MUSIC | 1970s | ONE=HIT WONDERS | LISTS

The Top 10 One-Hit Wonders from the 1970s

Here are ten popular songs by artist that only had one hit in the Billboard Hot 100 charts

Photo by Eric Krull on Unsplash

One cannot list the best one-hit wonders without first defining what a one-hit wonder is.

There are some varied definitions from different music journalists, but I decided to use the definition that the act could have only one song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and that song needed to stay in the charts for a substantial period of time.

This is actually a stricter definition than a lot of music writers use, and it disqualifies classics that are considered by many to be one-hit wonders from the 70s like, “Kung Fu Fighting,” “Spirit in the Sky,” “Wild Cherry,” and “Play That Funky Music.”

There were some discrepancies using this criterion.

As a solo artist, Roger Daltrey only ever had one song reach the Billboard Hot 100, “Without Your Love.” But Daltrey had major success with the Who. There was no way I would call Roger Daltrey a one-hit wonder, so I have thrown those types of situations out.

Also, I know there will be some complaints that I only used the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and not the U.K. That would only complicate an already complicated set of parameters.

Finally, I tried not to use crossover hits. So, if a country or R&B band with hits on those respective charts only had one crossover hit on the Billboard Hot 100, I did not count them as one-hit wonders.

With that said, here is the list that I came up of the best one-hit wonders from the 1970s. At first, I tried to rank them based on chart performance but that, too, got complicated. How do you compare four weeks at number two to seven weeks at number three? Instead, I listed them by order of release.

1. “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry (1970)

“In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry was a worldwide hit. It sold over 30 million copies across the globe.

Even though the Mungo Jerry’s other songs did much better in the U.K. charts, “In the Summertime” was the British rock band’s one and only song to appear in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It would peak at #3 in 1970.

Because of that, Mungo Jerry can be considered a one-hit wonder in the U.S. market.

[embed]

2. “Mississippi Queen” by Mountain (1970)

Mountain was an American rock band from Long Island which is surprising because of its somewhat twangy southern rock sound. Their music was certainly much harder than some of the songs popular in the 60s and helped pave the way for the hard rock to come.

Their song “Mississippi Queen” would be their one and only hit in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It would never reach higher than #21 in the U.S. charts, but it would stay in the top 100 for 17 weeks.

Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken would certainly be pleased with the opening cow bell sequence.

[embed]

3. “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” by Vicki Lawrence (1972)

“The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” is a quintessential one-hit wonder from the 70s. Although the song would hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, it would be Vicki Lawrence one and only song to breach the top 100 in the U.S. charts.

Probably the most unique fact about the song was the singer herself, who was better known as a comedic television actress. She was known for being part of the Carol Burnett Show and as the title character on the spin-off Mama’s Family.

[embed]

4. “How Do You Do?” by Mouth & MacNeal (1972)

Mouth & MacNeal were a duo from Holland. Their song “How Do You Do?” became a global sensation in 1972.

The top 10 hit would make it to #8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It would spend 19 weeks in the top 100. They would never again release a song that made it on the U.S. charts.

[embed]

5. “Love Hurts” by Nazareth (1975)

Believe it or not, “Love Hurts” was the Scottish band Nazareth’s only song that ever made it to the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. This fact surprised me so much that I had to look it up twice.

I feel like I grew up listening to Nazareth’s music. I know that my older brother constantly played their album Hair of the Dog in the 70s.

Their one and only top 100 hit in the U.S. charts was a cover originally recorded by the Everly Brothers in 1960. “Love Hurts” would peak at #8 for Nazareth in 1975.

[embed]

6. “I’m Easy” by Keith Carradine (1976)

Keith Carradine is another singer on this list to be better known as an actor than a musician. He is the brother of David Carradine.

On the big screen he had roles in Nashville, Pretty Baby, and Choose Me. On television, he has been in Deadwood, Dexter, Fargo, and even played Penny’s father on The Big Bang Theory.

His one and only musical hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 was his song “I’m Easy” that he wrote for the movie Nashville. It would spend 18 weeks in the charts in 1976, peaking at #17.

