Please feel free to email me or post in comments if you have any suggestions. I’ve received about 5 or 10 suggestions which I will check out and post some here. They can come from your record collection or anywhere you might have them, even if it’s in memory. Keep checking back here as I may add even more.
The blog version is slightly different with a couple of different song selections. But the artists are the same. Here I’m posting a whole new round with different artists (except for one case). Though not designed for this — could make a good song playlist for the BIG GAME tonight. Add the 12 from the first list, the 8 from the second post and you have a 20-song cool list. Put it on Random Play.
Here’s a few:
“Don’t Wait Up” — the Beat, a power-pop group that never got too far though they had Peter Case, members of the PlimSouls and the Nerves.
Dover Beach by the Bangles.
The Bangles had plenty of hits, Eternal Flame, Hero Takes a Fall, Manic Monday, Walk Like an Egyptian and more.
But Dover Beach was not one of them.
It for me ranked up and above many of their hits. That’s saying something because they had some good ones with their slightly retro-60s sound.
Doctor Doctor by UFO — Schenker brother on guitar. We had brother Rudolph with Scorpions on other list. Great head bobbing tune. Cool album cover. (This has taken on kind of new meaning for me).
29 Palms by Robert Plant — I kind of grew away from Led Zeppelin as we all aged but Robert Plant’s fourth solo album, Now and Zen, I bought after hearing ‘Ship of Fools.’ If anybody can name the other three songs I’m thinking of also named “Ship of Fools,” they win a prize TBD. — All by pretty well- known artists. Ok back to 29 Palms which came after Now and Zen, I believe in the 1990s. But I was more attuned to BOLA for Plant songs.But it was his next album that had 29 Palms, which I thought would be a surefire hit. DIsclaimer: On Billboard this peaked on the charts at 111. However, in a newer narrowed-down tracking chart called Mainstream, it went to No. 4. (I’m leaving it up.) Almost insulting to be called Mainstream, right Plant? I just like the way the song kicks into this nice lilting melody in its second parts. Have no idea what it’s about other than that the title is the name of a town in SoCal, wealthy.
This This song by The The is fantastic, sad but true and in a good way. This This really could be the day, your life will surely change.
Borderline – Thin Lizzy
He’s dead, Phil Lynott bi-racial lead singer of Irish band. He once joked that he escaped being picked on for being the “only black person” in Ireland by playing in a band. Lot of great music The Boys are Back in Town, Jailbreak, Cowboy song to name a few of their biggest. This sad drinking song often gets overlooked.
Borderline:
Life in the Foodchain/Funky Western Civilization — Tonio K.
A reader emailed me several suggestions for Tonio K. I had Cinderella’s Baby on the original blog posting. But David, the emailer made me think. Tonio K. had at least five other hit songs from his work, hell in my opinion his entire works are great. It’s kind of like carving the turkey; it’s kind of like mowing the lawn; everything gets to this certain dimension winds up on the customer’s plate and is gone.
In going through my 678 records to bring awareness for my brain disease, Lewy body dementia, I’ve come across songs that I believed should have been big hits.
I’m sure you’ve done this before. Like how could that song not be a hit single? I’m going to pull a list of 12 songs from my 678 albums that should be hits. The artists, if they read this, should reissue these songs, pump them up and make some money.
Actually that’s easier said than done. Everything is out there. Yet there’s opportunity here for a band to be rediscovered. Or maybe score a car commercial, like Nick Drake’s ‘Pink Moon’ did years ago.. Of course he never saw the benefit of that: He died by suicide years before it was a commercial.
Actually what might be a hit today will likely fall on dead ears in regards to my 59-year-old self. My idea of a hit will sound more like what II grew up with in the 60s, 70s and 80s. I’ll provide links and/or videos to those I can find. Maybe you’ll agree these should have been hits. Or, maybe not. But let me issue a challenge. Put these 12 songs on a playlist. Six you will say naaaah! Three you will like or find interesting. Two you will love and keep forever. And one will enter your Top 10 list of all-time great songs. The challenge begins as I rank in descending order of my picks.
12. One Day Tomorrow — Edgar Winter. Winter, taking a break from the straight-ahead rock of Free Ride and Frankenstien, goes solo with a mostly mellow album called Jasmine Nightdreams. Mellow except for the song Shuffle Low, which features searing guitar and ‘Keep on Burning” in which Edgar shows where Steven Tyler picked up that cat hairball scream.
