Concluding the 60s with 8 #1 One-Hit Wonders (1966-’69)
Good morning, Kittens and Dawgs! It’s fabulous to see you! Are you ready to groove to some mewsic? Our theme this week is “your choice” but we’re not finicky if you have tunes to share then we’re ready to boogie with you and we invite you step on the dance floor with XmasDolly, Stacy, Colette , and little ole me!
This is a weekly hop for mewsic enthusiasts regardless if you follow our weekly theme or not if you have mewsic to share then we’re ready to dance with you. Otherwise, I ask that you do not link non-mewsic posts below to boost traffic to your site. You’re welcome to leave your URL in comments with a brief description inviting me to check it out. Thank you!
Last month I shared two posts in this series 1960 and 1961-’65. Today, I’m concluding the 60s decade with 8 #1 One-Hit Wonders.
“Winchester Cathedral”, song composure Geoph Stephens formed the British novelty group, New Vaudeville Band, released by Fontana Records October 1966. It climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 3rd. A week later it was replaced with the Beach Boys, “Good Bibrations” rebounding two weeks later to knock The Monkees “I’m a Believer” off.
There were no #1 one-hit wonders in 1967 but the following year cranked out five of them beginning on January 20, 1968 with John Fred and His Playboy Band with “Judy in Disguise” written by John and fellow band member Andrew Bernard. The inspiration came from John’s misinterpretation of the Beatles song, “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” in which he thought the Beatles were singing “Lucy in disguise…”. Let me just say…John wasn’t alone. I thought THIS for YEARS!
“Green Tambourine” was written and composed by Paul Leka and Shelley Pinz. The story behind the song is about a street performer begging for money in turn playing his green tambourine. The Ohio-based group The Lemon Ripers recorded and released this song late 1967 and became the first bubblegum pop song to top the chart February 3, 1968, selling over a million copies and staying at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts for 13-weeks.
I shared the next song “Love Is Blue” in a recent 4M post but I didn’t know until now that Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart February 10, 1968 and stayed for five weeks nor did I know it was a One-Hit Wonder.
Philemon Hou composed the instrumental “Grazing In the Grass” and recorded by south Africian trumpeter Hugh Maskela in March 1968. Four months later on July 20th the jazz piece spiked the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #1. It coincidentally became the 18th biggest hit of the year. The following year, The Friends of Distinction, recorded a lyrical cover to top the R&B Top Ten charts.
To this day, I swear that I saw Jeannie C. Riley in a southwestern Virginia radio station when I was a little girl. It was about the time the next one-hit wonder “Harper Valley PTA” hit the airwaves when a very pretty, blonde woman wearing a short dress walked passed me. I’m not sure if Riley did that sort of thing or not but I told everyone that I saw her. American country songwriter, Tom T. Hall penned the lyrics to this one-hit wonder which became a global sensation with Jeannie C. Riley’s vocals. Her single sold over six million copies and Riley became the first woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 (Sept. 21, 1968) and US Hot Country Singles (Sept. 28 – Oct. 12) chart with the same song. An achievement not repeated until Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” in 1981.
I thought it interesting that American folk songwriters/singers, Zager & Evan, picked up on Americans’ technology addiction in the 60s. Thinking about such technology now is like remembering when dinosaurs roamed the earth but in their one-hit wonder “In the Year 2525” resonate a certain truth with its lyrics. We are a people doomed by our own hands with our fascination and strong need for more and more technology at our finger tips constantly. In the US, this song topped two charts Billboard Hot 100 (Jul. 12, 1969) for 6-weeks and US Easy Listening Singles (Aug. 16, ’69) for 2-weeks. I didn’t know what the words meant when I was 8 but it certainly filled me with gloomy sense which made me not care a great deal about the song. Hey, I’m a happy person!
“Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” recorded by Steam, a once fictious group, made up by songwriters Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Fraschuer became a Billboard Hot 100 hit on December 6th. This song gained popularity with sport fans after the Chicago White Sox organist played the tune every time a Sox slugger knocked out the opposition pitcher and the chorus is still often chanted today.
This concludes the 60s decade, song selections for these series harvested from Wikipedia. I proudly supported Wikipedia with a small one-time donation to help keep them going. I will continue with this series in November with the 70s and if you’d like to stay connected with the latest mews on Curious as a Cathy, then I invite you to join my email subscription service to get instant notification when I add new posts.
What’s your favorite one-hit wonder from the 60s?
Please tell your friends to join us on the dance floor each week and I’ll see ya around the cyber-block.
[tweetthis]Tell a friend & hit the dance floor with “your choice” #music with the #4M gals! @xmasdolly [/tweetthis]
I’m joining my pal, Annie, for another edition of “Sparks” and this is what she says about her new meme series…
I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world!
Our world needs more light and goodness. A found a quote that’s purrfect, wonderfully encouraging and inspiring that I decided to use on one of my photo-art creations to share my “Sparks” with you!
