their albums.
EXCELLENT topic, Red! Here’s a few faves off the top of my head:
‘Ride, Captain, Ride’ by Blues Image
‘Brandy’ by Looking Glass
‘Vehicle’ by The Ides Of March
I’m sure I’m not the only one here who knows what the following One Hit Wonders all have in common:
‘Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes’ by Edison Lighthouse
‘My Baby Loves Lovin’ by White Plains
‘Beach Baby’ by First Class
As Casey Kasem used to say, I’ll be back with the answer in a little while...
As for 1HW acts that had other worthy songs, I think of two opposite examples from the early 80s : Rick Springfield and Tommy Tutone. Springfield’s ‘Working Class Dog’ was a pretty good ‘Cheap Trick Lite’ album, with several catchy tunes besides his mega-hit ‘Jesse’s Girl’. On the other hand, I bought Tommy Tutone’s first album because of the insanely catchy Power Pop classic ‘867-5309 / Jenny’ and found the rest of the album utterly forgettable.
- b.t.
I can confirm that the New Seekers had a number of hits in Britain. Their final hit was in 1978 with a song called Anthem, an appealing piece of social observation that would have sounded right at home on a later Beatles album.
As Colin's said, Altered Images had a handful of hits in Britain. I would say their best was Don't Talk to Me About Love. A couple of years ago, it was revealed that their singer was the inspiration for Spandau Ballet's True.
Like Sean, I loved O Superman. And Jilted John is a living legend. Surely, never before or since has any artist truly captured the soul-mangling angst of youth like he did, nor made it more impossible for any parent to call their child Gordon.
Among my own favourites that haven't been mentioned yet:
Fire - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
Grandad - Clive Dunn.
Uptown Top Ranking - Althea and Donna.
Mad World - Gary Jules and Michael Andrews
Only one I can think of offhand is THE PINA COLADA SONG by Rupert Holmes
Well done, gang! You're assembling quite a list...
Charlie- yep, both of those Dolby albums are winners. Have you heard any of his other work?
HB- that Hurricane Smith tune has such a novel 1920's sound! And you're on target about those 'greatest hits ' albums. Not all of them are Beatles Red and Blue...
Edo- "Psychotic Reaction " is GREAT! That and "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night" (The Electric Prunes) would top my list of 60's psychedelia...
Colin- you should check YouTube for "Curley Shuffle ". That is, if you are a fan of Moe, Larry and Curley. Were the 3 Stooges a 'thing' on your side of the pond, or just a US phenomenon?
B.t.- nice list! As for your question, I think I know, but will hold off for other music mavens to opine...
Steve DC- ok, you've made it imperative for me to find Jilted John on YouTube. If only to understand your comment about the name Gordon.
And add "Fire" to that list of top 60's psychedelia!
Steve, thats a good call on Althea & Donna, and Arthur Brown didn't even occur to me because he's been around for so long, but of course he only had the one hit single.
Which sort of reminds me that the mighty Serge Gainsbourg is also a one hit wonder in the UK - with Jane Birkin - so I'm going to add "Je t'aime..." to the list.
Gotta seriously question the choice of Clive Dunn though... (;
-sean
Charlie is proud to say he went and listened to Jilted John and now knows why Gordon is a Moron!!! Charlie's head popped doing all this and has left comments accordingly at SDC, LOL!
Sean - I don't think Serge Gainsbourg even penetrated the charts in the USA. Though I am assuming his biggest hit was Soixante Neuf? It wasn't a hit in the UK at all? Seems like every school boy would have glommed to that glorious number?
Red - I have heard other Dolby works outside his first two albums but I can't remember a thing about them, LOL! Too much music through these ears over the years...
Jilted John did indeed win the UK's 1-Hit Wonder competition! Now that's what I call music!
So many good One Hit Wonders. And no I didn’t watch too much MTV.
Men Without Hats - Safety Dance
Sniff-n-the Tears - Drivers Seat
Sweet - Fox on the Run
Billy Thorpe - Children of the Sun
Red Rider - Lunatic Fringe
Romeo Void - Never Say Never
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
Nana - 99 Luft Balloons
Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio
M - Pop Muzik
Patrick Hernandez - Born to be Alive
The Knack - My Sharona
The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star
Travis Morgan
Travis Morgan:
That’s some sweet One Hit Wonderism right there — I love all the songs you’ve listed, especially ‘Driver’s Seat’ and ‘99 Luft Balloons’. But as for Sweet, they had quite a few hits, in the UK as well as the States. ‘Love Is Like Oxygen’ was HUGE in the U.S. in ‘78.