11. Feel Like Calling Home — Mr. Big
This obscure British group, not to be confused with a slightly lesser obscure American group of the same name had a lead singer who went to the Geddy Lee school of high scream you scream. Check it out (the song is nothing like a Rush song FYI). For an encore, the lead singer will put glass bottles on his fingers, clack them together, and say ” Warriors, come out and play-ay.”
10. Jesus Came Down — Lake
Moving from obscurity to more obscurity, let’s go to Germany where a band named Lake put out a few albums , sometimes sounding like Yes. Of Lake songs there are several that could make the shoulda coulda woulda list: ‘TIme Bomb,’ ‘On the Run’ or ‘Jesus Came Down.’
I’m going with Jesus. But you gotta be worried about that guitarist who unleashes a firestorm of guitar licks that almost had me running with the devil.
Live version of Jesus Came Down. Studio version is in link in story.
9. Catch Your Train — Scorpions
Back in the day (and night) we listened to this new genre called ‘heavy metal.’ If it was commercial, it sucked. The Scorpions and UFO, two German bands (speaking of German bands) were a pretty good bet not to be commercial. That changed some 5 or 10 years after I was a little metal head for about 20 minutes. The Scorpions, though could still play metal, they started to do power ballads that topped the charts. Little cash money you know. ‘Catch Your Train’ is not even on the Scorpions greatest hits album. But I always thought it would go worldwide if released as a single. Listen up. There’s a hardcore metal singer and a guitarist, one of the Schenker brothers. (The other is/was in UFO). Put your cotton balls in your ears and crank it all the way to 6. (Just to be safe).
8. Ballad of El Goodo — Big Star
It’s certainly fits the storyline that Big Star would have all sorts of calamities that kept their great music from the masses. But this song, especially, seemed to be an automatic hit.. But no. When you first hear it you say, I know that song, but then you can’t figure out where. It’s a rock and roll template song with soul.
7. Summer Eyes — Nite City
After Jim Morrison, frontman of the Doors, died, the brain behind the mega group, Ray Manzarek, had to do something. So he hooked up with a few LA-based musicians and formed a short-lived group called Nite City. The resulting record isn’t too bad. But it’s highlight ‘Summer Eyes” is kind of like the El Goodo song. In that it instantly sounds like it was a big hit sometime in the past — in the listeners’ minds. Although it did get some radio play — that’s how I first found it in Athens, Ga., while was in high school. Fittingly, the song is anchored by a strong Manzarek organ riff.
6. Oh My Love – Dave Olney
I saw Dave Olney several times in my several years at Auburn. Live music every Thursday night with $5 cover and 50 cents Budweiser long necks. Olney and his band the X-Rays played intermittently. Tight band. I bought the album at a record store and will review it in Myvinylcountdown.com soon. “Oh My Love” I believe did get local or regional airplay. Nothing fancy about it. Except that it will stay in your head forever. This is a very difficult song to find online. Finally found a geriatric Olney, doing well it looks like, still recording, writing books, etc. See video below and go to the 3 minute mark to get the song. It’s a great song and I’d love to see an older video with full backing band, that would bring back memories.
5. This Corrosion – The Sisters of Mercy
This little bit of Gothic darkness is a quite catchy if you ask me. And you can dance to it. Put it on the radio.
4. Gypsy Blood — Mason Ruffner
This song just needs to be on the radio. It’s a road song and will make you drive too fast. Listen to Ruffner on the guitar. Should have been a hit.
3. Sincerely — Dwight Twilley
This guy was severely under-recognied. I could put about five or six songs of his here — off the top of my head.
2. More Than One Heaven — The Swimming Pool Q’s
Blindfold me. And let me randomly pick a list of Swimming Pool Q songs. A majority could have been hits. ‘Pretty on the Inside,’ Celestion,’ ‘ Blue Tomorrow,’ ‘The Bells Ring’. Listen closely for guitar. Bob Elsey, I’ve said it before, is one of the more underrated guitarists in a pop band. He rarely jumps out front, mainly delivering song support with guitar in a way that you rarely see (hear?) In live concerts he steps forward a little. He leaves you wanting more. Jeff Calder is a fine guitarist as well and lyricist. Anne Richmond Boston has a distinct and wonderful tone on vocals. I saw the Q’s in 1978 (or 79) as they opened for the B-52’s at Memorial Hall on the UGA campus. I was in a dorm about 3 minutes walking distance. My introduction to the New Wave thing. I saw them later in Birmingham at the Nick.
