We start with the 1960s, but before we get there, let's figure out the biggest question in this exercise: what exactly is a one-hit wonder? There are varying definitions, but of course, it comes down to a band or artist that had only one song that was a commercial success. Sometimes, it's whether the song was a Top 40 song, sometimes it's whether the song was a Top 20 song, and sometimes the song might not have even made the Top 40, but was, for instance, particularly popular on MTV. Sometimes artists are considered one-hit wonders if they had one song that was particularly successful (like a Top 5 song), even if they might have had another song or two that cracked the Top 40. Sometimes hugely influential artists are technically considered one-hit wonders because maybe they only had one song that cracked the Top 40, even if they are otherwise highly revered or even in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
I think a true one-hit wonder requires more than just a song that made the Top 40. If a song peaks at #39, is that really a "hit"? To keep things legit, here are my rules:
- The song must have been in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. There might be a couple songs that are #21 or #22, as not every year had a ton of one-hit wonders with Top 20 songs to choose from (or one-hit wonders with Top 20 songs that I like). Also, I'm focusing on the American charts, since that's where I've lived my whole life. Plus, a look at one-hit wonders on the Dutch charts would require a lot more work. There are certainly songs and artists who may be one-hit wonders here who have been successful in other countries, and vice versa.
- The band or artist cannot have any song that broke into the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. And just so you know I'm trying to keep everything on the level, I am truly focused on artists who didn't have a bunch of Top 40 hits. For instance, if an artist had one Top 10 song and then five or six other Top 40 songs, I don't necessarily consider that a one-hit wonder. On the other hand, if there is an artist who had one big hit and then another song that isn't as well know that happened to go to #21, I'm considering that artist.
- The band or artist cannot be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or have a band member who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For instance, technically Buffalo Springfield is a one-hit wonder because "For What It's Worth" went to #7, but they didn't have any other Top 40 songs. But they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and two of their members were inducted again (Neil Young as a solo artist and Stephen Stills as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash). So they don't count. Same with "Layla" by Derek & The Dominos, which hit #10 in 1972, but the group featured three-time Rock Hall inductee Eric Clapton (as a solo artist and member of Cream and The Yardbirds) and Duane Allman (who was inducted as a member of The Allman Brothers Band).
- For the year, I am counting the year a song was released, regardless of when it charted. This avoids having to deal with a situation where a song may have been high on the charts at the end of one year and the beginning of another. Unfortunately, this also hurts songs that didn't become hits until a few years after their release, as I'm not going to choose a song as my favorite one-hit wonder from a particular year if the song didn't really become big until years later. One that comes to mind is Billy Vera & The Beaters' "At This Moment," which was originally released in 1981, but reissued in 1986 and became a #1 song in early 1987 after it was featured prominently in several poignant episodes of Family Ties. Same goes for Sheriff's #1 song "When I'm With You," which topped the charts in 1989, six years after it was released.
1. 1960: "Stay" by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs (#1)
At a mere one minute and thirty-six seconds, "Stay" is the shortest song that has ever topped the Billboard Hot 100. It's a doo wop classic, with Maurice Williams handling lead vocals and that iconic falsetto "oh-oh won't you staaayyyy" coming courtesy of Henry Gaston. Williams wrote the song when he was 15 after he had tried to convince his date that she didn't need to go home by her ten o'clock curfew.
2. 1961: "Hey! Baby" by Bruce Channel (#1)
Everyone knows this song, even if they don't know who sings it. This song has a special place in my heart because it's one of the more popular songs played in the tents at Oktoberfest in Munich, thanks to a widely popular 2000 cover by Austrian artist DJ Ötzi. After the "heeeeyyyyy, hey baby," everyone in the crowds at the tents yells "ooh, ahh." It's magical.
3. 1962: "Do You Love Me?" by The Contours (#3)
One of Motown's earliest big hits came via The Contours' 1962 garage soul classic "Do You Love Me," penned by Berry Gordy himself. Billy Gordon's throat-scratching vocals are awesome, as he asks his ex-girlfriend if she now loves him, since he can now dance. As with "Stay" and "Hey! Baby," this song was featured in the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing, which gave it new life. Even though it wasn't on the official soundtrack, it was so prominent in the film that it actually recharted in 1988, reaching #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, which is crazy. I guess that makes The Contours a two-time one-hit wonder.
