(Edited to add WNEW.com links.)
It’s One Hit Wonder Week, when we celebrate the mysterious alchemy by which performer meets song meets historical moment and a hit record results, but never happens again. There’s a particularly interesting subset of the one-hit wonders: those who spent a single week at Number 100 in Billboard. Between 1955 and 1986, I find 13 of them.
“Itchy Twitchy Feeling”/The Swallows (9/22/58). A doo-wop group from Baltimore that started in the late 40s, the Swallows supposedly released a version of “I Only Have Eyes for You” several months before the Flamingos did. Joel Whitburn says that “Itchy Twitchy Feeling” is a cover of a hit version by Bobby Hendricks, who was a former member of the Swallows, but the Swallows’ bios I can find online don’t say that. So I dunno.
“The Chick”/Lee and Paul (3/30/59). Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance, that is, writers of “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini,” the girl-group parody “Leader of the Laundromat,” the Cuff Links’ “Tracy,” and Clint Holmes’ 1973 glurge-fest “Playground in My Mind.” Listen to “The Chick” if you want, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
“Green Grass of Texas”/The Texans (3/27/61). The Texans are actually rockabilly legends Johnny Burnette and Dorsey Burnette, and the lengthy fade-in you hear here is the way the record is supposed to sound. Radio stations couldn’t have been too pleased.
“Can’t Help Lovin’ That Girl of Mine”/The Excels (6/10/61). In which this New York R& B group updates Rodgers and Hammerstein.
“Walking Back to Happiness”/Helen Shapiro (12/4/61). Shapiro was voted Britain’s top female singer in 1961 and scored a handful of major hits in the UK, but got only this sniff of the charts in the States. As an experiment, click this YouTube link but don’t look at the screen while you listen, picture Helen, then prepare to be surprised. More at Popular.
“Quarter to Four Stomp”/Stompers (3/3/62). Co-written by a G. Paxton, which could be Gary S. Paxton, who wrote, produced, and/or performed several hit songs in the early 60s, including the Hollywood Argyles’ “Alley Oop” and Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash.” Or not.
“Goodbye Dad”/Castle Sisters (7/21/62). In which the bride bids her father goodbye before embarking on the honeymoon.
“Sweet Georgia Brown”/Carroll Brothers (8/18/62). Released on Philadelphia’s Cameo-Parkway label, but that’s all I know.
“Night Time”/Pete Antell (12/8/62). Antell and a partner had some studio time left after producing a session for another singer, so Antell cut “Night Time” as a demo. He used the session musicians—who were not trained singers—to provide backup vocals. The demo found its way to Cameo-Parkway, which put it out just as it was. When Antell found out he said, “Put what out? This is just a demo!” More here.
“Please Don’t Kiss Me Again”/Charmettes (11/23/63). Written and produced by Kenny Young, who co-wrote “Under the Boardwalk” and songs recorded by Status Quo, the Searchers, Herman’s Hermits, and the Seekers. More here.
“Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)”/The Monitors (4/16/66). In which a group of doo-woppers are invited to the festivities in Vietnam. The Monitors were on Motown; lead singer Richard Street would join the Temptations in 1971 and sing lead on “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and “Masterpiece,” among others.
“Day Tripper”/The Vontastics (9/3/66). A Chicago group featuring somebody named Bobby Newsome, who wins a cojones award for taking sole writing credit. A YouTube commenter helpfully notes that the song was “covered” by the Beatles.
“Camel Back”/A.B. Skhy (12/6/69). Rockin’ the clavinet with a group featuring Howard Wales, sometime sideman with the Grateful Dead. More at Funky16Corners.
“Remember the Rain”/21st Century (5/31/75). Five young men from Chicago who grew up in the same housing project. Two of the backing musicians on their debut album are more famous than they are: Bongo Eddie Brown and Jack Ashford were both members of the Funk Brothers at Motown—although 21st Century wouldn’t join Motown until after “Remember the Rain.”
And there they are. Another half-dozen one-hit wonders in this period peaked at Number 100 but managed to stick for around more than a single week. We’ll get to those later.
Also: I blogged about some rockin’ married couples at WNEW.com yesterday and about some September 23 birthdays today. Also today, the live webcast of Rosanne Cash’s new album, The List, goes off at 1:00 U.S. Central right here.
Filed under: Forgotten 45 | Tagged: One Hit Wonders
I had no idea that Shapiro’s opus was such a flop in the US. I thought it was a worldwide classic. Live ‘n’ learn.