Cinderella’s Baby — Tonio K. This artist, I’ve talked about before. I’ll save writing about his work and songs until I get to him on the MVC Countdown. But know this: He is one of my favorites and his lyrics and rock sensibilities are in the upper realm of modern rock and roll. Notethis album’s cover is part of my home page. This song sounds radio ready even if the lyrics were not so great. But the lyrics are amazing –a blatant condemnation of the pressure that popular culture put on us to be who we are not, especially women and girls. It’s a culture that encourages women and girls to emulate someone’s sexualized vision of beauty to sell product. . “Don’t you believe it,’ Tonio sings. “when they tell you that your face won’t do and you got to make one up.”
Post Script. I welcome feedback. Let me know if my predictions about how many you like are spot on or waaaay miss the mark. In doing this I resisted to pull some lesser heard Beatles or Rolling Stones (‘Out of Time’ off of Metamorphosis was a Stones song considered. Remember also I was working out of the universe of my collection. That said, I’d love to hear your ‘Best songs that should have been hits.’
The Olivers, the Archibalds and Brummies’ Jacob Bryant.
Alabama Theatre has seats. For that I’m thankful.
I saw three great acts back-to-back last night at the historic venue. We were tired and I couldn’t keep up with end of the concert standing and dancing but JA could. Our wives were even more wiped than I was. But there’s John shaking his, well, shaking everything.
The music. The local lads, The Brummies, opened and played many cuts off their album Eternal Reach, of which I am a big fan. They rocked harder than they did on the finely produced album. That was expected and they put on a great show.
SUSTO made me take notice. Off-kilter, enigmatic, lyrics, excellent musicianship. I will explore this Charleston-S.C. based group further.
Anderson East, my goodness, this kid could sing. He’s got the WW — Wilson and Womack (and Wilson I’m talking about Jackie but you can easily take your Pickett.)
After Midnight we talked to Brummies vocalist guitarist trumpet player co-founder Jacob Bryant. I told him I was a big fan. They are working on more songs and I can’t wait to hear them.
SCENE: Shaking off the effects of the drugging, Prosby learns a little more about what his captors want.
The frightening grinding gears noise he heard before he lost consciousness reminded him of Lou Reed’s vintage 1970s ‘Metal Machine Music,’ which was named the top album of all time during the Sinking Years in the 2200’s.
Prosby preferred other Lou Reed music, but then he never seemed to correlate with community tastes or standards. The music was inside his head anyway, the result of the rather harsh drug his water had been laced with.
He was now waking up in the back of some kind of truck, hand and feet bound.
“I’m sorry Mr. Prosby, our water has quite a kick, don’t you think.
It was Neon Lady again. Jim Prosby was starting to get angry, a very unusual emotion for him. Not that he didn’t have anger. It was just corralled for use when needed.
Jumpsuit woman’s name was Dani and she said she would explain his mission. That it involved going to Orlando and bringing back Burnees
Prosby sat up straight. He knew Burnees. In fact he knew her well. He hadn’t seen her in years. He had been searching for her for years. She was once (and maybe still is) the love of his life. He just never understood why she went away. Sounds like he was about to get a step closer to finding out.
I’m pretty sure I bought this new as freshman in college at UGA. Maybe after all the Rolling Stones, Who and Allman Brothers blasting from my Reed Hall dorm room, I was trying for something a little more sophisticated. Joe Jackson was Elvis Costello with a piano.
Whereas Costello’s voice was tinged with irony and anger, Jackson’s voice had an undercurrent of irony and condescension. A little Steely Dan in there.
He had some hits, notably ‘Is She Really Going Out With Him’ (not on this album) and ‘Stepping Out’ and ‘Breaking Us in Two (both on this record). The album is jazzy. ‘Stepping Out’ is the sound of tinkling champagne toasts in Manhattan, which come with promise, but disappear after midnight.
“We are young but getting old before our time, we’ll leave the TV and radio behind,’ Jackson sings.
Nominated for a Grammy, this record’s another bargain in the used market. I saw it for $3 the other day.
Jimi Hendrix died at 27, one of many rock stars whose lives ended at that sweet young age.
Big Chief Ellis, a blues piano player of the highest talent, died in Birmingham on this date — Dec. 20, 1977.