4. 1963: "Denise" by Randy & The Rainbows (#10)
This is another great doo wop song that became hugely popular as the genre was dying down. The song is an ode to a woman named Denise, and I'll always remember it because my IU rock and roll history professor Glenn Gass -- who was my favorite teacher at any level of education -- told my Z201 class that it was his favorite song.
5. 1964: "Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson & The Cavaliers (#2)
One of the most famous and successful "teen tragedy" songs of the late '50s and early '60s, "Last Kiss" was originally recorded by the song's writer, Wayne Cochran, in 1961. The song is sung from the point of view of a teenage boy who was driving his girlfriend on rainy night when the car hits an oncoming truck, killing the girlfriend and leaving the boyfriend to lament, "Oh where oh where can my baby be? / The Lord took her away from me / She's gone to heaven so I've go to be good / So I can see my baby when I leave this world." The original version didn't have any chart success, but in 1964, J. Frank Wilson & The Cavaliers released their cover version of the song, which was a huge hit, getting to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1999, Pearl Jam would match that #2 ranking with their cover of the song, becoming PJ's biggest hit. Here's a crazy bit of irony. When the Cavaliers' version of the song was rising up the charts in 1964 and the group was on tour, while driving in between gigs, the band's manager (who was driving) fell asleep at the wheel, the car crossed the center line, and collided head-on with a trailer truck, killing the manager instantly and severely injuring Wilson and another passenger. A short time later, when the group appeared on American Bandstand, Wilson came out on stage on crutches.
6. 1965: "Dirty Water" by The Standells (#11)
There's a marked difference in the style of songs between 1960-1964 and 1965. The Beatles had arrived, the British Invasion was in full force, and music was changing. One of the new and emerging genres was garage rock, and The Standells' 1965 tribute to Boston, "Dirty Water," is one of the most enduring garage rock songs from the era. Though the group was from LA (and had never even been to Boston before the song came out), their producer, Ed Cobb, wrote the song for the group based on a visit to Boston where he was mugged. It was the band's only Top 40 song, and of course, it is now well known as the victory song played at Red Sox and Bruins games.
7. 1966: "Psychotic Reaction" by The Count Five (#5)
Among the earliest garage rock and psychedelic rock hits was The Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction," which got all the way up to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966. It was the title track to the band's 1966 debut album, which would end up being the group's only album (and the song the group's only hit) because the members of the group were in their late teens and decided to go to college instead of pursuing music. Idiots! Thankfully, in their short time together, The Count Five bestowed the world with a classic garage/fuzz/psychedelic rock song, influencing many garage and punk rockers after them.
8. 1967: "Little Bit 'O Soul" by The Music Explosion (#2)
The garage rock trend continues, as my choice for 1967 is the classic "Little Bit 'O Soul" by The Music Explosion. It's just a great song, with that signature organ and bass riff and the soulful vocals by a guy who resembles Bill Walton.
9. 1968: "Angel of the Morning" by Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts (#7)
For 1968, I switching up from garage rock to orchestral pop. "Angel of the Morning" was written in 1967 by songwriter Chip Taylor (who also wrote The Troggs' big hit "Wild Thing") after he heard the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday." It was recorded by a couple artists before Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts recorded it in 1968 and has been recorded by many artists since then (most successfully in 1981 by Juice Newton), but it was Rush's version that was the first successful version, hitting #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and also going to #1 in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) and earning Rush a Grammy nomination. It's a great song that is either about an unmarried woman who is mature enough to throw social mores out the window to have a one-night stand or about an affair. I can never tell. Either way, that dude better call her "angel of the morning," and he better fucking touch her cheek before getting the hell out of Dodge. But seriously, the chorus is one of the most satisfying musical moments, maybe ever, isn't it? The demure verses give way to the grandiosity of the chorus. You know it's coming, but every time, it scratches that itch.
10. 1969: "Take a Letter, Maria" by R.B. Greaves (#2)
To finish out the '60s, I'm going with the 1969 #2 hit "Take a Letter, Maria" by R.B. Greaves, who I just learned was Sam Cooke's nephew. It's a Latin-infused soul song in which the singer, after finding out his wife cheated on him, is dictating a letter to his secretary (Maria). The letter will be sent to his wife, and a copy will be sent to his lawyer. Either way, he's leaving to start a new life. Then at the end, he invites Maria to dinner, which I think takes away from the story of the song a little because it's kind like "was he secretly into Maria this whole time?," but it's still my favorite one-hit wonder from 1969.
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