Redartz:
Small World Dept. — my oldest brother used to take drumming lessons from Preston Ritter, the drummer of The Electric Prunes. Even without that tangential personal connection, I LOVE ‘Too Much To Dream’, probably my favorite Psychadelic POP song ever.
- b.t.
Thanks to YouTube, like Charlie, I now know why Gordon is a moron.
Travis Morgan- excellent list! Had to explain to my younger son about the Safety Dance. He didn't get it, guess you had to be there.
B.t.- regarding Sweet- their "Ballroom Blitz" was my favorite song in 8th.Grade. And great story about Preston Ritter! Bet we could play a variation of "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon" among our group here and uncover more great tales...
Red, I was scrolling down to see if anyone else was gonna stand up for "Ballroom Blitz"-! It has a permanent position on my personal list of Songs That Spark Pure Joy. On two occasions it was the catalyst that transformed a particularly crummy day into a good one.
Hey, with The Knack, don't forget their immediate follow up hit from the same album, "Good Girls Don't". Just about every guy in my dorm had GET THE KNACK my freshman year. . . I can't say that their music has aged well for me. I wasn't a fan to begin with. . .
Oh! Oh! The actor Richard Harris (the first Dumbledore, remember?) had a "pop" hit with Macarthur's Park--- years before Donna Summers had a GINORMOUS hit with a cover version--! Pretty sure he never charted again after that. . . (what on earth is that song actually about?)
HB
My youngest brother had ‘Little Willy’ on a 45 single and played it over and over and over until I wanted to strangle the little b*****d. I pretty much hated The Sweet for years afterwards. In my thirties, I picked up a ‘Best of The Sweet’ CD almost on a whim and discovered that I really liked them.
Some random 70s era 1HW’s:
Edward Bear — ‘Last Song’
Sammy Johns — ‘Chevy Van’
Focus — ‘Hocus Pocus’
— b.t.
Sniff-n-the Tears are an odd one. They may have been a one-hit wonder in America but, in Britain, they were no-hit wonders. Every two years, like clockwork, the record company would re-release Driver's Seat, clearly convinced that, this time, it'd be a hit in the UK. It'd get played to death on the radio and sink without trace yet again. Two years later, the process would happen all over again. I can't think of any other record that was given so many chances to be a hit by its label.
Have to push back a bit on a few mentioned by Travis Morgan, mainly Sweet: back in the '70s, they were one of the more popular glam rock bands and had several really popular hits outside of "Fox on the Run," including "Ballroom Blitz," "Turn It Down," "Love is Like Oxygen" and "Action" which got *a lot* of radio airplay. Heck, I remember even hearing the B-side track to their "Fox on the Run" single, "Burn on the Flame" played on AOR stations.
As for Wall of Voodoo/Stan Ridgeway, yeah, "Mexican Radio" is the only song that became really popular and got airplay on top-40-type stations, but, again, I recall occasionally hearing songs like "Lost Weekend," "The Big Heat," "Drive, She Said" and a few others on the radio. Otherwise, Ridgeway also scored a lot of movies.
I've been erring on the side of not-Googling before tossing out suggestions, just for the sake of lively, engaged conversation--- so here's another question:
Did Minnie Ripperton (Riverton? Ripperdon?) ever have another hit besides the interminable and inescapable "Lovin' You"--? Astonishing vocal range with those flute-tones, but oy-vey, about 3 verses to long-! "It's not finished YET?"-- became my reaction to it. . .
Ha! Elmo & Patty's GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER. . . ! (Christmas one-hit wonders is a topic that I've seen pop up not infrequently during the holiday season---)
HB
Hm, I think Doug might have something to say about Riperton's "Lovin' You." I think it's one of his favorite songs... :P
Furthering the Wall of Voodoo discussion, they never had any hits in Britain but Stan Ridgway did have a 1986 Top 4 solo hit with Camouflage, making him a one-hit wonder over here. For anyone who's not heard it, it's like a Weird War Tales story turned into a song and I love it.
HB, they might not have had any hits, but Minnie Riperton was previously singer in end of the '60s act Rotary Connection, who's version of Jimi Hendrix' "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" is well worth hearing.
