The BEST one hit wonders

[charlene]

I hate to do it too but they haven't seen a record player in decades and I know I will eventually have to get rid of them when I sell this big house and downsize...I have kept the really important stuff tho.....probably about 100 or so and will get rid of 140 or so....I already got rid of some a couple of years ago. I also have two boxes of my MOTHER's albums from the 50's and 60's and 70's....good grief....
lol

[Janice]

Yep - I can relate. I got all my dad's records and reel-to-reels in my parents' divorce settlement - he had all styles and genres from 50's onward (I think I developed my eclectic taste in music from him). I also acquired my grandmother's more modest collection of 30's and 40's big band stuff, that I love. Not to mention all 300+ of my cassettes - I went through a phase of rebelion where I refused to buy CDs after they replaced LPs and bought cassettes, instead.

[Sheryl]

Excellent songs, guys. I remembered just about every single one. Love most of 'em. Magnet and Steel, Windy, oh, yeah, great songs! There, I'm dated, too. I agree -- "Seasons In the Sun" -- ick. But, definitely some of those songs were HOT! Oh -- for the record -- I loved the Macarena! Ole' Steve Forbert will be upset with me, as well. Never heard of the guy. I was at a very hip club in West Hollywood back "in the day" when The Knack opened for Rickie Lee Jones (the headliner). They performed "My Sharona" and another song. The whole club went nuts and wouldn't let them leave the stage -- imagine hundreds of teens crowded into what was essentially a warehouse with a stage and loft (for people who couldn't fit on the main floor). We shouted, stomped and insisted they continue playing. Finally, management had to come out and lead them off the stage, telling us the person we'd supposedly come to see, Rickie Lee Jones, would like a chance to play. We enjoyed her, but, not anything like The Knack. She enjoyed a small, cult-like success. I did buy her album on cassette, but, found it mostly offbeat and a bit depressing. Uh oh, going off topic, sorry! Great topic, Mike!

[joveski]

> The Captain Of Her Heart - Double

me also loves that one. the piano riff is a killer

[Janice]

Sheryl, you might not recognize Steve Forbert's name, but I bet you probably would recognize his one hit, "Romeo's Tune" - that was the way it was for me - I remembered the song, just never knew who recorded it.

[Sheryl]

Off-hand, that song title doesn't ring a bell. I'll try to find it online or something -- if not, can you hum a few bars for me?

[Borderstone]

Janice,we have a bit in common. I have "literally" every LP,tape,45,Cassette Single and CD I ever bought as well.

I also have my Mom & Dad's old 45s & LPs too. Even some of my brothers & Grandmother's too.

[LSH]

For me, RLJ, rickie lee jones, is second only to lightfoot in my favorite artists list. However, I do believe, she only had one major hit...
Chuck E.'s In Love. So, maybe we can add her to the list?

[Borderstone]

Nope,she had a second hit with "Youngblood". :D

[LSH]

really, youngblood made the charts? how high did it go B? I discovered her late, rather after the fact...

"Find a block where your people can find you
Keep your third eye watching behind you
You never know when you're making a memory
They will wish they were here together again,
someday.."

[Borderstone]

LSH,Rickie Lee Jones squeaked into the top 40 for a week in the early fall of '79 and peaked at 40. She hasn't had a hit since,but then,what do the guys at radio ever know? :D

By the way,when I was 11 I liked, "Chuck E.'s In Love" as well! Because of kid logic,I thought "Chuck" was Charlie Brown and his middle initial was E. ! :D LOL! He was of course in love with the little red haired girl.

[ May 13, 2006, 19:04: Message edited by: Borderstone ]

[BILLW]

It's hard to add to such a big list but my favorite is:

Billy Don't Be A Hero - Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods

A big hit in early summer 1974 when I was off to spend 'summer camp' in South Carolina.

At the time most people heard it as being about the then current Vietnam Conflict but a closer listen reveals it is actually set during the American Civil War. My sister loved to sing it for me every chance she got, LOL.