“I’m Easy” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1976.

[embed]

7. “Making Our Dreams Come True” by Cyndi Grecco (1976)

Cyndi Grecco had but one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

It was “Making Our Dreams Come True” which was written specifically as the theme song for television’s Laverne & Shirley. As the sitcom became more popular, so did the song.

It would peak at #25 in the U.S. charts. Despite trying to release other music, it seems that the world’s interest in Grecco’s music was directly related to the television show. She never had another hit.

[embed]

8. “Black Betty” by Ram Jam (1977)

“Black Betty” is another song that most people are familiar with but probably cannot name another song by the band that performed it. Ram Jam released “Black Betty” in 1977.

The song would reach #18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was actually a classic song first recorded by blues musician Lead Belly, and covered by Ram Jam.

It would be their only top 100 hit in the United States.

[embed]

9. “Born to Be Alive” by Patrick Hernandez (1979)

It was the late 70s, so of course this one-hit wonder was a disco song.

“Born to Be Alive” was written and performed by Patrick Hernandez, a French musician. It was a worldwide sensation, reaching #1 in over a dozen countries. In the U.S., it would peak at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979.

However, it was his one and only song to appear on any U.S. chart.

[embed]

10. “I Don’t Like Mondays” by The Boomtown Rats (1979)

An Irish New Wave band, the Boomtown Rats wrote the song “I Don’t Like Mondays” about the Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego, California in 1979. The song was written by lead singer Bob Geldof

Spencer killed two adults and injured eight children in the shooting. The title of the song references a statement from the 16-year-old shooter Brenda Spencer who remorselessly said that she committed the horrible act because, “I don’t like Mondays.”

Despite the bands popularity in the U.K., the U.S. record industry distanced itself from Boomtown Rats because of their popular song’s subject matter. Still, the 1979 would reach #73 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and stayed in the top 100 for a couple of months.

It would be the Boomtown Rats only top 100 song in the United States.

Bob Geldof later admitted that he wished he hadn’t written the song because it helped make the remorseless Brenda Spencer famous.

[embed]

Of course, when looked at on a global scale, many of the above artists would not be one-hit wonders. I based it on U.S. charts only. Some of the songs on this list were bigger than others, but they all have one thing in common: they were the one and only song that each of the artists had that ever charted in the top 100 on the Billboard Hot 100.

What were your favorite one-hit wonders from the 1970s? Are they on this list? Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.

As always, thanks for reading!

For another list about one-hit wonders: 10 One-Hit Wonders: A Stroll Back to the 1980s

For more lists about 70s music: The 10 Year-End Billboard Best Country Songs from Each Year of the 1970s The 10 Year-End Billboard Best Pop Albums from Each Year of the 1970s The 10 Best Pop Songs from Each Year of the 1970s 70s Music Rewind: 10 Songs That Were the Biggest Hits 70s Rewind: 12 Musical Artists with the Most #1 Hits Music Vault: The 10 Best Selling Albums of the 1970s 1976 Throwback: Top 10 U.S. Billboard Hot Songs Top 10 Songs of 1975

If you like my listicles, you can find the complete list of them here, organized by subject: The Unabridged List of All of my Listicles

For other articles by Curt: 10 Amazing Statistics about an Average Human’s Life The Origins of 10 Additional Common Idioms, Expressions, and Sayings US Television: The 10 Longest-Running Late-Night Talk Show Hosts 10 Iconic TV Newsroom Comedies 16 Pragmatic Quotes from Indomitable Winston Churchill The Top 12 Literal Deserted Island Movies The 10 Automobiles Most Frequently Stolen in the U.S. The Origins of 10 Common Idioms, Expressions, and Sayings 50 Iconic TV Shows Set in Every State in the U.S. The 10 Year-End Billboard Best Pop Albums from Each Year of the 1960s From the Vault: 15 Great Television Finales The 10 Year-End Billboard Best Pop Albums from Each Year of the 1980s 8 Popular Songs Based on Classic Poetry 16 Quotes from the World’s Biggest Advocate for Beer: Homer Simpson 18 Great Debut Albums That Made Music History