70 Fun Facts About 1970s One-Hit Wonders

Who had a worldwide 1974 number one with 'Kung Fu Fighting'?

It went on to sell eleven million copies and topped Channel 4's UK poll of the greatest one-hit wonders in 2000 and again in 2006.

Who wrote and recorded 'Spirit in the Sky', a 1970 US hit that later topped the UK chart?

Cover versions by Doctor and the Medics in 1986 and Gareth Gates in 2003 also reached number one in the UK.

Which band took 'Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)' to number one in the US in 1972?

Writer Elliot Lurie was delighted when the song became a plot point in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in 2017.

'Play That Funky Music', a 1976 US number one, was the only Top 40 hit for which Cleveland-area band?

The band had been a hard-rock cover act before disco arrived; the record sold 2.5 million copies in the US.

Which Canadian singer had a worldwide hit in 1974 with 'Seasons in the Sun'?

It is an English adaptation by Rod McKuen of Jacques Brel's 1961 song 'Le Moribond'; Jacks rewrote about a sixth of the words for a friend dying of leukaemia.

'Seasons in the Sun' is an English-language adaptation of a 1961 song by which Belgian singer-songwriter?

The Kingston Trio recorded the first English version in 1964, and that is the recording Terry Jacks heard and built his own on.

'The Night Chicago Died', a US number one in 1974, was recorded by which British group?

It describes a fictional shoot-out between Chicago police and Al Capone's gang, and opens with a synthesizer imitating a police siren.

Which American act took 'Billy Don't Be a Hero' to number one in the US in 1974?

Listeners assumed it was about Vietnam, but the marching band and soldiers in blue suggest the American Civil War, and the band once wore Union uniforms on Top of the Pops.

Starland Vocal Band's 1976 number one 'Afternoon Delight' took its title from what?

Bill Danoff was eating at Clyde's with bandmate Margot Chapman when he saw the menu; the song went on to win a Grammy for Best Arrangement for Voices.

Starland Vocal Band beat which band, whose 1976 debut is among the best-selling debuts ever, to Best New Artist?

The Best New Artist Grammy became so associated with careers that stalled that people started calling it a curse.

Ram Jam's 1977 hit 'Black Betty' reworked a work song usually credited to which bluesman?

Nobody agrees what the title refers to: a whiskey bottle, a whip, and a prison transfer wagon have all been proposed.

'Hooked on a Feeling', the 1974 'ooga chaka' number one, was recorded by a group from which country?

The song had already been a US top five hit for B. J. Thomas in 1969, and it found a third life on the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack.

Blue Swede's 'Hooked on a Feeling' borrowed its chanted intro from a 1971 cover by which British singer-producer?

Blue Swede also altered the words to remove anything that could be read as a drug reference.

'My Sharona' was named after a real teenager who went on to become what?

It was Capitol's fastest-selling debut single to go gold since the Beatles' 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' in 1964.

How many weeks did the Knack's 'My Sharona' spend at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979?

It has since sold more than ten million copies, putting it among the best-selling singles ever.

'Video Killed the Radio Star' by the Buggles became famous in 1981 for being what?

It was also the millionth video MTV played, in February 2000, and the last one shown when MTV Music UK closed at the end of 2025.

Which producer, later behind Frankie Goes to Hollywood, was in The Buggles with Geoff Downes?

Despite topping charts in Britain, Australia and Japan, the single only reached number 40 in the United States.

'Popcorn', a 1972 worldwide hit for Hot Butter, was originally composed in 1969 for which electronic instrument?

The title combines 'pop' for pop music with 'corn' for kitsch, and it has since been covered by everyone from the Muppets to Crazy Frog.

'Convoy' (1975) was credited to C. W. McCall, a character voiced by which advertising man?

Co-writer Chip Davis went on to found Mannheim Steamroller, and the song inspired Sam Peckinpah's 1978 film Convoy.

Rick Dees, who sang the 1976 US number one 'Disco Duck', worked at the time as what?

His own station refused to play it and fired him for merely mentioning it on air; a rival station hired him and let him play it.

Anita Ward's 1979 hit 'Ring My Bell' was originally written for which eleven-year-old singer?

The record is known for its Synare electronic drum, which plays a decaying high-pitched tone on the first beat of every bar.

'Pop Muzik', a 1979 US number one credited to M, was the project of which English musician?

The baby on the single's picture disc is Scott's daughter Berenice, who grew up to be a musician herself.

Ray Dorset wrote 'In the Summertime' in about ten minutes while working in a lab for which company?

The recording was originally only two minutes long, so the producer played it twice and put a motorcycle sound in the middle to stretch it.

