» Entries tagged with "one hit wonder love song"
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 »
A Whole New World – Regina Belle and Peabo Bryson
If you have young kids in the house. If you have young kids in the neighborhood. If you were a young kid in the 1990s, you know this song. That’s because “A Whole New World” is the title track to Disney’s animated 1992 film, Aladdin, that has earned more than $500 million dollars worldwide. That’s half-a-billion dollars for an animated movie. That’s simply astounding. It’s also the kind of broad reach and wide appeal that can transform … Read entire article »
Shake You Down – Gregory Abbott
“Shake You Down” by Gregory Abbott is a complete mystery to me. It’s a number one hit. It’s soulful. It’s smooth. It evokes the spirit of Marvin Gaye and Al Green, two of my favorite soul singers. In fact, one of my favorite albums is What’s Goin’ On by Marvin Gaye. Yet in the 1980s and today, “Shake You Down” leaves me cold. I’m simply indifferent about the song. I don’t like it. I don’t hate it. I could care less … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1980s
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 released during the 10 years between 1970 and 1980 reached #1 on the Billboard Top 40. It’s these elite few that became the top songs of the 70s. Eight of the ten years in the 1970s saw one-hit wonders hit #1 on the Billboard Top 40. There were two songs in 1970, two in 1973, five in … Read entire article »
How Do You Talk to an Angel – The Heights
Aaron Spelling is one of the all-time genius TV show producers. You may not love all his programs. You may laugh at their period-piece pop-cultural aesthetics. You may tell your friends you never watched Charlie’s Angels or Melrose Place or Dynasty or Beverly Hills 90210 or The Mod Squad. But the fact is, you probably did. And the rest of America joined you on the sofa as these TV shows became cultural phenomenons and water cooler fodder. But one Aaron … Read entire article »
Hold On – Jamie Walters
Two-time one-hit wonders are a special breed. These are the artists who hit the Billboard Top 40 more than once with completely different bands. J.D. Souther did it with the Souther Hillman Furay Band’s “Fallin in Love” and his solo hit “You’re Only Lonely.” Nick Gilder counts for performing “Hot Child in the City” and writing “The Warrior” by Scandal. Donnie Iris sang lead on “Ah! Leah!” and “The Rapper” by The Jaggerz. Ann Wilson of Heart pulled … Read entire article »
Do I Make You Proud – Taylor Hicks
Scotty McCreery, the 17-year-old from Garner, N.C., won American Idol tonight. That’s 10 seasons of Idol and 10 winners who have gone on to fame (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks) and relative obscurity (Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks). Taylor Hicks is an interesting study since he is one of only two American Idol winners to place a single song in the Billboard Top 40 (the other is 2010 winner, Lee DeWyze). But Hicks single … Read entire article »
Stay the Night – Benjamin Orr
The Cars are back. Yes, the original version of The Cars, one of the seminal New Wave bands, is releasing their first record since 1987′s Door to Door. That’s good news for fans of the band since the record, Move Like This, essentially sounds like their late 1970s or early 1980s classics like The Cars and Candy-O. The sad news is that it’s the original Cars lineup, minus one key member: bass player Benjamin Orr who … Read entire article »