He was 63.
Not many folks know today his the anniversary of his death. He was a self-taught piano player, professional gambler and ‘rolling stone.’
As he sings in the attached recording: “I do love to drink and gamble but I stay broke all the time .”
His piano playing is effortless, rolling and rocking.
I definitely want to learn more about this blues great. I found Ellis on a spreadsheet posted online. It is Wikipedia’s “List of deaths in rock and roll.”
There’s a bigger story here. In our culture of celebrity worship, where Elvis is king, and thousands pack Graceland on that Aug. 16 anniversary, there are a lot of great musicians who die in obscurity. For every Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon who lived and died with millions of fans there are those that played great music, died too often it seems, tragically.
Elvis was 42 when he died in 1977, of heart failure due to years of prescription drug abuse.
Other examples:
On the night before Christmas in 1985, Tommy Blake, a rockabilly pioneer, was shot to death by his third wife, according to the Wikipedia list. (Steve’s Dead Rock Stars and thedeadrockstarclub are also resources.} Blake was 54.
On Christmas Day in 1954, Johnny Ace (real name John Marshall Alexander Jr.) accidentally shot himself in the face while goofing around. Blues legend Big Mama Thornton saw the whole thing. At 25, with hits on the charts, Ace’s life was cut short. Witnesses said he was drunk.
I am writing this as I listen to Big Chief Ellis play some tasty blues. Ellis is now singing.
“I do love to drink and gamble but I stay broke all the time.” He sings the line twice in the blues tradition.
He sings more: “You know my life has been just like a rolling stone, until I find someone who loves me I just keep on moving on.”
He was born in Birmingham taught himself piano and traveled extensively in the 1920s and 1930s, according to an Allmusic.com bio. He settled in New York City and was known in blues circles for years there and later in Washington D.C. He came home to Birmingham and died at 63 in 1977.
The title of this post comes from poet, basketball player and former heroin addict Jim Carroll, who with his rock band wrote and released’ People who Died’ in 1980. (The writings that inspired the book, The Basketball Diaries, also was made into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.) The Jim Carroll Band’s ‘Catholic Boy is coming up quick on MyVinylCountdown.com
‘All the people who died,” Carroll sings in the punky-pop song which is built around a list of friends who died. “They were friends of mine.”
That led me to the Wikipedia list, and I was struck by the number of rock stars who died tragically or prematurely.
Jim Carroll’s Basketball Diaries was made into a movie featuring Leonardo DiCaprio.
I was also struck by how many of these deaths I had either forgotten about or never heard before.
There is what appears an outsized number of tragic deaths associated with the show business industry, especially rock stars. If true, maybe it’s because they put so many hours on the road that the law of percentages kicks in.
Plane crashes have taken out some of our biggest stars. Several members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, including key writer and leader Ronnie Van Zant, crashed in Mississippi. Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, and Richie Valens died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. Otis Redding and four members of the Bar-Kays died in a crash in a Wisconsin lake flying from Cleveland to another gig.
And there was Stevie Ray Vaughn, one of the all time great guitarists, who died in a plane crash near East Troy, Wisconsin. And Patsy Cline died March 5, 1963, in a plane crash outside Nashville. Jim Croce at age 30 died in a plane crash in Louisiana on Sept. 20, 1973.
The list also raises the question of whether being an entertainer or rock/poet may put you at greater risk for depression and substance abuse. It certainly seems that way anyway.
Or is that just a fallacy built on highly publicized overdose deaths of rock and rollers such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison to name just a few
We aren’t going to prove that the rock and roll life significantly affects your lifespan here today. But I would like to look at this list and pluck out some musicians who died an untimely death, that is drug or alcohol abuse, plane crash, car crash or something else that would be considered tragic or premature.
Here are some deaths you may not have known about or may have forgotten.:
Danny Cedrone with Bill Haley and the Comets (of Rock Around the Clock fame) died June 17, 1954,from a broken neck after falling down the stairs.
Sam Cooke, along with Otis Redding, was among the vocal greats of all time, was shot to death in Los Angeles on Dec. 11, 1964.
Bobby Fuller, of ‘I Fought the Law’ fame, died under mysterious circumstances July 18, 1966. He was found dead in his car and the coroner cited suicide in his report but put question marks beside it. He was 23.
