Have you ever spent much time wondering how many one-hit wonders there’ve been? Can’t say that I have, at least not until today. Looking into it, I was surprised to find there are as many as there are. Generally, an act becomes a one-hit wonder if the artist only ever has one tune make it into the national pop music charts. Just to make life interesting, some people choose to go by the Billboard Top 40 charts while others refer to the Billboard Hot 100 charts to determine who qualifies as a one-hit wonder and who does not. Then there are people who aren’t as persnickety, who don’t care if the artist had more than one hit as long as they are only remembered for that one memorable tune while their other minor hits are forgotten by the general public. The bottom line here is, varying opinions weigh in heavily and lists will differ.
Some funny trivia: I always thought “Bent Fabric” was the name of a group – the moniker sounds like it belongs to a rock band of some sort. I learned this afternoon that “Bent Fabric” was actually the stage name of a Danish pianist and composer whose real name was Bent Fabricius-Bjerre (1924-2020). The other non-American on this list is Acker Bilk, from the UK.
As stated above, I didn’t anticipate so many one-hit wonders and had intended to include all of the decade’s one-and-done tunes in one convenient Night Owl, “One-Hit Wonders of the Sixties”. Had to change my tune when I realized there are more than fifty! So the remainder of the decade’s one-hit wonders will be delivered sometime in the future on the installment plan.
Just as well. The music of the early sixties is pretty much more music from the fifties. The 1960s saw radical change in popular music style between the beginning and the end of the decade. It was a period of turmoil and change, readily reflected in the music. But at the start, the fifties just rolled on with no indication of what was to come.
1960 – “Stay” – Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs (1:39):
1961 – “Hey Baby” – Bruce Channel (2:12):
1961 – “Stranger on the Shore” – Mr. Acker Bilk (2:57):
1961 – “Pretty Little Angel Eyes” – Curtis Lee (2:42):
1962 – “Whats your name” – Don and Juan (2:20):
1962 – “Do You Love Me” – The Contours (2:55):
1962 – “Johnny Get Angry” – Joanie Sommers (2:34):
1962 – “Alley Cat” – Bent Fabric (2:34):
1962 – “Rhythm of the Rain” – The Cascades (2:36):
1962 – “Tell Him” – The Exciters (2:35):
Question of the Night: When you want to relax, would you rather listen to music or watch a movie?
