68 Fun Facts About 1970s One-Hit Wonders

Who had a worldwide 1974 number one with 'Kung Fu Fighting'?

Carl Douglas cut 'Kung Fu Fighting' in two hurried takes as a throwaway B-side; the label flipped the single, and it topped the UK and US charts.

Who wrote and recorded 'Spirit in the Sky', a 1970 US hit that later topped the UK chart?

Norman Greenbaum, who is Jewish, wrote 'Spirit in the Sky' after watching Porter Wagoner sing a gospel song on TV and deciding he could write one too; it was a UK number one in 1970.

Which band took 'Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)' to number one in the US in 1972?

Looking Glass had such a hit with 'Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)' that Barry Manilow's 1974 cover of another song called 'Brandy' was retitled 'Mandy' to avoid confusion.

'Play That Funky Music' (1976) was the only Top 40 hit for which Ohio band?

Wild Cherry was a hard-rock covers band until a patron at a mostly Black club asked whether the 'white boys' would play some funky music; Rob Parissi wrote the hit from that line.

Which Canadian singer had a worldwide hit in 1974 with 'Seasons in the Sun'?

Terry Jacks, from Winnipeg, built his version on the Kingston Trio's English recording but wrote a new last verse; 'Seasons in the Sun' then topped the US and UK charts.

'Seasons in the Sun' adapts 'Le Moribond', a 1961 song by which singer-songwriter?

Jacques Brel's 'Le Moribond' has a dying man bid farewell to his unfaithful wife and her lover; the 1974 hit version replaced that verse with a gentler goodbye.

'The Night Chicago Died', a US number one in 1974, was recorded by which British group?

Paper Lace's writers Mitch Murray and Peter Callander had never been to Chicago; they took the song's 'East Side' from gangster films, though that term belongs to New York.

Which American act took 'Billy Don't Be a Hero' to number one in the US in 1974?

Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, from Cincinnati, took 'Billy Don't Be a Hero' to number one in the US in June 1974, beating the original British version, which had topped the UK chart earlier that year.

Which 1976 number one took its title from a Washington restaurant's happy-hour menu?

Afternoon Delight: Starland Vocal Band's Bill Danoff took the name from the appetizer list at Clyde's in Washington, and the hit won the band a 1977 CBS summer show with a young David Letterman in the cast.

Starland Vocal Band beat which band, whose 1976 debut is among the best-selling debuts ever, to Best New Artist?

Boston's Tom Scholz, a Polaroid engineer, taped most of the 1976 debut in his basement; it has sold over 17 million copies in the US, yet Starland Vocal Band took Best New Artist.

Ram Jam's 1977 hit 'Black Betty' reworked a work song usually credited to which bluesman?

Lead Belly popularised 'Black Betty' with his 1939 a cappella recording; when Ram Jam's rock version appeared, civil-rights groups called for a boycott over its lyrics, yet it still reached the US top 20.

'Hooked on a Feeling', the 1974 'ooga chaka' number one, was recorded by a group from which country?

Sweden: Blue Swede, fronted by Björn Skifs, topped the US chart with the song in April 1974, three years before ABBA managed their only American number one.

The 1974 'Hooked on a Feeling' took its 'ooga chaka' chant from which Genesis discoverer's 1971 cover?

Jonathan King added the 'ooga chaka' chant to his 1971 cover, a UK top-30 hit; he said the idea was to use a reggae rhythm in an unusual way, and the 1974 number one borrowed it.

Which group's 'Rapper's Delight' was the first rap record to reach the US Top 40?

The Sugarhill Gang rapped over the groove of Chic's 'Good Times'; Chic's Nile Rodgers first heard the record in a club and threatened to sue, and he and Bernard Edwards ended up with the writing credits.

Which band's debut single 'My Sharona' spent six weeks at US number one in 1979?