Brian Epstein, the manager/agent who ‘discovered’ the Beatles died of an accidental overdose at 32 on Aug. 27, 1967.
Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones guitarist, drowned in a swimming pool on July 3, 1969 at 27.
King Curtis, Grammy award winning saxophonist, was stabbed to death during an argument in New York City on Aug. 13, 1971.
Duane Allman, one of the most promising guitarists in his day with the Allman Brothers and Derek and the Dominos, died in a motorcycle accident at 24 on Oct. 29, 1971 in Macon, Ga.
Berry Oakley, also with the Allman Brothers, died in a traffic accident Nov. 11, 1972.
Leslie Harvey, with rock band Stone the Crows, was electrocuted by a live microphone while on stage in Wales on May 3, 1972.
Gram Parsons, member of the Byrds and pioneering alt-country artist, died of a drug overdose Sept. 19, 1973 in Joshua Tree, California.
Nick Drake, influential singer-songwriter-guitarist, died at 26 by suicide in England on Nov. 25, 1974.
Keith Relf, a member of the pioneering band the Yardbirds, was electrocuted by his guitar on May 14, 1976 in London. He was 33.
Marc Bolan, front man for T-Rex, died in a traffic accident, Sept. 16, 1977, in London.
Sandy Denny, folk-rock singer with Fairport Convention, died April 21, 1978 of a brain hemorrhage after an accidental fall.
Sid Vicious, key member of pioneering punksters, the Sex Pistols, died of drug overdose or suicide, Feb. 2, 1979.
Chris Bell, member of Big Star, died Dec. 27, 1978, in a traffic accident near Memphis.
Lowell George, Little Feat leader, died June 29, 1979, of a heart attack at 34. He had drug and alcohol problems in addition to being obese.
John Bonham, drummer for Led Zeppelin, died by asphyxiation on vomit (same cause as Hendrix, drug/alcohol related). He was 32.
John Lennon, of the Beatles, died by gunshot, on Dec. 8, 1980, at the age of 40.
Tim Hardin, died of a drug overdose, Dec. 29, 1980 in Los Angeles.
Bob Marley, reggae legend, died at 36 of Acral lentiginous melanoma on May 11, 1981.
Roy Buchanan, virtuoso guitarist, hung himself in jail after being picked up on a drunk and disorderly charge in Virginia on Aug. 14, 1988.
There are many more on this document who died untimely deaths: Karen Carpenter, Quiet Riot’s Randy Rhoads, Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, Ricky Wilson of the B-52’s, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, Ricky Nelson, Liberace, Cliff Burton of Metallica, Richard Manuel of the Band, Peter Tosh, Jaco Pastorius, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana,
Mike Oliver is counting down his vinyl record collection on his blog MyVinylCountdown which was created to raise awareness of Lewy body dementia. From that blog and other sources he culls material for weekly columns at AL.com.
Chris Isaak has a voice that sounds like Roy Orbison singing for the lonely.
With a touch of Elvis, a generous touch.
I have his first two on vinyl. Both are excellent. I have his third on CD, that one, probably his most successful because of the song, ‘Wicked Game,’ a worldwide mega-hit tied to a David Lynch film.
But in terms of quality, folks should not forget those first two albums, ‘Silvertone’ and ‘Chris Isaak.’ They come with a sultry, anachronistic sound — especially good for snuggling with your loved one.
It was the Irish version of Live Aid, with U2 kicking it all off with an anguished soul-killing version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Maggie’s Farm.’ I still can’t tell if that’s good or bad. Probably had to be there.
A general statement first. I don’t particularly care for most live records. ‘Most’ I say.” I like Cheap Trick’ and Dylan’s separate live albums from Budokon.
The Rolling Stones ‘Get your Ya Ya’s Out’ is old school rock concert stuff. I’ve heard cuts off Nirvana Unplugged that are surprisingly good live acoustic versions.
But it’s likely it was all probably better live, seeing about a dozen or two dozen Irish acts during a 14-hour marathon.
Some of the acts included: Tua Nua, U2, Chris Rea, Clannad, Van Morrison, The Boomtown Rats, Chris De Burgh, and a new version of Thin Lizzy which months earlier lost their frontman Phil Lynott due to a fatal drug overdose.
De Burgh’s expansive organ and guitar laden, ‘Don’t Pay the Ferryman,’ was a chartmaker in the US. DeBurgh’s MOR/classic rock style served them well in the oudoor venue
Christy Moore did a nice Irish song called Back in Derry which seemed to resonate.
