Post your favorite 70s/80's one hit wonders here.

[2017ish]

Ozark Mountain Daredevils and "Jackie Blue"

...

Interesting. I somehow never connected that song with the Daredevils. For me, their big song is Chicken Train--but it never charted like Jackie Blue (1, USA) and "If you wanna get to heaven" (21, USA)

{wife is from their hometown of springfield, and I'm from STL, so we both had little choice but to listen to that band!}

In any event, in my subjective book (worth, perhaps, a plugged nickle), not a one-hit wonder.

 

[TB1960]

Tommy Tutone, "867-5309 / Jenny"

https://youtu.be/6WTdTwcmxyo

If you go to to the Safeway grocery store in Pollock Pines, CA., and you forget to bring your Safeway Loyalty card, or, if you don't have one, just give them this phone number! It works! And you'll get your discount.

 

[ychuck46]

Interesting. I somehow never connected that song with the Daredevils. For me, their big song is Chicken Train--but it never charted like Jackie Blue (1, USA) and "If you wanna get to heaven" (21, USA)

{wife is from their hometown of springfield, and I'm from STL, so we both had little choice but to listen to that band!}

In any event, in my subjective book (worth, perhaps, a plugged nickle), not a one-hit wonder.

TBH, never heard of the other songs. And I bet if I asked 100 people from that era if they were aware of any of their songs other than "Jackie Blue", I would probably get a puzzled look from all 100. Just sayin'.

 

[ychuck46]

Hot Rod Lincoln - Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen

They had a number of hits besides this one, especially "Down to Seeds and Stems Again Blues" (Willie Nelson said it is the saddest song ever written). The whole album got played to death in 1971-72 by yours truly, in 8-track of course.

 

[ychuck46]

If no one said this one yet, how could we have missed this huge one hit wonder:

 

[jollystomper]

Nantucket Sleighride actually charted higher than Mississippi Queen, reaching #16. It was probably the highest charting song about cannibalism ever, and was even more popular in the UK than here.

I think you are referring to the album Nantucket Sleighride, not the song. The song was never released as a single. In terms of singles, "Mississippi Queen" is the only Mountain single to be a hit.

 

[jollystomper]

Tempted - Squeeze

My favorite Squeeze tune is, "Another Nail for my Heart"

"Hourglass" is my favorite (and their biggest singles hit).

 

[harley]

I think you are referring to the album Nantucket Sleighride, not the song. The song was never released as a single. In terms of singles, "Mississippi Queen" is the only Mountain single to be a hit.

Yes, you're right. The progressive station I listened to in the 70s played this song constantly. I assumed the single was what was on the charts, but with further research I see you are correct. There was also the Theme for an Imaginary Western. That got played a huge amount on the stations I listened to, but that wasn't mainstream radio.

 

[Spock]

anybody else had an increased number of "ear worms" since this thread started?

 

[Gumby]

Remember this guy? His one and only hit, the somewhat controversial "Into the Night", was a top 20 hit twice, once in 1980 and again in 1989.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I almost hate to post this, because it pains me to think of this guy as a one-hit wonder. Steve Forbert is one of my all-time favorites. His second album (Jackrabbit Slim) went gold and peaked at No. 20, and the hit single from it, Romeo's Tune, topped out at No. 11. Another song from that album (Say Goodbye to Little Jo) reached No. 85 in the US

He went on to have a rich and successful career, but never charted again (AFAIK).

He is 9 years older than I am, and so I have always been able to identify with his songs. When he was singing about being young and rambunctuous and finding love, I was on the cusp of that time myself. Later, he sang about the responsibilities of working life and mature relationships, and that resonated with me. Later, he writes about being middle aged, complications of life, being bemused by younger generations, etc.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Lots of good sluff on here. I'll throw a few more out that I don't think I've seen mentioned.

Ride Captain Ride – Blues Image
All Right now - Free
Hot Rod Lincoln - Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum
Ooh La La - Faces
Tempted - Squeeze

Faces also had Stay With Me.

Ohh La La had Ron Wood on vocals and was mostly acoustic. Stay With Me had Rod Stewart on vocals and was electric so the two songs don't really sound a lot alike, even though they're from the same group.

 

[audreyh1]

Eddie Kendricks....Keep on Truckin" - One of my favorite travelling sounds.

Boogie Down was another of his hits..

Yeah that’s great!

I thought Boogie Down was an Earth Wind and Fire song. Turns out that song’s name is Let’s Groove. Hard for me to remember song names.