The Knack's Doug Fieger co-wrote 'My Sharona' about Sharona Alperin, later a Los Angeles real estate agent. He also liked 'Weird Al' Yankovic's parody 'My Bologna' and helped persuade Capitol to release it.

The Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star' made history in 1981 as what?

The first thing MTV ever aired: 'Video Killed the Radio Star' had stalled at number 40 in the US in 1979, yet MTV chose its video to open the channel on 1 August 1981.

Which producer, later behind Frankie Goes to Hollywood, was in The Buggles with Geoff Downes?

Trevor Horn formed the Buggles with Geoff Downes; after 'Video Killed the Radio Star' topped the UK chart in 1979, both briefly joined Yes, and Horn went on to produce Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 'Relax'.

'Popcorn', a 1972 worldwide hit for Hot Butter, was originally composed in 1969 for which electronic instrument?

The Moog synthesizer: Gershon Kingsley wrote 'Popcorn' for his 1969 album 'Music to Moog By'; Stan Free, who had played it live in Kingsley's Moog quartet, re-recorded it as Hot Butter for a US top-ten hit.

Which trucker anthem was credited to C. W. McCall, a character from a bread commercial?

Convoy: Omaha adman Bill Fries invented trucker C. W. McCall to sell Old Home Bread, then voiced him on record; the CB-radio hit topped the US pop and country charts and inspired a 1978 Sam Peckinpah film.

Which 1979 disco number one, written for an eleven-year-old, went to Anita Ward instead?

Ring My Bell: Frederick Knight wrote it for 11-year-old Stacy Lattisaw, but she signed elsewhere, so he rewrote the lyric for Anita Ward, who had doubts about the song and still took it to US number one.

Which 1979 US number one did Englishman Robin Scott release under the one-letter name M?

Pop Muzik: Robin Scott wrote, produced and sang it as M; the single stalled at number two at home in Britain, then went one better in America that November.

Which band's singer Ray Dorset wrote their 1970 hit 'In the Summertime' while working in a Timex lab?

Mungo Jerry: Ray Dorset's song ran only about two minutes on tape, so the producer played it twice and spliced in the sound of the engineer's sports car driving past.

'Wildfire', a 1975 US top three hit about a girl and her lost horse, was recorded by which singer?

Michael Martin Murphey said 'Wildfire' came to him whole in a dream, drawn from a ghost-horse story his grandfather told him as a boy; it reached number three in the US in 1975.

Pilot, the 'Magic' band formed by two ex-Bay City Rollers, came from which Scottish city?

Edinburgh: Pilot's 'Magic' was produced by Alan Parsons, and when the band wound down, three of its members joined his next venture, the Alan Parsons Project.

Which 1974 hit sounds like a song about infidelity but was really about a bassist moonlighting with another band?

How Long: Paul Carrack wrote it after Ace found bassist Terry Comer had been quietly playing with the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver; Comer came back in time to play on the record.

King Harvest's 1972 hit 'Dancing in the Moonlight' was covered in 2000 by which English band?

Toploader's 2000 cover of 'Dancing in the Moonlight' reached the UK top ten; writer Sherman Kelly composed the song while recovering from a gang assault in St. Croix, imagining a peaceful celebration instead.

Which future 'Piña Colada Song' star wrote 'Timothy', the Buoys' 1971 hit about a cannibalism-tinged mine cave-in?

Rupert Holmes wrote 'Timothy' hoping a radio ban would generate publicity for the Buoys; many stations did refuse it, yet it reached number 17 in the US in 1971, eight years before his own 'Escape (The Piña Colada Song)'.

Shocking Blue, whose 'Venus' topped the US chart in February 1970, came from which country?

Netherlands: Shocking Blue's songwriter miswrote 'goddess' on the English lyric sheet, and singer Mariska Veres, not yet fluent, sang the slip as written on the record that topped the US chart.

Shocking Blue's 'Venus' is based on 'The Banjo Song', a reworking of which Stephen Foster song?

