One Hit Wonders of Yesteryear Part Three

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 third post in this series. I will add the links below as I go along.

I Will Follow Him

American pop singer Little Peggy March is best remembered for the one-hit wonder “I Will Follow Him”. The song first became popular in 1961 when recorded by Franck Pourcel, as an instrumental known as “Chariot”. For the version sung by Little Peggy March, the music was written by Franck Pourcel and Paul Mauriat, and new English lyrics by Norman Gimbel.

Little Peggy March did well with her version which went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963. The song became associated with her and her singing style. The singer re-recorded this song in 2011 with Dutch singer Jose Hoebee.

Kiss Him Goodbye

The whole song is called “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” Some of you might remember the repetitious lyrics which were quite catchy. The song is from 1969 and was written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo, and Dale Frashuer and is said to be recorded by the fictitious band Steam. The song became popular almost at once and became a number-one pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has the status of multi-platinum.

The song became popular again when recorded in 1983 by the UK girl group Bananarama. It is on their album Deep Sea Diving and became a top ten hit. I am a fan of the original recording because I like the song sung by low male voices.

Life Is a Rock

Guess what one-hit wonder song I found? I think this has certainly been buried for a very long time. The song is “Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)” It was written by Norman Dolph with music by Paul DiFranco. It was recorded by an ad hoc group of studio musicians called Reunion. Their lead singer was American singer Joey Levine. Levine was a co-writer of bubblegum music hits. Once recorded this song made it on both the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles charts. The song mentions a lot of other rockers.

Lonely Girl

“Hey There Lonely Girl” is a song recorded in 1963. The original version had “lonely boy” in the title instead was recorded by Ruby and the Romantics. The popular version of this song from 1969 was recorded by R&B singer Eddie Holman. His version charted in both the US and the UK. It reached number one on the Canadian RPM chart. At first, I was not a big fan of this song but then I heard it on the radio numerous times and it grew on me. There are some verses and music that touch the heart.

Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes

“Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” is another upbeat and catchy song from the 1970s. It was the debut single for the English pop band Edison Lighthouse. The song quickly went up to number one on the UK Singles chart and became the number one single of the 1970s. What is surprising is that this song saw a huge resurgence toward the end of 2021 when it became popular on TikTok. Then between December 25, 2021, and January 3, 2022, the song showed growth in demand on audio streams moving into the US Top 200 chart on Spotify.

Love Hurts

Thinking back in time I am not sure why I particularly liked this song but it kind of worked on me. In fact, after a while hearing this song has inspired some of my poems. I hope you like it too.

“Love Hurts” is a power ballad. It was written and composed by the American songwriter Bouldleaux Bryant. It was first recorded by The Everly Brothers in 1960. However, in 1974 when it was recorded by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth it became an international hit. The single was popular in both the US and the UK. Nazareth also recorded this song later on with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany. The band became mostly known for this song.

Love Is Strange

There were two singers one was Sylvia and one was Mickey together they sang a memorable song. However, the version I loved the best was the one in the movie “Dirty Dancing” where Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze listened to the song.

“Love Is Strange” became a crossover hit and was sung by the American rhythm and blues duet Mickey & Sylvia in 1956. The song was written by Bo Diddley. It quickly became popular and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

I really enjoyed the scene between the characters Baby and Johnny in “Dirty Dancing” interacting to this song.

Love the Nightlife

“I Love the Nightlife” is a popular disco song. It was recorded by American singer Alicia Bridges in 1978. The song became a big hit on the Billboard National Disco Action Top chart. Once the song was aired on the radio it also became a crossover hit and was among the Top Ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

This song was co-written by Alicia Bridges and Susan Hutcheson. The song quickly became a disco classic and is best remembered from an MTV countdown in 1998 where it ranked number 37 in the Top 54 Dance Songs of the Disco Era. It was re-released in 1994 when it was featured in the movie “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”. The song again charted around the world and due to association with the film became closely linked with gay culture.

https://vocal.media/beat/one-hit-wonders-of-yesteryear-part-one?utm

https://vocal.media/beat/one-hit-wonders-of-yesteryear-part-two?utm