I shared the original, as well as my Brushstroke creation here with my Skywatch Friday buds. The warmth of the sunlight makes ones troubles melt away with a sense of calm washing over one’s entire soul. Can you feel?
One more thing before I hop off, I’d like to ask y’all to vote in yesterday’s Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree #BoTB showdown. I’m outta here for now, keep those tunes playing and your body swaying. I’ll see you tomorrow for Cathy Chats. 😉
Have a tunetastic day!
27 Comments
Arlee Bird
I remember all those hits well and I like them all. They’re all good for different reasons, but if I were going to pick one favorite it might be “Kiss Him Good-bye”. I can remember hearing that playing in my father’s car as he was driving me to school. Seems weird that he would have been listening to that station.
Lee
Tossing It Out
John Holton
“Winchester Cathedral” is another one of those songs that was popular when my dad was in the hospital, so I think of it as one of those that brought a little sunshine into a very grim time in my life.
Back in the day, I was expecting “Judy In Disguise” to sound like “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” and was kind of disappointed it didn’t, but the sitar at the end (probably just a guitar made to sound like one) was a nice nod to The Fab Four.
Funny that “Green Tambourine” was considered the first “bubblegum” hit. I never thought of it that way. It was really borderline psychedelic, but I read Wikipedia, too, and that’s what they say about it, and we know that Wikipedia is The Blogger’s Best Friend…
I always liked Paul Mauriat’s “Love Is Blue.” It was his only Top 40 hit, but he scored a few times on the Adult Contemporary chart.
I’m not sure whether I like Hugh Masakela’s or Friends of Distinction’s version of “Grazing In The Grass” better. Might be a Battle of the Bands for someone at some point…
Always liked “Harper Valley PTA.” Country crossed over more frequently in the Sixties and was pretty much a rarity after that. Remember the show with Barbara Eden?
“In The Year 2525” might be the first ever “EBS Special.” As I recall, WLS started their weekly Emergency Broadcast System test, so I switched over to WCFL and they were playing “2525,” so I switched back to WLS right away. Not really my favorite song…
Nancy Faust, who started the tradition of playing “Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye” at old Comiskey Park, just retired a couple of years ago. She was the Sox organist for close to 40 years. That’s dedication, or madness, take your pick.
As for my favorite one-hit wonder, I’ll go with Bobbie Gentry, though she did have a song, “Fancy,” that made it to #31 (and Reba McEntire’s version did better), she did reach pretty high on the AC charts, and had a #1 in England with Bacharach & David’s “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again.” Still, “Ode To Billie Joe” was the only song of hers people seem to know, and for the life of me I don’t understand why. She had a great voice and I fell in love with her the first time I saw her (go easy on me, I was thirteen).
Mary B
This is really great! I’ve always loved Winchester Cathedral – they remind me so much of my older sister. She used to play their album all the time. Harper Valley PTA is also another favorite of mine. I can picture the whole scenario that took place that the song describes. Sorry for being late to make my rounds. It’s been a crazy time for me as of late.
Cathy Kennedy
Mary,
No apologizes needed. I think we’re all busy, some more than others and I find myself behind quite often. lol “Harper Valley PTA” lyrics do a great story-telling job. That’s the way mewsic used to be but these days I find it difficult to follow newer songs stories. Do you have that problem, too? Thanks for stopping in for a boogie and have a great week!
greyzoned/angelsbark
Awesome 4M post Cathy! I remember all of these songs and really like them too. In the Year 2525 has always been one of my favorites. I must say that it has been FOREVER since I’ve heard Winchester Cathedral. I love that song! And Love is Blue and Grazing in the Grass: wow, both so good! Brings back tons of memories.
As for Na Na Hey Hey: is there an xylophone being played in that song? I hear it but I can’t see it in the band’s performance. Am I hearing things??
That’s pretty cool that the Chicago White Sox have incorporated such a great song into the stadium chants!
Excellent song choices. I’ve been compiling my list of One-Hit Wonders from the 70s (actually the list is already compiled, I just have to put the posts together) for next year’s A-Z. I was going to do it this year but skipped out on the event altogether. I’m hoping that I still feel like doing it in 2018 because I have some awesome OHWs to showcase.
This was fun!
Have a great week,
Michele at Angels Bark
Patricia
Yep, gotta keep our eyes on the Sonshine.
Cathy Kennedy
Patricia,
I find keeping my eyes on the SONshine is the only thing that keeps me sane in an insane world. God is merciful and loving and able to quieten the storms in my life!
Patricia
Amen!