Oh! Susanna: 'The Banjo Song', recorded by the Big 3 in 1963, set Stephen Foster's 'Oh! Susanna' lyrics to a new melody, and Shocking Blue's Robbie van Leeuwen lifted that tune for 'Venus'.

Les Emmerson wrote 'Signs' after being annoyed by billboards blocking the scenery on which highway?

Route 66: Les Emmerson wrote 'Signs' after billboards along Route 66 spoiled a drive to California; first buried as a B-side, it was reissued in 1971, reached the US top five and was covered by Tesla in 1990.

Which 1978 Nick Gilder hit took a then-record 21 weeks to reach number one?

Hot Child in the City: Nick Gilder wrote it about the teenage runaways he saw being exploited on Hollywood Boulevard after he moved to Los Angeles.

Which British band's 1979 hit 'Driver's Seat' went on to top the Dutch chart in 1991?

Sniff 'n' the Tears had split in 1983, but a Pioneer car-stereo advert revived 'Driver's Seat' in 1991, sent it to the top of the Dutch chart and prompted the band to reform.

The singer of 1977's 'You Light Up My Life' is the daughter of which 1950s crooner?

Pat Boone's daughter Debby Boone took 'You Light Up My Life' to ten weeks at US number one in 1977; writer Joseph Brooks won the Oscar for it, though the film version was sung by Kasey Cisyk.

Which songwriter-arranger recorded the 1975 disco hit 'The Hustle' with his Soul City Symphony?

Van McCoy wrote 'The Hustle' after business partner Charles Kipps watched patrons doing the dance at the New York club Adam's Apple; the record topped the US chart in July 1975 with Steve Gadd on drums.

Which trio recorded "Rock the Boat", a US number one in July 1974 often called one of the first disco hits?

The Hues Corporation, a Los Angeles trio, saw 'Rock the Boat' languish for months until New York discos adopted it; it reached number one on the Hot 100 in July 1974, a week ahead of George McCrae's 'Rock Your Baby'.

'Dueling Banjos', a 1973 hit for Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell, was made famous by which film?

Deliverance (1972) made 'Dueling Banjos' famous through its porch scene; Arthur 'Guitar Boogie' Smith had written it as 'Feudin' Banjos' in the 1950s and successfully sued for credit after the film version became a hit.

'Hocus Pocus', a 1973 US top ten instrumental featuring yodelling and flute, was by which Dutch band?

Focus, led by Thijs van Leer and guitarist Jan Akkerman, took 'Hocus Pocus' to number nine in the US in 1973, van Leer supplying the yodels and flute; Nike's 2010 'Write the Future' World Cup advert revived it.

Alan O'Day, who sang the 1977 number one 'Undercover Angel', had earlier written which singer's number one 'Angie Baby'?

Helen Reddy took O'Day's 'Angie Baby' to US number one in 1974; three years later a label Warner Bros. created for its own songwriters let him sing 'Undercover Angel' to the top himself.

Henry Gross's 1976 hit 'Shannon' mourns a dog that belonged to a member of which band?

The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson heard Henry Gross mention his dog Shannon and replied that his own Irish setter of that name had just been killed by a car; Gross wrote the song from that coincidence.

Sammy Johns' 1975 hit 'Chevy Van' features backing by which famous group of session musicians?

The Wrecking Crew, the Los Angeles session pool famous for Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, backed Sammy Johns on 'Chevy Van'; ignored on its 1973 release, the 1975 reissue reached the US top five.

'Torn Between Two Lovers', a 1977 US number one, was co-written by a member of which folk trio?

Peter, Paul and Mary's Peter Yarrow had hired Mary MacGregor as a backing singer for his solo tour, then co-wrote and produced 'Torn Between Two Lovers' for her; it topped the Hot 100 in February 1977.

'Escape (The Piña Colada Song)' holds which Billboard chart distinction?