'Wildfire', a 1975 US top three hit about a girl and her lost horse, was recorded by which singer?

The Western Writers of America voted it one of the top 100 Western songs of all time, and Murphey re-recorded it with Cody Johnson in 2025.

Pilot's 1974 hit 'Magic' was inspired by a sunrise seen from a hill in which city?

Paton also said his wife had remarked that she had never seen a daybreak, which fed the idea.

Ace's 1974 hit 'How Long' sounds like it's about infidelity, but Paul Carrack wrote it after discovering what?

Carrack later sang for Squeeze and Mike + the Mechanics, but Ace never repeated the trick.

Which English band had a worldwide hit in 2000 covering 'Dancing in the Moonlight'?

Writer Sherman Kelly composed the song while recovering from a brutal gang assault in St. Croix, imagining a peaceful celebration instead.

Which future 'Piña Colada Song' star wrote 'Timothy', the Buoys' 1971 hit about a cannibalism-tinged mine cave-in?

Holmes deliberately wanted a song that some stations would ban to generate publicity, and cited 'Sixteen Tons' and Suddenly, Last Summer as inspirations.

Shocking Blue, whose 'Venus' topped the US chart in February 1970, came from which country?

Bananarama's 1986 cover reached number one in six countries, giving the song a second life.

Shocking Blue's 'Venus' is based on 'The Banjo Song', a reworking of which Stephen Foster tune?

The opening guitar riff also owes something to the Who's 'Pinball Wizard'.

Les Emmerson wrote 'Signs' after being annoyed by billboards blocking the scenery on which highway?

It was originally a B-side to a flop single; re-released as an A-side in 1971 it reached number three in the US and was later covered by Tesla.

How many weeks did Nick Gilder's 'Hot Child in the City' take to reach number one in 1978, a record?

Gilder had already topped the Canadian chart as singer of Sweeney Todd with 'Roxy Roller' in 1976.

'Driver's Seat' hit number one in the Netherlands in 1991, twelve years after release, thanks to an advert for what?

Singer Paul Roberts had all but given up music to concentrate on painting when the band finally got a deal.

The singer of 1977's 'You Light Up My Life' is the daughter of which 1950s crooner?

The song won an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe for its writer Joseph Brooks, but the version heard in the film was sung by Kasey Cisyk.

Which songwriter-arranger recorded the 1975 disco hit 'The Hustle' with his Soul City Symphony?

McCoy wrote it after his partner watched patrons doing the Hustle at a New York club called Adam's Apple; drummer Steve Gadd played on the session.

Which trio recorded "Rock the Boat", a US number one in July 1974 often called one of the first disco hits?

It looked like a flop for months until New York discos picked it up; it then reached number one in only its seventh week on the Hot 100.

'Dueling Banjos', a 1973 hit for Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell, was made famous by which film?

Arthur 'Guitar Boogie' Smith wrote it in 1954 as 'Feudin' Banjos', and it was first widely heard on The Andy Griffith Show.

'Hocus Pocus', a 1973 US top ten instrumental featuring yodelling and flute, was by which Dutch band?

It got a second wind in 2010 as the soundtrack to Nike's 'Write the Future' World Cup campaign.

Warner Bros. set up Pacific Records, whose first release was Alan O'Day's 'Undercover Angel', for what kind of artist?

O'Day had already written 'Angie Baby' for Helen Reddy and 'Rock and Roll Heaven' for the Righteous Brothers.

The Floaters' 1977 hit 'Float On' went to number one in which country?

In the US it stalled at number two behind Andy Gibb and the Emotions, and the group never returned to the Hot 100.

'Beach Baby' (1974) by the First Class was recorded by a studio group from which country?

Singer Tony Burrows tried to sing it in an American accent to fit the 1950s Los Angeles setting; the record quotes Sibelius's Fifth Symphony on French horn.

Sammy Johns' 1975 hit "Chevy Van" features backing by which famous group of Los Angeles session musicians?

It was first released in 1973 and did nothing; the 1975 re-release sold a million.

'Torn Between Two Lovers', a 1977 US number one, was co-written by a member of which folk trio?

MacGregor cut it at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in 1976; it also topped the Easy Listening chart and reached number three on the country chart.

'Escape (The Piña Colada Song)', a 1979 hit, holds what distinction in Billboard chart history?

The three-verse story ends with the narrator discovering the personal ad he answered was placed by his own partner.

Sugarloaf's 1970 hit 'Green-Eyed Lady' was written about whose girlfriend?

The single was released in three different lengths under the same catalogue number, from a 5:58 album cut down to a 2:58 radio edit.

The Stampeders' banjo-driven 1971 hit 'Sweet City Woman' spent four weeks at number one in which country?

