Not the First, Not the Last

There’s a handful of acts that are often considered one-hit wonders but really aren’t. And we’re not talking about artists with one big hit and another that spent a couple of weeks in the lower reaches of the Hot 100—we’re talking about artists who hit the Top 40 more than once, but whose other entry is ignored or forgotten, like the Looking Glass (not just “Brandy” but “Jimmy Loves Mary Anne”), Billy Paul (not just “Me and Mrs. Jones” but “Thanks for Saving My Life”), and a-ha (not just “Take On Me” but “The Sun Always Shines on TV”).

You may not be aware that Edward Bear is in the latter category. “Last Song” made it to Number 3 on the Hot 100 in March 1973. It’s quintessentially of its time, in which the singer finally, forlornly, gives up on his one true love. It’s a companion piece to Lobo’s “Don’t Expect Me to Be Your Friend,” which was on the radio at about the same time. Both Lobo and Larry Evoy personify the sensitive male of the 1970s (even as their words indicate a touch of passive-aggressiveness).

Wait . . . who’s this Larry Evoy? Aren’t we talking about Edward Bear? We are. Edward Bear is not a solo act, it’s a group—a Canadian ensemble that ranged from a duo to a quartet, with various lineups over a period of about 10 years. Formed in Toronto in the mid 60s, they scored their first hit with “You, Me, and Mexico” in 1970. It rose to Number Three in Canada and Number 68 on the Hot 100. Nine more hits followed between 1970 and ‘74 on the Canadian charts, but only two would make it south of the border: “Last Song” and “Close Your Eyes,” which reached Number 37 in June 1973. The original lineup of Evoy, Danny Marks, and Paul Weldon had broken up about the time “Last Song” hit, and the lineup shifted constantly before the group petered out entirely in the mid 70s.

(Random Wikipedia fact: “The band is a favourite of Quentin Tarantino, who feels the band should be regarded as ‘the Beatles of Canada.’” There’s even a footnote to prove it’s true, although a halfway-close reading of the source indicates that Tarantino may not have been serious.)

“Close Your Eyes” lacks the wimpy perfection of “Last Song,” but it probably should have been a lot bigger than it was. (“You, Me, and Mexico” should have been bigger, too, although maybe that mariachi-style xylophone, or whatever it is, made it a bit too out-of-time for the summer of 1970.) And you can easily say they both cost Edward Bear a greater place in history. Without them, the group would be one of the half-dozen greatest one-hit wonder acts of the 70s.

Recommended Reading: At Popdose, Jon Cummings remembers local radio, local hits, and the kind of local-hero DJ we may never hear again. Even though local variations in music programming ain’t what they used to be (and even during the period Jon writes about, they weren’t what they used to be), they still exist. Stations that are voice-tracked by out-of-market talent generally produce their own music logs, so they retain control over what gets played, and they can respond to local market conditions. But over at Classic Rock FM, Dan Kelley talks about Clear Channel’s latest programming plan, which would put an end even to that.

“You, Me, and Mexico”/Edward Bear
“Close Your Eyes”/Edward Bear (buy ‘em here)