One-Hit Wonders : An Oblique History of Popular Music

"The one-hit wonder has a long and storied history in popular music, exhorting listeners to dance, to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, to ponder mortality, to get a job, to bask in the sunshine, or just to get up and dance again. Catchy, memorable, irritating, or simply ubiquitous, one-hit wonders capture something of the mood of a time. This collection provides a series of short, sharp chapters focusing on one-hit wonders from the 1950s to the present day, with a view toward understanding both the mechanics of success and the socio-musical contexts within which such songs became hits. Some artists included here might have aspired to success but only managed one hit, while others enjoyed lengthy, if unremarkable, careers after their initial chart success. Put together, these chapters provide not only a capsule history of popular music tastes, but also ruminations on the changing nature of the music industry and the mechanics of fame."-- Provided by publisher Introduction / Sarah Hill -- Buchanan & Goodman, 'The Flying Saucer' (1956) / Paul Carr -- The Kingsmen, 'Louie Louie' (1963) / Samuel Murray -- ? and the Mysterians, '96 Tears' (1966) / Adam Behr -- The Easybeats, 'Friday on My Mind' (1966) / Dai Griffiths -- Norman Greenbaum, 'Spirit in the Sky' (1969) / Philip Auslander -- The Archies, 'Sugar Sugar' (1969) / Jon Stewart -- Serge Gainsbourg, 'Je t'aime (moi non plus)' (1969) / Philippe Gonin -- Blue Swede, 'Hooked On a Feeling' (1971) / Sarah Hill, with Bengt Palmers -- Wild Cherry, 'Play That Funky Music' (1976) / Robert Fink -- Althea and Donna, 'Uptown Top Ranking' (1977) / Paul Long -- Plastic Bertrand, 'Ça Plane Pour Moi' (1977) / Patrick McGuinness -- Nick Gilder, 'Hot Child in the City' (1978) / Richard Parfitt -- The Vapors, 'Turning Japanese' (1980) / Abigail Gardner -- Aneka, 'Japanese Boy' (1981) / Richard Elliott -- Toni Basil, 'Mickey' (1981) / Tim Anderson -- Trio, 'Da Da Da' (1981) / Tim Quirk -- Nena, '99 Luftballons' (1982) / Melanie Schiller -- The Grateful Dead, 'Touch of Grey' (1987) / Tom Irvine -- A View from the Ground: Being a One-Hit Wonder / Mike Jones -- A View from the Desk : Product Management / Sarah Hill, talking with a guy in a suit -- Shakespear's Sister, 'Stay' (1992) / Áine Mangaoang -- OMC, 'How Bizarre' (1996) / Geoff Stahl -- Butthole Surfers, 'Pepper' (1996) / Gina Arnold -- Chumbawamba, 'Tubthumping' (1998) / Matt Grimes -- Meredith Brooks, 'Bitch' (1997) / Asya Draganova -- New Radicals, 'You Get What You Give' (1998) / Jon Gower -- Las Ketchup, 'Aserejé' (2002) / Eulalia Febrer Coll -- Gotye, 'Somebody That I Used to Know' (2011) / Ellis Jones Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Figures Acknowledgments The Chart of the Book: One-Hit Wonders’ Top Hits Introduction Chapter 1: Buchanan and Goodman, “The Flying Saucer” Parts 1 & 2 (1956) Chapter 2: The Kingsmen, “Louie Louie” (1963) Chapter 3: ? and the Mysterians, “96 Tears” (1966) Chapter 4: The Easybeats, “Friday on My Mind” (1966) Chapter 5: Norman Greenbaum, “Spirit in the Sky” (1969) Chapter 6: The Archies, “Sugar Sugar” (1969) Chapter 7: Serge Gainsbourg, “Je t’aime moi non plus” (1969) Chapter 8: Blue Swede, “Hooked on a Feeling” (1974) Chapter 9: Wild Cherry, “Play That Funky Music” (1976) Chapter 10: Althea and Donna, “Uptown Top Ranking” (1977) Chapter 11: Plastic Bertrand, “Ça plane pour moi” (1977) Chapter 12: Nick Gilder, “Hot Child in the City” (1978) Chapter 13: The Vapors, “Turning Japanese” (1980) Chapter 14: Aneka, “Japanese Boy” (1981) Chapter 15: Toni Basil, “Mickey” (1981) Chapter 16: Trio, “Da Da Da” (1981) Chapter 17: Nena, “99 Luftballons/99 Red Balloons” (1983) Chapter 18: The Grateful Dead, “Touch of Grey” (1987) Chapter 19: A View from the Ground: Latin Quarter, “Radio Africa” (1986) Chapter 20: A View from the Desk: Product Management Chapter 21: Shakespear’s Sister, “Stay” (1992) Chapter 22: OMC, “How Bizarre” (1996) Chapter 23: The Butthole Surfers, “Pepper” (1996) Chapter 24: Chumbawamba, “Tubthumping” (1997) Chapter 25: Meredith Brooks, “Bitch” (1997) Chapter 26: New Radicals, “You Get What You Give” (1998) Chapter 27: Las Ketchup, “Aserejé” (2002) Chapter 28: Gotye ft. Kimbra, “Somebody That I Used To Know” (2011) Contributors Index "A chronicle of changing popular music styles and tastes as exemplified by "one-hit wonders" - focusing on the mainstream, on common musical currency, and on the often maligned"-- Provided by publisher