Also, re "Macarthur's Park" - its about leaving a cake out in the rain, after losing the recipe.
Thats obvious, right?
-sean
Steve, yep, "Camouflage" is another great song by Ridgeway.
Sean, Rotary Connection recorded some pretty cool tracks in their day; my favorite by far is "I Am the Black Gold of the Sun."
Edo- it's a different song and a different act, but your reference to "Black Gold of the Sun" put another lost hit in my head. Anyone remember a group called "Prelude ", and their cover of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush"? Had that 45 back in the day, but oil vanished. Haven't heard that song in eons...
It vanished. Lousy autocorrect...
Red, The Three Stooges aren't very well known to us Brits which is probably why "The Curley Shuffle" wasn't released here (yes, I did watch it on YouTube). The BBC's black & white comedies of choice were Laurel & Hardy (we saw loads of their films) and Harold Lloyd but I can't recall ever seeing the Marx Brothers, the 3 Stooges or Abbott & Costello.
HB, your daughter seems really nice and I'm so glad she's better. And I hope Archie the rabbit is well too :)
I haven't suggested any one-hit wonders of my own so here goes:
Convoy - CW McCall (there was also a spoof British version by Laurie Lingo and The Dipsticks who were actually two DJs from BBC Radio One)
Je T'Aime, Moi Non Plus - Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg (Sean has already mentioned this one so I'll just add the fact that Je T'Aime was banned by the BBC for being too naughty and suggestive but the song reached #1 anyway. It took the BBC many, many years to finally realise that banning records was counter-productive)
Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
Knock On Wood - Amii Stewart
Funkytown - Lipps Inc
Mississippi - Pussycat (a British #1 hit by a Dutch band singing about an American river)
Losing My Mind - Liza Minnelli
Yes Sir, I Can Boogie - Baccara (in 1977 these two Spanish ladies became the first ever female duo to reach #1 in the UK singles chart)
The Smurf Song - Father Abraham & The Smurfs (an undoubted classic!)
Are Friends Electric - Tubeway Army (this was actually by Gary Numan but it's technically a one-hit wonder because Tubeway Army had no other hits. For his next song "Cars" Gary Numan started using his own name)
Angie Baby - Helen Reddy (she had three #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 but Angie Baby was Helen Reddy's only UK hit)
Star Trekkin' - The Firm
The One And Only - Chesney Hawks (in 1991 this was a massive UK #1 hit but Chesney Hawks never reached the Top 40 again and for years afterwards he was treated as a national joke and as the archetypal one-hit wonder and failed pop star)
Annie's Song - John Denver (yes, believe it or not, here in Britain John Denver counts as a one-hit wonder. Annie's Song made #1 for one week in October 1974 but Denver had no other Top 40 hits. None. Zero. Zilch. His albums were more successful and everybody seems to know John Denver but as far as the Top 40 singles chart is concerned John Denver was a one-hit wonder!!
The Smurfs were one hit wonders Colin? Are you sure?
What about "Christmas in Smurfland"? It would be nice to believe thats false memory syndrome and I just imagined it, but I don't think so...
-sean
You know... I'm glad you UK chaps hang out here (as well as you American chaps of course).
Colin and Sean - mentioning J'ai T'Aime, Moi Non Plus is most appreciated. I have heard that song every 3-4 months for the past 30 years, lol. That said, I'm not sure the lyrics are what got it banned in the UK as perhaps the sounds of "rapture?" (But I've never read the words, lol.) Anyhow, I doubt it was released in the USA and I encourage all my fellow citizens and denizens to check it out as a cultural experience. Paste the link below. IT's safe for viewing, for sure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlpDf6XX_j0
Colin - that's really crafty thinking with "Are Friends Electric." Love it!
And if we are going to include disco let's add "More More More" by Andrea True. I guess she made a living in the "rapture" industry for real.
Colin:
I’m generally not much into C&W, and certainly was never into the whole CB/Trucker thing, but ‘Convoy’ makes me grin from ear-to-ear — don’t ask me why.
‘Angie Baby’ being Helen Reddy’s only UK hit is kinda surprising. Cool song tho! Kinda creepy.
That ANY John Denver song was a hit in the UK is also kinda surprising.