Bill

this is 'all about me' isn't it ? :D

[Auburn Annie]

Originally posted by charlene:
I hate to do it too but they haven't seen a record player in decades and I know I will eventually have to get rid of them when I sell this big house and downsize...I have kept the really important stuff tho.....probably about 100 or so and will get rid of 140 or so....I already got rid of some a couple of years ago. I also have two boxes of my MOTHER's albums from the 50's and 60's and 70's....good grief....
lol

Actually, Char, they have these combo units with record player, radio and CD player. They're usually a bit boxy looking, sometimes made to look like old time radios. I've seen them in catalogs, often advertised around Christmas. See the Crossley site at http://www.crosleyradio.com/.

And if you've got money to burn you can get a laser turntable - no needles! Runs about $2800 (US). See http://www.elpj.com/

[charlene]

Annie - I have my old (33 years) SONY am/fm stereo tuner and record player with 2 speakers right here with me in the computer room! LOL
The needle is missing but I'm sure the record player would work just fine. I just don't have room to keep the albums if I'm not playing them and I know some are pretty scratchy.
The laser idea seems fabulous! pricey tho...

[brink-]

Originally posted by BILLW:
A big hit in early summer 1974 when I was off to spend 'summer camp' in South Carolina.

Was your "summer camp" Parris Island? My dad was a DI there in the early 40's. When he was getting close to discharge they sent him there to finish out his tour. When I found that out in my late 20's it explained a lot of my childhood. lol

[BILLW]

Originally posted by brink-:
quote:Originally posted by BILLW:
A big hit in early summer 1974 when I was off to spend 'summer camp' in South Carolina.

Was your "summer camp" Parris Island? My dad was a DI there in the early 40's. When he was getting close to discharge they sent him there to finish out his tour. When I found that out in my late 20's it explained a lot of my childhood. lol [/QUOTE]Small world, eh ? Yes it was indeed a fine summer on Parris Island for me in 1974. My sister sang 'Billy Don't Be A Hero' from the time I enlisted until the day she dropped me off at the recruiting station to catch a ride to SC. Even today she will still sing it if the story comes up, LOL.
Is your Dad still with us ?

Bill

[brink-]

No, my Dad died in 1991. He was a tough ole bird. He had 7 heart attacks and 9 strokes but was still walking (with the aid of a walker) and called me everyday, ate fine just had some problems with balance and his speech wasn't clear. He was a great guy.

[Cathy]

My dad died from a stroke almost 5 years ago. He had the first stroke in his trailer truck, at a rest stop in Chelsea, MA. They found him 2 days later and took him to the hospital in Lowell. Eventually he got moved to a rehab inPresque Isle. He was coming along quite well.. even starting to walk again. One day he complained of intestinal pain, so they decided to do an MRI. He was terribly afraid of small places, and the fear caused his brain to start bleeding again. He didn't survive the second stroke. He was only 68, and never sick a day in his life. The day he had the first stroke, he spent the morning piling 2 cords of wood.

[BILLW]

Originally posted by brink-:
No, my Dad died in 1991. He was a tough ole bird. He had 7 heart attacks and 9 strokes but was still walking (with the aid of a walker) and called me everyday, ate fine just had some problems with balance and his speech wasn't clear. He was a great guy.

Sorry to hear that, thanks for sharing the connection.

Bill

and Cathy I'm sorry to hear of your loss also.

[geodeticman]

Thanks Mike - I guess "Windy" isn't exactly a one-hit wonder! I recall the Association having multiple hits over time.

mnmouse - thank you for correcting my bass-ackwards memory of the song we both liked. The "flower" I thought was in the group's name, not the song, and I totally forgot Skylark as the song's name, thought it was "She's a Lady". Well, glad u knew both and brought back fully such a great memory of that song. Made me think of my first girlfriend when it came out.

Janice - like u and several others, I like "The Captain of Her Heart" by Double. And B-stone - I never would have guessed the pronunciation of Double was "doo-belay" phonetically. The song really sticks in your head after you hear it; those piano riffs (?) are perfect.

Its odd how right in the middle of "America's Top 40" pop/rock stations lists, a song that could be timeless and of definately non-rock or non-pop nature "crosses-over" from other categories more non-descript than obvious crossover sources such as country, etc. comes along and captures listeners hearts, out of context so often, e.g. the Macarena, and:

"Be Happy" I forget his name. Great catchy tune.