Cathy Kennedy
Patricia,
I’m glad you agree with my “Sparks” of encouragement. 😉
XmasDolly
My, my, my there’s a lot of info on this Post that’s for sure, but me I’d rather just listen to music then learn too much about it. Give me a headache. Now as far as Winchester Cathedral Cathy, Cathy, Cathy that one is going to be in my head now forever!!!! bwahahahahaha Thanks girlfriend!!! I haven’t heard that one in ages not to mention Harper Valley PTA!!! LOL okay, ok yes I know all the words to that one too! bwhahahahahha
Cathy Kennedy
Marie,
Yeah, I’d rather listen and dance instead of reading a long post, too. lol Thanks for hopping by, my friend! Have a tunetastic week!!
Ida P. Krause
Great selection of music and I really liked your Sparks entry.
Cathy Kennedy
Ida,
Thank you for stepping out on the dance floor with me yesterday and for popping over to join me for my newest “Sparks” contribution. I’ll hop over to see you in a few!
Alana Mautone (@RamblinGarden)
I like or love every one of these songs (I grew up in the 60’s, after all). Had some trouble trying to play Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye, but – oh well. So…my favorite one hit wonders? Telstar. The Lion Sleeps Tonight by the Tokens (I hope that counts). Incense and Peppermints by the Strawberry Alarm Clock, which I have as an MP3. Classical Gas – Mason Williams (which I am playing on YouTube as I write this comment.) I could go on and on. So many good ones!
Cathy Kennedy
Alana,
I think I got the wrong “Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye” YouTube vid added to my playlist but the song actual cuts in at the 0:49 mark. I’m glad that you enjoyed these #1 one-hit wonders from your youth. Thanks for doin’ a return dance with me, my friend! 😉
Comedy Plus
Love the Sparks. Spot on.
Have a fabulous day. ☺
Cathy Kennedy
Sandee,
I’m glad you enjoyed my little “Sparks” of encouragement!
Patrick Weseman
Great quote, thanks for sharing it. Might have to steal it.
Cathy Kennedy
Patrick,
You’re welcome to share my image with the borrowed image, my friend. Thanks for stopping by for a dance!
15andmeowing
Beautiful image and quote for your spark. I have heard of 2 of those songs, now I am going to have Judy in Disguise stuck in my head all day 🙂
Cathy Kennedy
Ellen,
Well…I hope you don’t hate me for getting “Judy in Disguise” stuck in your noggin’. Have a sparktastic day!
messymimi
We still miss John Fred, he left way too soon. There are people around here who tell great stories about him. He had a radio show that i miss to this day.
An excellent Spark, thank you!
Cathy Kennedy
Mimi,
Was John Fred from your area? I just read at Wikipedia the John Fred died after complications from a kidney transplant in 2005 and that he was only 63. You’re right, that’s way too soon! Thanks for joining me today!
Thomas Anderson
Hi, Cathy!
I enjoyed these one hit wonders of the late 60s. Believe it or not, “Winchester Cathedral” was a big hit at the Shady Dell, one of the novelty songs that somehow caught on and was played often even though it wasn’t a very danceworthy number.
The lyrics to “Judy In Disguise” make reference, not only to the Beatles song, but to two ad campaigns used to market Playtex bras, the “Cross Your Heart” Bra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=898R19PXkuA
…and the Playtex “Living Bra”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5lfXCtxCvg
Instrumentals were plentiful on the pop chart in the 50s and pre-Beatles 60s. “Grazing In the Grass” was one of the few instrumentals to reach #1 in the late 60s. “Hawaii Five-O” was another.
I enjoyed the Harper Valley P.T.A. movie that starred the lovely Barbara Eden of I Dream Of Jeannie fame and the big crossover country-pop hit made famous by Jeannie C. Riley.
“In the Year 2525” was one of my favorite songs of the period. With all the advances in technology that have taken place since 1969 and machines replacing people, our world continues to move in a direction described in the song.
It made me sad when Gary DeCarlo, lead singer of the band Steam, died five months ago at the age of 75. Steam’s 1969 chart topping single “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” is another of my all time favorites and, as you indicated, became a familiar sports stadium taunt in decades since.
Thank you very much for the mewsical entertainment, dear friend Cathy!
Cathy Kennedy
Tom,
“Judy in Disguise” does reference the Playtex commercial tag line, “Cross your heart-yah-with your live in bra”. What great fun! I remember reading the song lyrics while I did this post but then forgot about it until you reminded me this morning. I had a blast sharing these #1 one-hit wonders from the 60s and I’m eager to start with the 70s. This year, we’ve seen a lot of good entertains pass away. I’m not sure that I remember the news of Gary DeCarlo dying but it’s hard to keep up with every name, though. Thanks for dropping in today. Have a great week!
McGuffy's Reader
Cathy, I almost chose this quote today. I love it and firmly believe this. There is a hymn from Mass: Like a Sunflower. I always love that one. Thanks for sharing your sparks! Hugs!
Cathy Kennedy
Annie,
Isn’t that interesting how we almost picked each other’s quotes. 🙂 I’m not familiar with the hymn you mentioned. I’ll have to see if I can find it on YouTube. Have a spartastical day!