FEW-HIT WONDERS (Day 1)

[NightTrain]

OK, all this talk about two-hit wonders really intrigued me--so much so that I've pulled out my copy of BILLBOARD'S TOP POP SINGLES, 1955-1996, and am typing up all the acts who placed anywhere from 2-4 total singles in the Top 40. Here are the A's:

AC/DC: You Shook Me All Night Long (#35, 1980), Back In Black (#37, 1981), Moneytalks (#23, 1991)

THE ADDRISI BROTHERS: We’ve Got To Get It On Again (#25, 1972), Slow Dancin’ Don’t Turn Me On (#20, 1977)

A-HA: Take On Me (#1, 1985), The Sun Always Shines On TV (#20, 1985)

ALABAMA: Feels So Right (#20, 1981), Love in the First Degree (#15, 1982), Take Me Down (#18, 1982)

AL B. SURE! Nite and Day (#7, 1988), The Secret Garden (#31, 1990)

ALIAS: More Than Words Can Say (#2, 1990), Waiting For Love (#13, 1991)

THE AMERICAN BREED: Stay Out Of Your Mind (#24, 1967), Bend Me, Shape Me (#5, 1968), Green Light (#39, 1968)

ED AMES: My Cup Runneth Over (#8, 1967), Who Will Answer? (#19, 1968)

LEE ANDREWS & THE HEARTS: Teardrops (#20, 1957), Try The Impossible (#33, 1958)

THE ANGELS: ‘Til (#14, 1961), Cry Baby Cry (#38), My Boyfriend’s Back (#1, 1963), I Adore Him (#25, 1963)

ANIMOTION: Obsession (#6, 1985), Let Him Go (#39, 1985), Room To Move (#9, 1989)

ANOTHER BAD CREATION: Iesha (#9, 1991), Playground (#10, 1991)

THE APPLEJACKS: Mexican Hat Rock (#16, 1958), Rocka-Conga (#38, 1959)

APRIL WINE: You Could Have Been A Lady (#32, 1972), Just Between You and Me (#21, 1981)

ARCADIA: Election Day (#6, 1985), Goodbye Is Forever (#33, 1986)

LOUIS ARMSTRONG: Theme From The Threepenny Opera (#20, 1956), Blueberry Hill (#29, 1956), Hello, Dolly! (#1, 1964), What A Wonderful World (#32, 1988)

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT: Tennessee (#6, 1992), People Everyday (#8, 1992), Mr. Wendal (#6, 1993)

THE ART OF NOISE: Paranoimia (#34, 1986), Kiss (featuring Tom Jones) (#31, 1989)

ASHFORD & SIMPSON: Found A Cure (#36, 1979), Solid (#12, 1984)

ASIA: Heat of the Moment (#4, 1982), Only Time Will Tell (#17, 1982), Don’t Cry (#10, 1983), The Smile Has Left Your Eyes (#34, 1983)

ATLANTIC STARR: Circles (#38, 1982), Secret Lovers (#3, 1986), Always (#1, 1987), Masterpiece (#3, 1992)

[Bluebear]

1. Thank you, now I will be singing "Found a Cure" all night

nt

[NightTrain]

2. Look at it this way...

At least you're not singing "My Cup Runneth Over." :evilgrin:

[Bluebear]

3. Small consolation but I'll take it!

:)

[mermaid]

4. My Own Personal Fave...

Is Golden Earring...because they were a one-hit wonder in the 70's...then again, a one-hit wonder in the 80's...making them the only two-hit wonder, that was a one-hit wonder in two very different genres of music.

Golden Earring: Radar Love, 1974
golden Earring: Twilight Zone, 1983

[tridim]

5. Dexy's Midnight Runners

Come on Eileen.. That was such a good song. Maybe they were just one hit wonders.

[Droopy]

6. That surprises me about AC/DC

I figured that they would have been more popular than that. And their highest charted song sucks, IMO. They've got a lot of good songs, but I'm biased I guess because I mostly listen to rock and roll.

[Kat45]

14. AC/DC was popular, but didn't have 'hit single' type of songs

Weren't a "pop" band. "Back in Black" was probably the first album of theirs whose songs got a lot of airplay, and it was also the first Brian Johnson album. All the earlier great albums and songs--with Bon Scott--didn't quite make it to prime time, so to speak. Two of their hits were from "Back in Black" and the third from a later album.

I never think of bands like AC/DC as one-hit (or few-hit) wonders; those are categories I reserve for bands who pretty much only had the hit song/songs, and nobody was familiar with anything else they did (and often the band itself didn't last long). Bands like AC/DC had albums full of songs that a lot of people knew and loved, and they've lasted for a long time. They may not have had a lot of "hits," but there's nothing wrong with that.

[Sporadicus]

7. The Knack

had a smash hit with 'My Sharona' and followed it with the modest success of 'Good Girls Don't.' I actually harbored illusions when 'My Sharona' came out that The Knack could actually be an influential band in the post-disco pre-new-wave era.

[NightTrain]

8. I'll get to them In the K's.

[Snoggera]

9. I'm waiting to see if the Turtles fit in

you should make it interesting by randomly selecting letters of the alphabet!

I always thought the Turtles should have had more "hits", but that's just me.

Now, I understand, Box Turtles may be making it with gay men. I heard it on the radio!

[NightTrain]

10. I think they may have had 5 or 6 Top 40 hits.

Can't say for sure, though. I don't have the book right in front of me.

[Snoggera]

12. I'll wait for the T's

I really do like the Turtles. It reminds me of my family when I was younger to hear "So Happy Together."

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

11. Where's Ashcroft's Name?

I thought "Let The Eagle Soar" was a big hit in the trailerpark belt.

[Systematic Chaos]

13. I love these posts of yours!

I'm not nearly as much into the oldies as you are (at least not pre-British Invasion), but it's just awesome to see these lists you compile and to think about some of the long-lost songs you bring up that I do remember and love from the late '60s and after.

Hats off to you, Night Train! :)

[NightTrain]

15. I aim to please!

;)