The final US number one of the 1970s: 'Escape (The Piña Colada Song)' led the Hot 100 in the last weeks of December 1979 and again in January 1980, making it a chart-topper in two decades.

Which Denver band reached number three in the US in 1970 with 'Green-Eyed Lady'?

Sugarloaf's Jerry Corbetta co-wrote 'Green-Eyed Lady' about his girlfriend Kathy, whom his bandmates called by that name; the single was cut down from a seven-minute album track.

The Stampeders' banjo-driven 1971 hit 'Sweet City Woman' spent four weeks at number one in which country?

Canada: the Stampeders had left Calgary for Toronto, and Rich Dodson wrote 'Sweet City Woman' about the big city they found; it reached number eight in the US and won Best Single at the 1972 Junos.

Which 'Starsky & Hutch' star topped the US chart in 1977 with 'Don't Give Up on Us'?

David Soul, who played Hutch, had first won attention in the 1960s by singing on Merv Griffin's show in a mask as 'the Covered Man'; his ballad topped both the UK and US charts.

Hilda Woodward, who played piano on Lieutenant Pigeon's 1972 UK number one 'Mouldy Old Dough', was the bandleader's what?

Mother: Hilda Woodward played the pub-style piano as her son Rob's band recorded the tune in her front room in Coventry rather than a studio, and the home-made single went on to top the UK chart.

'Fly, Robin, Fly' (1975) made Silver Convention only the second act from which country to top the US chart?

West Germany: Silver Convention's Munich producers first called the tune 'Run, Rabbit, Run', then renamed it and kept the whole lyric to six different words; it topped the US chart in November 1975.

Which soap actor took a cover of David Essex's 'Rock On' to number one in 1989?

Michael Damian, then of The Young and the Restless, took 'Rock On' to number one in the US in 1989 after it appeared in the film Dream a Little Dream; David Essex's original reached the US top five in 1974.

Which producer of Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' co-wrote Exile's 1978 number one 'Kiss You All Over' with Nicky Chinn?

Mike Chapman co-wrote and produced 'Kiss You All Over', a four-week US number one in autumn 1978; Exile never had another big pop hit but reinvented themselves as a country act with a string of number ones in the 1980s.

Morris Albert, singer of the mid-1970s hit 'Feelings', is from which country?

Brazil: Morris Albert's 'Feelings' reached the US top ten in 1975, but a court later ruled its melody was taken from Louis Gasté's 1950s French song 'Pour Toi' and added Gasté to the writing credit.

Joey Levine, who sang Reunion's 1974 hit 'Life Is a Rock', had earlier voiced 'Yummy Yummy Yummy' for which bubblegum act?

Ohio Express: Joey Levine sang its bubblegum hits over studio musicians for producers Kasenetz and Katz, then moved into advertising jingles before his rapid-fire patter took 'Life Is a Rock' into the US top ten.

Middle of the Road, who had a 1971 UK No. 1 with 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep', came from which country?

Scotland: Middle of the Road formed in Glasgow and recorded 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' while working in Italy, where writer Lally Stott's own version had already charted; it spent five weeks at UK number one in 1971.

Andy Kim, who topped the US chart in 1974 with 'Rock Me Gently', had earlier co-written which 1969 bubblegum number one?

Sugar, Sugar: Andy Kim wrote it with Jeff Barry for the cartoon Archies; five years later, off the charts and without a deal, he paid for 'Rock Me Gently' himself and released it on his own label.

Which star had a 1994 hit covering Vicki Sue Robinson's disco classic 'Turn the Beat Around'?

Gloria Estefan revived a song its writers' own label had turned down in 1975 as too fast, with a 'jungle beat'; they gave it to Vicki Sue Robinson instead, and both versions became US hits.

Which comedian drew on his early job as an Eastleigh milkman for his 1971 UK Christmas number one 'Ernie'?

Benny Hill wrote 'Ernie' in the 1950s about his own milk round; in 1971 it became the UK Christmas number one, and David Cameron later picked it on Desert Island Discs.