The Irish concert’s goal was to help unemployment, which was a major national problem.
Thin Lizzy without Phil Lynott, lineup used in Self-Aid concert.
According to its Wikipedia page: The telethon raised millions of pounds for a job creation trust fund as well as over 1,000 job pledges.[The song chosen for the finale was “Let’s Make it Work”, written by Christy Moore and Dublin songwriter Paul Doran. Tributes were paid to Phil Lynott who had died just 4 months earlier, including a performance by a reformed Thin Lizzywith Gary Moore on lead vocals.[
The Dave Clark Band’s ‘Bits and Pieces’ is a bad song made worse by a bad video.  Check it out.
And I generally like DC5 songs, such as ‘Glad all Over.’ But ‘Bits and Piece’s’ is a good title for a blog post that has, well, bits and pieces.
And that’s what this is.
I ruminate on this as I come out of my recent post on one-hit wonders. I like most of the songs on my personalized wonder list. But I considered and tossed out a couple because they weren’t good.
I was reminded of this when I visited another music blog today, and it was featuring a post about Henry Gross and the love-hate relationship with the song ‘Shannon.’ Oh the memories. See this well-done website called SliceTheLife Â
I dislike — but secretly like –Shannon, kind of like ‘Brandy’ by the Looking Glass.. But seeing this post reminded there was an album by Gross called ‘Plug Me into Something’ that I remember hearing every time I visited a friend’s house. I have fond memories of that record but never bought it for whatever reason, probably because I heard it so much without paying for it. The friend also had the Brothers Johnson ‘Strawberry Letter 23,” which I did buy (the album, Right on Time, and is reviewed here.
Anyway the thing that had me laughing today was the Casey Kasem, he of Top 40 fame, go off the rails on Gross’ song, Shannon, about a dead dog. SliceThe Life gives more detail on that. Here’s the video.
Casey Kasem died a few years ago of complications of Lewy body dementia.
That’s of course the disease I have and awareness of the disease is a big part of this blog and my life.
I hope those weren’t early signs of LBD.
I hope Casey was just having a bad day and being a jerk on his own. But the fact is that this insidious disease can change personalities and behavior.
I am here to tell you readers, you have the right to shut me down if I act like that. I don’t advocate violence (especially against myself) but put a piece of duct tape over my mouth or something. Or just give me some ice cream, Chunky Monkey is fine.
In other bits and pieces. I see that, ironically I guess, the song by Europe called “The Final Countdown” was named one of the top all time one-hit wonders.
My Vinyl Countdown Salutes you. Here’s what VH1 said in this somewhat dated release:
On VH1’s 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders, [Europe’s] Joey Tempest said: “It was quite a surprise that the song ‘The Final Countdown’ became such a big hit because it was written for the band, it was written for our concert, it was written to be the opening song in our concert. It was almost six-minutes long, it was never intended to be a short pop hit or anything, it was very much a surprise and its been used for all kinds of events, anything from Formula 1 to boxing. It’s been used for a lot, sort of like an anthem. I know there’s been some cover versions of it as well and I know when the Berlin Wall (fell), at the same time that all thing happened I know a lot of other people from that area saw the song as an anthem. I get a lot of letters about that. So its been interpreted in many ways.”
This is an opinion column by Mike Oliver who writes about his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia and other issues at AL.com and on his blog myvinylcountdown.com
Isn’t that it? We like to read and listen to one-hit wonders because it makes us wonder. We wonder, well, what happened to him or her or them?
We ask: “They were so good. Why didn’t they have another hit?”
“Did something tragic happen?
Oooh and it makes you wonder. Am I a one-hit wonder — in my life?”
How must the one-hit wonders feel? Working for years without another hit. Having to play that one hit as the last song at every concert gig It’s like George Reeves who played Superman in the TV show not being able toget another good job because he had been typecast.
One wonders and worries, perhaps, but they are fascinating. I’m not going to go into any deep analysis here about the psychology or analyze why some hit big only once.
But I’m going to list the top 10 one-hit wonders from My Vinyl Countdown blog. This comes from a list of my 678 albums, of which about 225 are on this blog
I’ve vowed to finish them all before I die.
I’m pulling my list from the 225 or so that I have already reviewed. We’ll do another list down the road. Remember, this is my collection, mainly bought in the 1970s and 1980s.
