Thanksgiving Turkeys: A selection of one-hit wonders
J.M. Berry
According to Wayne Jancik’s tuneful tome, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, the proverbial “one-hit-wonder” is “an act that has won a position on Billboard’s national, pop or Top 40 just once.” Music editor J.M. Berry mixes the notion with some cranberries and stuffing and offers 13 tracks that are one-hit-wonders in their own right – with some turkeys thrown in for holiday spirit.
“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by Iron Butterfly (1968)
How the song got its name may be in dispute, but there’s no doubt about the affect this song had on popular music. Still played every Saturday night at 8 p.m. on XM radio’s “Deep Tracks,” the song was one of the first to combine psychedelic music and heavy rock. The 17-minute composition took up one entire side of a vinyl album. The piece was essentially a drum, guitar, bass and keyboard solo, framed by the same verse coming in and going out, although the producers still managed to slice up a two-minute, 53-second single version. The story goes that either front man Doug Engle could not say the words “In the Garden of Eden” while singing, or when asked the name of the song by the producer, drummer Ron Bushy, who couldn’t understand what was being said, just mumbled. Either way, the name stuck.
“Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry (1976)
The band was named after the flavor on a box of cough drops, which singer Rob Parissi suggested, in jest, to the band. To his chagrin they loved it, and Wild Cherry was born. Dismayed at the disco scene that was emerging in the mid ‘70s in Ohio and being constantly asked to “play that funky music,” Parissi challenged the band that they had to figure out a way to “rock” this disco music. One of the members shouted “You’ve just got to play that funky music white boy” (the band was all white), and with that was born one of the biggest funk rock hits of all time, reaching number one on the pop and R&B charts at the same time. The group was also awarded top band of the year honors by Billboard in 1976, and the single and album both went platinum. Admit it, you start movin’ when you hear that intro…
“Seasons In The Sun” by Terry Jacks (1974)
“We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun, but the wine and the song, like the seasons, all have gone.” Is that really all it takes for a multi-million-selling hit? Rod McKuen thought so when he first translated it from French in the early ‘60s, but neither the Kingston Trio nor the Beach Boys got much from it. Terry Jacks had participated in the Beach Boys session and rewrote some of the words to “lighten it up a bit” and added Link Wray-style guitar. In his native Canada, accumulated sales have topped 11 million copies.
“867-5309/Jenny” by Tommy Tutone (1982)
There is no truth to the rumor that after this song was released, the band was sued by Ma Bell and had to disband. The truth is they just haven’t had a hit since “Jenny,” which peaked at number four on the Billboard pop charts. Coming out of the Marin County music scene with the likes of Huey Lewis and the News, the song was written by Alex Call and Jim Keller. Call would later go on to write a hit single for Lewis and also Pat Benatar. Tommy Heath and the Tutones still tour – you can catch him and the boys this New Year’s Eve in Temecula, California.
“Rock & Roll, Pt. 2” by Gary Glitter (1972)
Yes, there is a “Pt. 1,” but it’s likely you’ve never heard it. Originally both sides of a single, Pt. 2 became the only hit for the glam rock king here in the states, hitting number seven in 1972. The pounding drums and guitar line became an arena-rock anthem for sporting events from the ‘80s until about two years ago. After Glitter’s conviction of child molestation charges in Vietnam, the NFL and other sport organizations have asked stadiums to stop playing the song.
“I Touch Myself” by The Divinyls (1991)
The Australian songwriting team of Christina Amphlett and Mark McEntee (formerly of Air Supply) had been writing songs together for almost 10 years and had many hits in their homeland, but it took this one to break them internationally. In an unusual twist, as they strictly wrote with each other, they teamed up with the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, who had hits with Madonna and Cyndi Lauper. The song hit number one in Australia, number 10 in the U.K and number four in the U.S, but not without a bit of controversy regarding the subject matter. Since the hit, the band has done cover songs for movie soundtracks and video games and was elected to the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame in 2006.