Melanie's 1971 number one "Brand New Key" picked up what nickname because of its chorus?

The Rollerskate Song: the chorus 'I've got a brand new pair of roller skates' gave 'Brand New Key' its nickname; Melanie said she wrote it in about fifteen minutes and was surprised by the Freudian readings.

Jim Peterik, who wrote the Ides of March's 1970 hit "Vehicle", went on to co-found which rock band?

Survivor's co-founder Jim Peterik wrote 'Vehicle' about a girl who kept using him for lifts, leaving him feeling like her vehicle; twelve years on, his new band recorded 'Eye of the Tiger' for Rocky III.

Which TV host had "One Toke Over the Line" performed on his program in 1971, calling it a modern spiritual?

Lawrence Welk had Gail Farrell and Dick Dale sing the drug-reference hit as a wholesome duet, then told viewers they had heard 'a modern spiritual', while some radio stations were refusing to play the song at all.

Which band's debut single 'Baby Come Back' interrupted the Bee Gees' run of US number ones in January 1978?

Player's Peter Beckett and J. C. Crowley wrote 'Baby Come Back' while both were going through break-ups; it held number one for three weeks between 'How Deep Is Your Love' and 'Stayin' Alive'.

Which disco act behind "Boogie Oogie Oogie" won the Grammy for Best New Artist in February 1979?

A Taste of Honey beat Elvis Costello, the Cars and Toto to Best New Artist at the 1979 Grammys; 'Boogie Oogie Oogie' had topped the US pop, soul and disco charts the previous September.

Mickey Thomas, who sang "Fooled Around and Fell in Love", was then invited to front which band?

Jefferson Starship recruited Mickey Thomas in 1979 after Grace Slick and Marty Balin left; Elvin Bishop had handed him 'Fooled Around and Fell in Love' because he felt his own gravelly voice would not suit the ballad.

Which band's only Top 40 hit was the 1970 nautical rocker "Ride Captain Ride"?

Blues Image's Mike Pinera needed one more song for the album and took its opening number, 73 men, from the 73 keys on his Rhodes piano; the Tampa band never had another Top 40 hit.

Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love" found a new audience after appearing in which 2014 film?

Guardians of the Galaxy has Chris Pratt's Star-Lord dance to 'Come and Get Your Love' on his Walkman as he explores an alien planet; Redbone, a Native American band, had taken it to number five in 1974.

Which session singer fronted Edison Lighthouse, White Plains and Brotherhood of Man on TV in early 1970?

Tony Burrows also sang lead for the Pipkins and the First Class; when he left Edison Lighthouse after its second single flopped, producer Tony Macaulay, who owned the name, simply hired new musicians.

'Music Box Dancer', a 1979 US top-five piano instrumental, was composed and played by whom?

Frank Mills recorded 'Music Box Dancer' in 1974, and in 1978 it was only a B-side; a copy sent in error to an Ottawa pop station had its flip side played instead, and the tune went on to reach US number three in 1979.

"Precious and Few", a big North American hit in early 1972, was recorded by which group?

Climax grew out of the Outsiders: singer Sonny Geraci and guitarist Walter D. Nims, who wrote 'Precious and Few', took the new name after a legal dispute over the old one with its founder, Tom King.

Minnie Riperton's 1975 US number one 'Lovin' You' was co-produced by which Motown star?

Stevie Wonder was signed to Motown, so he co-produced as 'El Toro Negro'; the melody began as a way to keep Riperton's baby daughter Maya Rudolph occupied, and she sings Maya's name on the album version.

Which Brill Building veteran wrote the music for Dan Hill's 1977 ballad 'Sometimes When We Touch'?

Barry Mann set to music a lyric Dan Hill had written at 19 while trying to persuade a girlfriend, who was seeing two other men, to commit to him; the ballad reached US number three in 1978.