One-hit Wonders

Parent Cafe
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<p>The music nostalgia threads were so much fun I thought I’d add this one. Channeling Mootmom (See: Horse with no Name;Earworm thread), I was in the grocery store with my son today and heard a song over the PA I hadn’t heard since I was about 15…a song I liked. I was so intent on figuring out what it was that I glowered and shushed a woman near me who was yakking very loudly on a cell phone. I caught enough of the lyrics that I was able to Google it when I got home.</p>

<p>Anyway, it made me think of some of the bands and singers who came out with one–just one–really good hit song, and then disappeared forever. Not bands that were successful but you only liked one or two of their songs, like the Dead were for me…I mean bands that had a huge hit, and then became accountants and lawyers and mid-level managers. Or whatever they did.</p>

<p>The ones that came to my mind were all early 70s AM radio smash hits.</p>

<p>“Brandy”–Looking Glass (Rutgers students, btw)–perhaps the best one of all
“Drift Away”–Dobie Gray
“Band of Gold”–Freda Payne
“Right Back Where We Started From”–Maxine Nightingale
“My Maria”–B.W. Stevenson [the one I heard in the grocery store]</p>

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<p>Off the top of my head…Pilot of the Airwaves (79? 80?), by I don’t remember.</p>

<p>I’ll have to do some thinking on this one ;)</p>

<p>Oh yeah, Never Been Any Reason by Head East. Btw, I still love that song and play it regularly!!</p>

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<p>“Tainted Love” Soft Cell
“Don’t You Want Me Baby” The Human League
“What I am” Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians</p>

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<p>“Driver’s Seat”–Sniff 'n the Tears [no connection to my SN]
“Radar Love”–Golden Earring</p>

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<p>“My boy, Lollipop” Millie Small
“Time won’t let me” The Outsiders
“I fought the law” Bobby Fuller Four
“Johnny Angel” Shelley Fabares ( no idea on the spelling!)
“The Lion sleeps tonight” The Tokens(maybe?)
“Sad eyed lady of the lowlands” Joan Baez (that ones for all of you who are still waiting for the revolution)</p>

<p>I have lots more, but this is a start.</p>

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<p>Good stuff, everyone! Some classic contributions to the nostalgia list:</p>

<p>“Spirit in the Sky” - Norman Greenbaum
“In the Year 2525” - Zager and Evans
“The Boys Are Back in Town” - Thin Lizzie
“Wipe Out” - the Surfaris
“Israelites” - Desmond Dekker
“Hooked on a Feeling” - Blue Swede (ooh gah chukka…)
“Keem-O-Sabe” - Electric Indian
“Green Tamborine” - the Lemon Pipers
“One Toke Over the Line” - Brewer and Shipley
“Midnight at the Oasis” - Maria Muldaur</p>

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<p>“Land of 1000 Dances” Cannibal and the Headhunters</p>

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<p>OK now…hold on. Some of these are the same ones that we had in the “Songs we wish we could forget…but can’t” thread. </p>

<p>I’m interested in the songs that you <em>liked</em> a lot, but the singer/band never came up with another hit.</p>

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<p>I confess to actually liking all the ones I listed. </p>

<p>With the possible exception of Norman Greenbaum.</p>

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<p>Fair enough, but Thin Lizzy doesn’t qualify, nor The Surfaris. They had multi hits .Maria Muldaur is a great jazz singer, and if she had just not sung the line “send your camels to bed” I’d still be OK with her.</p>

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<p>What other hits did Thin Lizzie have? The Surfaris, well, I guess I could stretch on that one, although all their stuff sounded the same. (But can you name another of their “big surf hits”?)</p>

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<p>Pop…sicles, I…cicles…baseball and fancy clothes…these are a few of the things he loves…The Mermaids</p>

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<p>“What other hits did Thin Lizzie have?”
You’re right. I can’t think of any others.</p>

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<p>OK, this thread did it to me. I finally installed iTunes on my laptop and went and purchased a few of my old one-hit wonder favorites. Now I’ll either be able to get them out of my mind by hearing them again… or they’ll turn into earworms.</p>

<p>Thanks a bunch. I think.</p>

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<p>thin Lizzy also had the hit of “the Cowboy song” which Mike McCreadys( Pearl Jam) side project UFO tribute band FLight to Mars covered recently</p>

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<p>Did C.W. McCall do anything of note besides “Convoy”</p>

<p>“Ballad of the Green Berets” Barry Somethingornother</p>

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<p>Barry Sattler? (Edit: Oops, Sadler. I was close.)</p>

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<p>“Valley Girl” Moon Zappa</p>

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<p>Oh yes,
“The Hannukkah Song” Adam Sandler</p>

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<p>Driver -</p>

<p>You mentioned Dobie Gray as a one-hit wonder with “Drift Away” – did you forget about my personal favorite of his, “The In Crowd”? :)</p>