One Hit Wonders of Yesteryear Part One

Another little series this one about one-hit wonders. It is surprising to note that all of these songs are memorable but just had their one shining moment for the artists and no other great hits followed. This is the first post in this series. I will add the links below as I go along.

“Afternoon Delight” was a 1970s hit song. It was recorded by Starland Vocal Band and written by band member Bill Danoff. The song became a fast hit and enjoyed the world over making it number one in South Australia. In 1976 it earned a Gold record. At the 19th Grammy Awards, the song won the Grammy for Best Arrangement for Voices. Even though the years had passed the song was remembered and in 2010 Billboard named it the 20th sexiest song of all time.

“Bang a Gong” is an interesting song with a great beat. Every time I heard it, it would make me want to dance to the beat. Recorded by the English rock band T. Rex the song came out as “Get It On”. I went to the top of the charts on the UK Singles chart. It was sold in the US and retitled “Bang a Gong (Get It On)”. It became the group’s biggest hit and the one they are most associated with. The song also charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 charts becoming the only major US hit for T. Rex.

All right let’s all get in a conga line and dance our way down to the beach. “Beach Baby” is a song that was recorded by the British band The First Class. It was written by John Carter and his wife, Gillian Shakespeare. This song became a summer standard hit on the radio. Every time I heard the beginning beats I was already singing along. The song charted in the US, Canada, and the UK. It became the band’s only substantial hit.

“Be Bop a Lula” is a song much listened to during its time and popular Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps were known for singing it. However, they did not achieve further success after this recording. Supposedly the newspaper cartoon strip Little Lulu was the inspiration for this song. Vincent was signed up to record this song because the record company was looking for another Elvis-type singer. This was Vincent’s debut single and certainly brought him to the attention of the public. He sounded similar to Elvis. Living the fast life Vincent got an ulcer and died just 36 years old in 1971. Of interest might be the fact that “Be-Bop-a-Lula” was the first record Paul McCartney ever bought and he performed the song on his 1991 MTV Unplugged appearance. The song was much played on oldies radio and at that time I could sing all the words by heart since I had heard it so much.

“Chantilly Lace” became a popular rock and roll song in 1958 recorded by American singer Jiles Perry “JP” Richardson Jr. professionally known as The Big Bopper. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the third most-played song of that year. Unfortunately, it also became known as a one-hit wonder for the singer because The Big Bopper was killed in the same plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly and Richard Valens. He was only 28. I remember this song becoming a favorite party hit during my growing-up years.

Even Arlo Guthrie, who sang one of my most favorite songs “City of New Orleans” had his one-hit-wonder. This particular song is very dear to my heart because it saved me at a moment of near anxiety. Six years ago I was on a plane at the end of June 2017 heading for Florida. The moment they showed the map in the plane and informed everyone we were leaving the European continent I suddenly found panic coming on. My Lord, I had spent 20 happy years there and lost my soul mate and suddenly it got very real. Then I looked out the plane window seeing us approaching the US coastline and the first words that came into my mind were from this song – Good morning America how are you.. After that, I was all right again.

“City of New Orleans” is a country folk song written by Steven Goodman. The song was about a train of the same name, not the city. It was first recorded by Goodman on his self-titled album in 1971. Arlo Guthrie’s version came along in 1972. Goodman introduced the song to Guthrie by playing it for him. Then Guthrie recorded it and put it on his album Hobo’s Lullaby. The song charted on the Billboard Easy Listening and Billboard Hot 100 charts. It became Guthrie’s only Top 40 hit also one of only two he’d have on the Hot 100.

Absolutely love this silly song. Just a simple song about a guy whose love has gone wrong and he’s cracking up. If he does not get control of himself they will put him in the looney bin. Hearing this song whenever it came on the radio made me smile remembering all those wild romances, bad days, and happenings in my daily life when I thought surely the men in the white coats would come to get me.

“They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” was a novelty record from 1966. It was written and recorded by Jerry Samuels who billed himself as Napoleon XIV. The song hit the charts and became a hit and charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It shot to number one on the Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles chart. And speaking of insanity the B-side to this single was the same song played in reverse absolutely making no sense at all. Every time the song came on the radio was Napoleon’s shining moment and he is still remembered for this absolutely delightful and crazy song. The singer passed on in 2023 at the age of 84.

“Dancing in the Moonlight” is a song that was written by Sherman Kelly. Originally it was recorded in 1970 by Kelly’s band Boffalongo. In 1972 this song became a big hit single for the French-American rock band King Harvest. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This song always made me want to dance. Unfortunately, the band disbanded after six months but for some, their one-hit-wonder is still remembered and enjoyed today.