It swept the 1972 Junos, including Best Single and Songwriter of the Year for guitarist Rich Dodson.

The seven-year-old boy duetting on Clint Holmes' 1973 'Playground in My Mind' was whose son?

It stalled at number two in the US behind Paul McCartney and Wings' 'My Love' but topped the Canadian chart for three weeks.

Lieutenant Pigeon's 1972 UK No. 1 'Mouldy Old Dough' is the only British chart-topper with which family combination?

It was recorded in the front room of Rob Woodward's semi-detached house in Coventry, with his mother Hilda on piano.

'Fly, Robin, Fly' (1975) made Silver Convention only the second act from which country to top the US chart?

The entire lyric consists of six words, and the working title was reportedly 'Run, Rabbit, Run'.

Which soap actor took a cover of David Essex's 'Rock On' to number one in 1989?

Essex's original reached number one in Canada and number five in the US in 1974, and Def Leppard recorded it in 2006.

Nicky Chinn wrote Exile's 1978 number one 'Kiss You All Over' with which producer, who cited Barry White?

Exile never had another big pop hit, but reinvented themselves as a country act with a string of number ones in the 1980s.

Morris Albert, singer of the mid-1970s hit 'Feelings', is from which country?

It broke in Brazil after appearing on the soundtrack of the telenovela Corrida do Ouro.

Joey Levine, lead singer of Reunion's 1974 hit 'Life Is a Rock', had earlier fronted which bubblegum act?

Tracey Ullman covered the patter song in 1983 for her album You Broke My Heart in 17 Places.

Middle of the Road, who had a 1971 UK No. 1 with 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep', came from which country?

The band were working in Italy at the time, where writer Lally Stott's own version had already been a hit.

What did Andy Kim put on the B-side of his self-financed 1974 hit 'Rock Me Gently'?

Kim had co-written the Archies' 'Sugar, Sugar' but had been off the charts for three years before this comeback.

Which star had a 1994 hit covering Vicki Sue Robinson's disco classic 'Turn the Beat Around'?

Robinson's original earned a Grammy nomination and topped the Billboard disco chart for four weeks.

In which town did Benny Hill deliver milk, inspiring 'Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)'?

The song won Hill an Ivor Novello Award and also reached number one in Australia.

Melanie's 1971 number one "Brand New Key" picked up what nickname because of its chorus?

Melanie said she wrote it in about fifteen minutes as a cute 1930s-style tune, and was surprised by the Freudian readings.

Jim Peterik, who wrote the Ides of March's 1970 hit "Vehicle", went on to found which rock band?

Listeners often mistook the horn-driven single for Blood, Sweat & Tears; it was reportedly Warner Bros.' fastest seller to date.

Which bandleader had "One Toke Over the Line" performed on his TV program in 1971, calling it a modern spiritual?

Welk later blamed ABC for forcing the drug-tinged song onto his show, and the FCC issued warnings to radio stations that year.

How many consecutive weeks did Player's "Baby Come Back" spend at number one in January 1978?

Founders Peter Beckett and J. C. Crowley wrote it after two band members were dumped by their girlfriends.

Which disco act behind "Boogie Oogie Oogie" won the Grammy for Best New Artist in February 1979?

The single was the first in Capitol Records' history to be certified platinum, selling over two million copies.

Mickey Thomas, who sang "Fooled Around and Fell in Love", was then invited to front which band?

Bishop felt his own gravelly voice would not do the ballad justice, so he handed it to his backing singer.

Which band's only Top 40 hit was the 1970 nautical rocker "Ride Captain Ride"?

Co-written by singer Mike Pinera and keyboardist Skip Konte, it climbed to number four in the US and Canada.

Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love" found a new audience after appearing in which 2014 film?

Redbone were the first Native American band to reach the top five of the Hot 100; the song also opens F Is for Family.

Which session singer fronted Edison Lighthouse, White Plains and Brotherhood of Man on TV in early 1970?

"Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" was the first new UK number one of the 1970s, and a band had to be assembled hastily to "perform" it.

"Music Box Dancer", a piano instrumental that hit number three in the US in 1979, came from where?

Frank Mills had recorded it back in 1974; it also topped the chart in Switzerland.

"Precious and Few", a big North American hit in early 1972, was recorded by which group?

It was written by the band's own guitarist, Walter D. Nims.

Tee-Set, who reached the US top five in 1970 with "Ma Belle Amie", came from which country?

The organ-driven single had already sold 100,000 copies at home before American producer Jerry Ross picked it up.

Dan Hill wrote the words of "Sometimes When We Touch"; which Brill Building veteran wrote the music?

The Canadian singer's ballad reached number three in the US and has been covered by dozens of artists since.