It’s worth pointing out that some very fine artists never make it the Billboard 100. This is not meant to be a complete list, it’s a list of songs that I like and that make me wonder why the artist never broke through again. I have a low bar, these aren’t No. 1 Billboard songs. Could be any on the top 100.
Song: Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me.) Artist:. Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. This charted (barely) at 96 in the U.S. in 1976 but was No. 1 in England. I had this on a live album called ‘Face to Face’ but never paid much attention — it was the last song on a 2-disc live album I picked up in Athens, Ga., I then found out the song was on one of my compilations records as well, but I’ve only recently come to appreciate its cool-ness and catchiness.
Song: Sweet Mary. Artist: Wadsworth Mansion. This catchy tune sounds like it came out of the Beach Boy’s treasure chest or Jan and Deans garage. The song went to No. 7 on the Billboard 100. Despite releasing other songs, the band never had another track crack the 100. And you wonder how a band with a name like that could go wrong. (I love the speeded up outro: Chickie-chickie-chick is your heart a-break. Chickie-chickie-chick is your heart a-break
Song: AÂ Good Heart. Artist:Â Feargal Sharkey. This song was also catchy as heck and went No. 1 in the UK charts but only saw No. 76 in the U.S in 1985. Despite some great songs, nothing else went Top 100 US for him. Before his solo career, Sharkey was known for fronting the Irish band ‘The Undertones,’ a significant contributor to the power-pop New Wave movement. Its hard to listen to this song and not sing-surf along to Sharkey’s powerful voice on the chorus. My personal favorite, from the same album, is a song called ‘You Little Thief’ which did well overseas but didn’t chart in the U.S.
Song: Money Changes Everything. Artist: The Brains. This song, one of the all time great rock songs, was covered by Cindi Lauper and became a worldwide hit charting at No. 27 on the U.S. Billboard 100 in 1985. It was an underground hit for The Atlanta, Ga.-based Brains, were fronted by Tom Gray who wrote and recorded the song. Athough the bands work was crtically acclaimed, they never matched the Money success. They have several albums which I review here.
Song: Resurrection Shuffle. Artist: Ashton Gardner & Dyke. This song is one of two songs I know of that have your backbone slipping in the lyrics. The other is Land of a 1,000 Dances, which is as danceable as this one, which is pretty high praise because they are high on the danceability scale. The group had several albums and released several singles but nothing that made the charts. Resurrection Shuffle however hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the States in 1971. Tom Jones and Clarence Clemons are among those who have covered this song.
Song: A Million Miles Away. Artist: The Plimsouls. I’m stretching my own rules here by picking something off of an album I haven’t reviewed yet. I am in the ‘H’s’ as I count these down. However, I have a good explanation. The band has Peter Case in it, whom I have already reviewed.  This is a great song, and I’m sure they would have had more had they stayed together. One might remember this song (and the Plimsouls playing it), from the 80’s movie ‘Valley Girl.’
Song: Slow Dancing. Artist: The Funky Kings. Most have never heard of the Funky Kings. I reviewed them recently on this blog here. They were a pleasant laid back southern California band that left little lasting impression. Slow Dancing however became a hit on the Easy Listening charts and a Johnny Rivers cover did even better. It’s nice. It’s a high school slow dance song. It’s the kind of song that becomes a memory touchstone if you happened to be exposed to it at the right age.
Song: Sunshine. Artist: Jonathan Edwards. When you hear this song it sounds like you’ve heard it all your life, even if it’s the first time. That’s the sign of a timeless song and this is a good one. The question is (and I wonder) what happened to Edwards. He did other records, two other songs nearly cracked the top 100. He did some acting. But he never came close to matching the power and popularity of ‘Sunshine.’
Song: Telstar. Artist: The Tornadoes. This instrumental sounds like a classic, like you heard it somewhere before. The band was comprised of successful backing musicians and had numerous hits in the UK. Telstar, however, was their only US hit as far as I can tell. But it did well: No. 1. Not bad for a pop song with no words.
Song: Driver’s Seat. Artist: Sniff ‘n’ the Tears. Okay I’m cheating. I haven’t reviewed this one yet but I wanted to close strong. This is just a great piece of driving, rocking pop fluff. A little bit like ‘Radar Love’ in that it is a good driving song. But this band was truly a one-hit wonder. One and done.