‘Ring My Bell’ and ‘Funkytown’ are both perfectly acceptable disco tunes. And the mighty ‘Knock on Wood’ is in a league of its own — even people who HATE disco with the fire of a thousand suns are helpless to resist its furious booty-kickin’ beat.
- b.t.
John Denver's a one-hit wonder in England?
Man-- yet over in Japan he is STILL all the rage, I believe. Who'd'a figured??
Thanks for checkin' in on MerryRose, Colin--! Every view is a plus, naturally!
Archie, for the record, is a voracious, apartment-destroying force of nature. He's like a long-haired termite. . . or a tasmanian devil. That security deposit is sooooooo long-gone. . . .
HB
Charlie- thanks for posting that link! I didn't recognize the song title, but upon hearing it, definitely recall the melody...
Colin- very fine list. Baccara was unknown to me until recently- a fellow I work with played "Lorado", after which I had to find more of their music.
B.t.- Absolutely agree, Amii Stewart completely rules it with her "Knock on Wood". Impossible to sit still when that plays...
Charlie, I like old Serge a lot - he's Exhibit A in the case for the French being better at making records than Anglophones generally think.
But even I draw the line at Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi"...
-sean
Ok, here's some more I forgot about:
If - Telly Savalas (the definitive version of this song in my opinion. It reached #1 for two weeks in 1975, helped no doubt by Telly's fame on the telly as Kojak)
There's No-One Quite Like Grandma - St. Winifred's School Choir (this embarrassing monstrosity is quite possibly the worst song ever written. It stayed at #1 for two weeks at Christmas 1980 and its' popularity was probably due to children buying it for their grandmas for Christmas. But did any grandmas actually appreciate receiving this garbage as a present?)
Matchstalk Men And Matchstalk Cats And Dogs - Brian & Michael (a tribute to the painter L.S. Lowry who had died in 1976. The aforementioned St. Winifred's School Choir sang backing vocals on this song which means they appeared on two one-hit wonders. After 42 years I still don't understand why Brian & Michael sang about MatchSTALK men rather than MatchSTICK men)
Agadoo - Black Lace (this song is often considered one of the most irritating songs ever written but I love it. So there. It came out in 1984 and was denied the #1 position by George Michael's "Careless Whisper", a much inferior song obviously :)
I'll Be Back - Arnee & The Terminators (a novelty hit from 1991 which was released to coincide with the cinematic juggernaut that was Terminator 2)
The Chicken Song - Spitting Image (Spitting Image was a topical and satirical TV show featuring a cast of rubber puppets which was broadcast by ITV (the BBC's great rival) from 1984-96. The Chicken Song reached #1 for three weeks in 1986 and the B-side was called "I've Never Met A Nice South-African". Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald's "On My Own" was denied the #1 position thanks to The Chicken Song.
I will continue to rack my brains for one-hit wonders!
Colin, I've always assumed Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs was called that to avoid confusion with Status Quo's Pictures of Matchstick Men. I can think of no other possible explanation.
A few more R&B 1HW’s from the 70s:
Major Harris— ‘Love Won’t Let Me Wait’
Sylvia — ‘Pillow Talk’
Billy Paul — ‘Me and Mrs. Jones’
Dennis Coffey Band — ‘Scorpio’
Al Wilson — ‘Show and Tell’
George McCrae — ‘Rock Your Baby’
Carl Douglas — ‘Kung-fu Fighting’
William DeVaughn — ‘Be Thankful For What You Got’
Timmy à Thomas — ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’
- b.t.
Sean – Ca Plane pour Moi is definitely “something else.” I mean I heard the song 100 times but never thought to see a video. It's a rocker though!
So, I’m going to hit you back with Gainsbourg’s and France Gall’s duette of “Les Sucettes!” It means lollipops…. But that was NOT Serge’s intent for that word! (Created quite a sh!t storm for Gall!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pxt_R7jLKA
Did this thing chart in the UK? I mean, it was quite a hit I think, in France!
That Gainsbourg… what a trip, LOL! It’s fair to say he was Jagger, Bowie, Lennon all rolled up in the French flag, LOL.
ANd did they NOT play “69 the Erotic Year” in the UK? Like “J’ai T’ame… Moi non plus” I’ve heard “69” 3-4 times a year for the last 30 years on French radio. So I am thinking it had to bleed over into the UK hit list somehow??? Or was Serge truly a “one hit wonder” in the UK when it comes to chart hits?
