» Entries tagged with "forgotten one-hit wonder"
I’ll See You In My Dreams – Giant
Talk about your forgotten one-hit wonders, even I don’t remember “I’ll See You In My Dreams” by Giant. Giant is so far off the beaten path of rock history you’ll need GPS and compass skills used by back-country hikers in remote wilderness areas to even locate this band. Giant was essentially a bunch of Christian Nashville session players that decided one day to get together as a band and make records of their own, like Toto in … Read entire article »
Love You Like I Never Loved Before – John O’Banion
“Love You Like I Never Loved Before” by John O’Banion comes to us directly from the Hall and Oates, Toto, Queen, Joey Scarbury and Frankee and the Knockouts production early 1980s songbook. The pounding piano is straight from Toto’s first hit, “Hold the Line” with some sly nods to Daryl Hall’s piano pounding on “Kiss on My List.” The soaring vocals have a touch of two-hit wonders Frankee and the Knockout’s vocal stylings on their biggest hit, … Read entire article »
Breaking Away – Balance
Here is a long-forgotten one-hit wonder from 1980. It’s “Breaking Away” by Balance and if there’s one thing you’ll remember about this song, it’s the phrase “I’m breaking away. Hooooo.” That’s because the chorus consists entirely of that single phrase: “I’m breaking away. Hoo-ooo.” Twenty-three times if my ear doesn’t deceive me in a song that is only 3-minutes and 14-seconds long. But “Breaking Away” has so many trademark 1980s sounds, it sounds like it was made … Read entire article »
Gee Whiz – Bernadette Peters
Are you kidding me? “Gee Whiz” by Bernadette Peters is awful. Simply awful. Production-wise it’s a throwback to the 1950s with a 1970s sultry saxophone solo for about four bars in the middle section. Peters emotes and has the chops to hit all the right notes but somehow this song falls completely flat. It’s songs like these that make you both love and loathe Billboard pop music charts. “Gee Whiz” climbs all the way to … Read entire article »
You Could Take My Heart Away Tonight – Silver Condor
Here we have a completely forgotten one-hit wonder from 1980 that sports a tenuous link to a much better-remembered one-hit wonder from 1985 by Autograph. “You Could Take My Heart Away Tonight” really goes nowhere for a really long time. Or at least it feels like a long time as you listen to the song. The biggest problem for Silver Condor is that they sound like at least 100 other Los Angeles bands who garnered a little … Read entire article »
Cherry Baby – Starz
Does anybody remember a song called “You Take my Breath Away” by Rex Smith, a Number 10 hit in 1979? The sappy, syrupy ballad (diabetics, get out your insulin!) was from a TV movie called Sooner or Later, which he starred in. I sure remember it: The song was nearing its peak position at the time my parents and I moved to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. At the time, music was still commonplace on … Read entire article »
Movin’ – Brass Construction
Disco is the greatest form of music in really tiny doses. Or the most disposable. A song like “Movin’” by Brass Construction is exhibit A in that argument. When people first heard this song on the dance floors of disco clubs, they lapped it up like a starving kitten snarfs Meow Mix. Then they let it settle in, percolate a bit, and discovered they liked it. A lot. Movin’ by Brass Construction reached #14 on the … Read entire article »
Livin’ It Up (Friday Night) – Bell and James
Today’s hit is a completely forgotten one-hit wonder that should be resurrected in a movie soundtrack or remade by Lady Gaga or Black Eyed Peas. “Livin’ It Up (Friday Night)” by Bell and James is a quintessential party song. It’s about nothing more than busting out this Friday night. This song could have been recorded by The SOS Band who gave the world “Take Your Time (Do it Right).” It’s another song with unnecessary … Read entire article »