“Convoy” by C.W. McCall (1976)
“That’s a 10-4 good buddy” goes the line in this novelty song that put CB radios on the map of the average American. McCall, whose actual name is Bill Fries, had flirted with the top 100 on a few other occasions, but reached all the way to number one with “Convoy” in the U.S and number two in the U.K. The song tells the story of a small group of outlaw truckers who were angered by the then 55-mile-per-hour speed limit, and follows them through weigh stations and toll roads as the trucks gather steam in the drive from Los Angeles to New Jersey. They hit Chicago with 1,000 trucks in the convoy and break through roadblocks all the way to the East Coast. Paul Brandt covered the song recently in 2004. In 1986, Fries was elected mayor of the town of Ouray, Colorado and served for six years.
“Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas (1974)
Originally planned to be released as the B-side to a song by Larry Weiss, they had 10 minutes of recording time left and Douglas banged it out. It was released as a single and quickly rose to number one in the U.S and the U.K. Some declare it the best disco song ever written. Jamacian-born Douglas now resides in Germany where he runs a music publishing company.
“Spirit In The Sky” by Norman Greenbaum (1970)
The “wall of guitar” sound is unforgettable and recognized by anyone who was around in 1970. The song crossed musical genres by being received by the Christian and hard rock crowds, as well as being an AM radio hit. The single that eventually sold over two million copies was released only after two other tracks from the album were debuted to minimal reception. The song is an icon of the era and is used in films and television shows yearly to this day. Not a Christian, but a professed Jew, Greenbaum reportedly said he had no religious intentions with the song, he just wanted to reach a broader market. Greenbaum resides in Northern California and lives off the royalties of his music.
“My Sharona” by The Knack (1979)
Doug Fieger and Berton Averre had a vision – to bring back “teenage rock and roll,” and for most of 1979, they did just that. Having sent demos to virtually every record label in Los Angeles and being rejected by them all, the band went into club mode, playing any gig they could find. The process paid off in 1978 with record deals offered by 13 different labels. Producer Mike Chapman, who had helped make stars out of Sweet, Blondie and Nick Gilder, was brought on board. In the days of years-long and millions-of-dollars album production, the first album took 11 days and cost $18,000. Three months after its release it went platinum, selling over one million copies. Two years later the band disbanded, having failed to get the knack back.
“Hey, St. Peter” by Flash and the Pan (1978)
More a studio project than a “real” band, George Young and Harry Vanda seemed to have a premonition and appropriately named their project after the phrase “flash in the pan.” “Hey, St. Peter” barely made it onto the American charts, but the duo had many other successes, having produced the first seven AC/DC albums, of which Young’s little brothers, Angus and Malcom were members. The duo were founding members of the ‘60s pop act The Easybeats and had a hit with “Friday on my Mind” in 1966, making them the most popular Australian pop act prior to AC/DC.
“Video Killed the Radio Star” by Buggles (1979)
Primarily a studio project, the band only performed live twice. As a fledgling producing team, the trio of Trevor Horn, Bruce Wooley and Geoff Downes, were frustrated with the level of talent and songwriting skills of their peers in England and just started writing songs themselves. “Video Killed the Radio Star” enjoys notoriety as the first music video aired on MTV when the cable network went live on midnight, August 1, 1981. Downes and Horn later went on to have success with the progressive rock group, Yes. Wooley started a band with Thomas Dolby and Hans Zimmer called The Camera Club and was never heard from again.
“Venus” by Shocking Blue (1970)
Long before the “Dutch Invasion” of Golden Earring and Focus, there was Shocking Blue. Up until and after its hit “Venus,” the band contained a revolving door of band members, which lead to its eventual demise. In 1968, new vocalist Mariska Veres brought added stability and an American recording contract. The single reached number one on the U.S. charts in February 1970. On a personal note — always a sucker for a proper pop tune, I traded the last Beatles release on 45 RPM, “The Long and Winding Road,” to a friend, straight across, for this single. That’s how much I liked it. The B-side, “Hot Sand,” wasn’t bad, either. It has since been covered by many, including Banarama.
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