Sean - to be sure Ca Plane Pour Moi video is a bit... hell I don't even know how to say it...
Merde, Charlie? Is that the word you're looking for there...?
Poor France Gall - she was quite young at the time and apparently mortified when "Les Sucettes" was explained to her after she sang it. But no, she didn't have any hits here, not even "Poupee de Cire...", perhaps surprisingly as its not like the Brits haven't gone for plenty of terrible Eurovision winners.
My favourite Serge scandal is when he recorded a version of the Marsellaise... at Studio One in Jamaica, with the Revolutionaries.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea4TKq_nurc
Cue media outrage, and death threats from assorted French fascist loonies and Algerian war vets.
And supposedly Bob Marley wasn't too happy about some of the lyrics his missus sang for Serge's album either...
Anyhow, no - he didn't have any hits here apart from "Je t'aime..." Don't ask me why, because he should have!
-sean
Colin- you drove me to hit YouTube again. Chatting with you fine UK chaps is a continuous education! My impressions:
Agadoo- I'll be hearing that song in my head all night. "Push pineapple"?!?
Sucettes- that Serge fellow seems a bit....seedy......
Grandma- I couldn't get past the first minute. I just COULDNT DO IT.....
What about The Chicken Song, Red? A masterpiece I'm sure you'll agree :)
On the subject of French songs, has anyone heard the original French version of "Seasons In The Sun", known as "Le Moribond" and written by Jacques Brel? It sounds rather different (to my ears anyway) from the later Terry Jacks version and the English lyrics are not a translation of Brel's original lyrics, they are completely different.
By the way, in the UK Terry Jacks wasn't a one-hit wonder because he had another song called "If You Go Away" which was another Jacques Brel song I think.
Red - Think of Gainsbourg as John Lennon without the social constraints he had in the UK and USA. France is a rather artistically tolerant society, like New York City. Whereas Serge's song was banned in the UK by the BBC, and Beatles records smashed in the southern USA for John's "bigger than god" remark, the French just seem to complain and then say "whatever."
He did win Eurovision Song in 1965 wit Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son (Wax doll, rag doll). That ain't easy to do and it does grip all of Europe each year. SDC goes into a high level of commentary as the finals approach each year.
The link below, of his winning song, really explains a whole lot about how poetic and nuanced his writing could be. Certainly a bit deeper than "She Loves you ya, ya, ya" or "Can't Get No Satisfaction" LOL.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poup%C3%A9e_de_cire,_poup%C3%A9e_de_son
Sean - I am still speechless for that video you made me watch!
Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi"... It is perfectly safe viewing. Really. But I defy anyone to describe this international one-hit wonder!
"Twenty years after 'Ça plane pour moi', Bertrand returned to the public eye as MTV declared him the 'most wanted comeback artist'"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ4i3lQM5lg
Charlie, that video I made you watch...?!?
C'mon, I just mentioned the record - you found and watched the Plastic Bertrand video all on your own!
I don't take any responsibility.
-sean
Sean - after all these years (?) you know how to push Charlie's buttons! All Hail Plastic Bertrand!
Hey - more one-hit wonders (if not already mentioned) and as expected for Charlie from the mid-80s!
Milli Vanilli - Girl you know it's true!
MARRS - Pump up the Volume!
Batlimora - Tarzan Boy
I'm sure if I got out my UK "Now That's What I Call Music" CDs from the 1980s, they are loaded with one-hit wonders?
All we have to do now is get Redartz and Charlie to listen to Japanese Boy by Aneka.
I was wondering what they'd make of "Ullo John, Got a New Motor?" by Alexei Sayle, Steve.
Actually Charlie, I don't know if it was a hit in the US, but if not you'll probably like the video for "19" by Paul Hardcastle - its got helicopters in it!
-sean
Sean, Steve - I am wondering if you two are hanging out together, riding the free buses, in the People's Republic of Sheffield UK, thinking of how to leave us quivering and quaking!
That was quite a one-two punch you have subjected us to! A jab with Plastic Bertand followed up with the jaw crushing Aneka with Japanese Boy. I'm sure I will never be the same again! I am still at a loss to describe Plastic Bertrand while I could at least describe Aneka!
Paul Hardcastle's 19 was a huge hit in the USA Sean. Yep - I just re-watched it to check out the helos! I ain't into war but I dig Helos!
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