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Love Jones – Brighter Side of Darkness
The curiously named Brighter Side of Darkness (whatever that means) started as a Chicago trio of high school students, including Randolph Murph, Ralph Eskridge and Larry Washington. Twelve-year-old Darryl Lamont was added a short time later; it was his voice that gave “Love Jones” its Jackson Five flavor and propelled the Brighter Side of Darkness’s biggest song to number 16 on the Billboard Top 40 in 1973. But soon there was a wholesale housecleaning of … Read entire article »
Featured
24 Number One Songs That Are 1970s One-Hit Wonders
The 1970s were huge for one-hit wonders. But like all decades, only a tiny percentage of songs … Read more »
VH1′s 40 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the ’90s
Vh1 has created a cottage industry around lists. Everything from the “100 Most Shocking Music Moments” to … Read more »
It Takes Two – Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
Most artists work, hope and pray for a number one hit to cement their legend and line … Read more »
Joy – Apollo 100
We love the silly, distinctive instrumental one-hit wonders that break through all the traditional pop music to … Read more »
Latest
Beds Are Burning – Midnight Oil
When the oddly-titled “Beds Are Burning” became a US Top 40 hit in 1988 (peaking at Number 17), it apparently even took at least one member of the very Australian band Midnight Oil by surprise. After all, a song about the plight of the Aboriginal peoples at the hands of the colonists would seem to be an unlikely one to … Read entire article »
I Love the Nightlife (Disco ‘Round) – Alicia Bridges
Alicia Bridges has only a single hit; a single trip to the Billboard Top 40. But what a hit “I Love the Nightlife” was. It’s a party anthem. A disco classic. I always enjoyed listening to Casey Kasem’s “American Top 40″ in the 1970s and I remember this song slowly inching its way up the survey, finally peaking at … Read entire article »
Got to be Real – Cheryl Lynn
Editor’s note: This assessment of Cheryl Lynn’s “Got to be Real” reflects the opinion of Jim Barton and not toponehitwonders.com. Some of us here actually like this song…but definitely not Jim. Long before American Idol, there was The Gong Show, where amateur singers, dancers and so forth showcased their talents (or lack thereof) for three celebrities. A huge gong dangled … Read entire article »
Magnet and Steel – Walter Egan
It’s time to celebrate “Magnet and Steel” by Walter Egan. But before we get there, does anybody remember a group called Night? They had two Top 40 hits in the summer of 1979, a rocker called “Hot Summer Nights” (#18 on the Billboard Top 40) and a ballad called “If You Remember Me” (credited to “Chris Thompson and Night” that reached … Read entire article »
Ma Belle Amie – Tee Set
This article was inspired when I heard this song on the car radio–for the first time in over 40 years! Despite the long gap since I had heard this tune, the “Ma Belle Amie” refrain still rang a bell, so to speak, and I decided to look it up in my old 1994 “car copy” of Joel Whitburn’s “Top Pop Singles” … Read entire article »
The Politics of Dancing – Re-Flex
The world needs more synthesized drums. At least that was the sentiment when Re-Flex released “The Politics of Dancing” in 1983. “The Politics of Dancing” is one of the definitive new wave songs of the early 1980s with its mix of mildly distorted guitars, British-accented vocals, soaring synthesizers and the distinctive Simmons Drum kit. Love the antiquated sound of synthesized … Read entire article »
Valley Girl – Frank Zappa
With a sharp sense of humor that skewered everything from politics to TV commercials to Beatles’ album covers and song titles such as “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow,” “Stevie’s Spanking” and “I Don’t Want to Get Drafted,” Frank Zappa was one of the most unlikely artists to put a song anywhere near, much less in, the hallowed Top 40. But there … Read entire article »