And songs that seem from another generation sometimes capture our ears in songs like :

"The Last Farewell" by Roger Whittaker.

That caught even teenagers off guard, as it did me in the middle of listening to Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and the Eagles. It is, as I'm sure many of you find, especially British folk (Bru? John ?) to be an invogorating and timeless song.

You can feel the salt spray and here the creaking of the mast and ropes. And such a voice ! Whittaker had a hit with this at the same time TWOTEF/"The Wreck" came out on LP in Summertime Dream.

While greatly overshadowed by Gord's masterpiece, The Last Farewell still stood out enough to functionally captivate a good portion of the teenage population (and certainly adult) in the USA and I assume elsewhere perhaps even more, as he toured in Europe and the UK more as I understand.

This song, if described broadly, was a strong deep baritone/bass voice singing with a noteworthy and charming (as my parents said when they heard it and liked it too!) British accent, and sounded somewhat like a throwback to Bing Crosby, singing with the accent, to a full orchestral background, with presumably *zero* predictable appeal to the teenage segment.

But it did, at least me and my friends. It is a song that makes u feel like you just splashed on the most invigorating aftershave ever made, and are standing on the bow of an oceangoing wooden vessel, and the waves are splashing high on a bright sunny day (corny, I know..).

If you haven't heard it, you might be surprised to feel some of this is true if you check it out. I'll try and find a hyperlink to it. For now, take my word for it please. He followed quickly with about 4 other great songs with good airplay, mostly on easy listening stations though:

New World in the Morning
Durhame Town (The leaving)
I don't believe in If Anymore
Dirty Old Town

Well the 4 above by Roger Whittaker, along with "The Last Farewell" are my new entrants. These strictly speaking do not apply to the thread's premise, if but only in one regard: He came out of nowhere (to American young audiences), had first the one hit that crossed over into top40, and then as I recall slipped into easy-listening relative obscurity (in America) with the above 4 more noteworthy songs.

I doubt if top40 listeners ever heard any but the Last Farewell, making it an unusual but *great* entry in the thread.

While continuing his career primarily in Europe and the UK as I understand, and playing some unusual mixes of old standards along with musicals and "easy listening" standards of the day in the 70's, one more Whittaker album stands out to me.

I believe it is called "Great Irish Folk Songs"
with wonderful stripped-down acoustic guitar and his *powerful* voice performing familiar-sounding -old- folk songs like "The White Cliffs of Dover" and a wonderful rendition of the "The Ash Grove" .

True "old-fashioned" pre-civil war folk songs heard frequently in the American West by immigrants often relegated to the awful conditions and prejudice of working in the mining and railroad industries in the USA.


He sings and does some full period-dress old showtunes in concert anymore, dressing as a clown, a peddler, etc. At times odd now to my taste, he can still belt out a tune that'll shatter a glass window such as his old version of "Waterboy" - another American West folk tune.

If you pick up ONE CD of his on this reccomendation alone, be SURE to get the album entitled "The Last Farewell and other hits", with an oblique profile and extreme close-up of his face covering the photo, with all the above songs shown as the first 4 except Dirty Old Town, great if you can find it along with the Irish Folk Tunes album.

Watch-out though, there are myriad remixes, re-recordings of those first four songs listed w/o Dirty Old Town, and the defining sign of the original full-orchestration productions of the magnificent four is the album I mention also containing the song "Sunrise,Sunset" as a definitive feature of the right album. You'll find numerous versions of all the first 5 songs I mentioned by him in various packages, but beware the sometimes awful re-recordings and K-tel TV compilations. IMHO (and windy tonight) form, I hope u enjoy the above songs I added as new this posting.
- Geo Steve

[geodeticman]

Brink, and Cathy, I am sorry to hear of your respective losses. I greatly sympathize.
-Geo Steve

[Sheryl]

I actually bought that single of Roger's. I really loved that song. Wow, talk about strolling down memory lane here.

[LSH]

Thanks for the info Borderstone

[brink-]

Dream Weaver
Sittin' on the dock of the Bay
Baker Street - he might have had another hit though.


Thank you Steve, and Bill W. I appreciate the thoughts.

[LSH]

ah, good one brink...

ooooh, dreamweaver...gonna have it in my head for the rest of the day now...