 

[Perryinva]

What a great thread. I guess a lot here don’t listen to 70s on 7 on SiriusXM where virtually every single one of these OHWs get played every day. I always forget about the song “Shannon”, until I lose one of my dogs (which are almost always females) and that song pops in to my head every time. I might have know at one time it was about losing their dog, but it escapes me often. I take those losses hard. Another OHW from that era, that, while I’ve remembered virtually every single one listed, I never heard of until hearing it on 70s on 7:

Sister Janet Mead : The Lords Prayer

Ironically, the first time I heard it was last year while driving to a funeral for DWs aunt, who was a nun.

 

[audreyh1]

It could easily be argued that Mr. Mister was a 2-hit wonder band in the mid-80s. So this might be a rule breaker, but I've always enjoyed the vocals and movement in "Kyrie"
Plus Richard Page is a killer singer who allegedly turned down the lead vocal jobs for Chicago and Toto.
This clip is not Mr. Mister -- it's Richard Page playing "Kyrie" with Steve Lukather, Gregg Rolie, Todd Rundgren, etc at a "Ringo's All-Starr Band" show a few years back. He's round about 60 yrs old in this clip and sounds just like the young guy he was in the original recording! ( skip to 0:45 for song start

That sounded wonderful!

I poked around at some of the Ringo Starr All-Starr Band videos on YouTube and discovered Edgar Winter playing sax on Pick Up the Pieces. 2011. The original had two saxes as a duet.

 

[harley]

Johnny Nash singing "I Can See Clearly Now". Amazing voice, but had a subsequent but smaller hit with "Stir It Up" and then.....never heard about him again.

BTW, I don't want to go off-topic, but what about songs that DIDN'T become big hits until another artist picked it up?

Hardly anyone remembers that Gordon Lightfoot wrote and recorded "Me and Bobby McGee". It didn't become famous until Janis Joplin sang it. Afterwards Lightfoot saluted her version, saying hearing her sing his song "gave him chills up his spine."

In most cases I almost always prefer the original artists, but Joplin's version of Lightfoot's song is like a totally different world. Gordon's version is plaintive, but Janis put a ton of emotional anguish into it.

I'm pretty sure that Kris Kristofferson wrote Me and Bobby McGee. But like everyone else, I prefer Janis' version.

I have a hard time with this topic. There are a lot of One Hit Wonders that I absolutely can't stand, like the aforementioned Afternoon Delight, The Macarena, Rico Suave, Feelings, etc. Maybe throw in Who Let The Dogs Out, The Hustle, Ice Ice Baby, and many more like that. I'm not saying that they're bad songs, but over the years they've turned into fingernails on the chalkboard for me.

Anyway, I've been racking my brain for some other good (IMHO) ones. I've remembered Whip It (Devo), and Groove is in the Heart (Deee-Lite). And one other that I'm not sure which category to put it in.

 

[harley]

Hmmm, the last one didn't post. Probably just as well, but here it is:

 

[Gumby]

I'm pretty sure that Kris Kristofferson wrote Me and Bobby McGee. But like everyone else, I prefer Janis' version.

Perhaps we need a thread regarding "For which songs do you enjoy the cover version more than the original?" Among others, I would include the Beatles' "I Get by With a Little Help From my Friends" covered by Joe Cocker and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" covered by Elton John.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

Jigsaw I remember the song Sky High....cool. Paul McCartney sound to it.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

Children of the Sun - Billy Thorpe

Cool stereo effects.

 

[jollystomper]

Can a "Super Group" be considered a one-hit wonder? Inquiring minds want to know:

 

[Fermion]

Eve of destruction (ok, just a tiny bit before the 1970s)

I don't think he really had any other hits, so def. one hit wonder

 

[CaptTom]

Eve of destruction (ok, just a tiny bit before the 1970s)

I remember those times, when we all thought that we were "on the eve of destruction." Yet things mostly turned out OK.

With a 24-hour news cycle and political partisanship, it can feel like we're on the eve of destruction these days, too.

That song reminds me that we've been here before, and survived. Kind of inspirational, in an odd sort of way.

 

[jollystomper]

Perhaps we need a thread regarding "For which songs do you enjoy the cover version more than the original?" Among others, I would include the Beatles' "I Get by With a Little Help From my Friends" covered by Joe Cocker and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" covered by Elton John.

I would add to that "All Along the Watchtower" covered by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, which made Hendrix a "one-hit wonder" in 1968. Bob Dylan liked that version so much, he has performed it in that style in live concerts.

 

[socca]

Haven't read the entire thread, but can't resist posting a favorite oldie: Vicki Sue Robinson - Turn the Beat Around (1976). Let's dance!