Who Was Your Favorite One Hit Wonder

I am a big fan of "Green-Eyed Lady" by Sugarloaf although for the record they are not a one hit wonder. They had another great hit with "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" in 1975.

Several other of my favorite one hit wonders have also been mentioned here including "Incense and Peppermints" by the Strawberry Alarm Clock (they, too, had a second hit with "Tomorrow" off the same album), "Vehicle" by the Ides of March, "Black Betty" by Ram Jam, and "Smoke from a Distant Fire" by the Sanford/Townsend Band.

My all-time favorite one hit wonder (and there are many from which to choose) is probably "Play that Funky Music" by Wild Cherry. You can never get enough of that song.

Here are a few more of my favorites:

"Get It On" by Chase (one of the best bands of all time)

"How Long" by Ace

"More Today than Yesterday" by Spiral Staircase

"Journey to the Center of the Mind" by the Amboy Dukes

"Hold Your Head Up" by Argent (believe it or not that was their only Top 40 single)

"Funky Nassau-Part 1" by The Beginning of the End

"Hocus Pocus" by Focus

"Precious and Few" by Climax

"Right Place Wrong Time" by Doctor John (his only hit)

"Frday on My Mind" by the Easybeats

"All Right Now" by Free

"Nobody But Me" by the Human Beinz

"Dancing in the Moonlight" by King Harvest

"Green Tambourine" by the Lemon Pipers

"The Horse" by Cliff Nobles & Co.

"Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" by Reunion

"The Boys are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy

"Polk Salad Annie" by Tony Joe White

"Get Together" by the Youngbloods

and

"Smiling Faces Sometimes" by the Undisputed Truth

By the way, The Classics IV had five hits including the greats "Spooky," "Stormy'" and "Traces."

Fmpnd,

I can't believe that I forgot "One Fine Morning" -- that's a great song!

I am also a big fan of Cold Blood. It's nice to know that there are others who appreciate Chase. I can only imagine what great work Bill Chase could have produced had he not died so young. You are incredibly lucky to have seen them live. I bet you are also a big fan of Blood, Sweat & Tears.

I forgot to mention another two of my favorites:

"Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)" by the Hombres

"Liar, Liar" by the Castaways

Jsonic: I checked three sources including a recording that I have, and they all say that "The Rapper" was by The Jaggerz not Jaggerz. It's a great song by the way.

And how about these:

"Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" by the Swingin' Medallions

"Little Girl" by Syndicate of Sound

Long live the One Hit Wonders!

Sean,

I am glad that you liked my list. Not only are these songs some of my favorite one hit wonder tunes, but they are also some of my favorite songs ever recorded.

As for Thin Lizzy, I hesitated putting them on the list. I knew someone was going to call me on this. :) Technically, they were a one hit wonder, since "The Boys are Back in Town" was their only Top 40 hit. "Jailbreak" was a great song, but it never charted on the Billboard Top 40.

Many of the songs referenced in this thread are not by one hit wonders at all. The Yardbirds, for example, had 6 Top 40 hits with "For Your Love," "Heart Full of Soul," "I'm A Man," "Shapes of Things," "Over Under Sideways Down," and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago."

I loved "Funky Cold Medina." Tone Loc, however, had an even bigger hit with "Wild Thing" (also a very decent song).

I liked your original list, too, for you mentioned some really great songs. I always liked "Fire," "Amie," "War," and "Jackie Blue" among others on your list. Believe it or not Pure Prairie League had four Top 40 hits including "Let Me Love You Tonight" which charted much higher than "Amie." Edwin Starr also had four Top 40 hits. Do you remember "Twenty-Five Miles?" Even the Ozark Mountain Daredevils had a hit before "Jackie Blue" with "If You Want to Get to Heaven."

I definitely remember Flash and the Pan. Did you know that their guitarist George Young was the older brother of AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm Young?

I knew my knowledge of obscure songs and music trivia would come in handy some day! So, Sean, am I requalified for the K-Tel record collection?