The Top 11 “Two-Hit Wonders” of the 1970s

Anybody who knows about music is familiar with the term “one-hit wonder,” i.e., a group or singer who had just one Top 40 hit, then never another. It’s not hard to see how this could happen: maybe an artist had a hit with a song not originally meant for them, such as Alive N Kickin’s “Tighter, Tighter,” which was given to them by Tommy James (and which he later admitted he regretted not recording himself), or Terry Jacks’ recording of “Seasons in the Sun,” a record he cut after the Beach Boys decided not to record it. Perhaps it was a one-off novelty song, such as the Hollywood Argyles’ “Alley Oop,” or Larry Verne’s “Mr. Custer,” or maybe the group just hit it lucky with one song but their talent and/or body of work didn’t provide them with the wherewithal to have another (Bruce Channel, who took “Hey! Baby” to #1, was well known for opening concerts with the statement, “And now I’d like to play a medley of my hit”). But I would think the curse of being a “Two Hit Wonder” would be far worse than that of being a one hit wonder, because two hits clearly indicates the group built a little momentum, but for whatever reason, they were unable to sustain it and there were no more chart records.

What follows are 11 acts who had just two Top 40 hits on the American Billboard pop charts in the 1970s, and just for fun and for the sake of argument, I’ve put them in order by giving the artists points to coincide with their place on the charts. For example, if you had a #1 hit, it was worth one point, a #20 song was worth 20 points, and so on. I’ve totaled the two numbers, and below the acts are ranked from the most points to the fewest. Theoretically, this could mean the last artist here should have shown the most unrealized potential. I should also mention that there were enough artists who qualified that I could have doubled the size of this list, so if your favorite “two hit” isn’t listed, have no fear: maybe I’ll examine the other the artists who didn’t make the first cut at a later date. Here, then, are 11 sometimes surprising acts that only broke into the Billboard pop Top 40 twice in the 1970s — but never again.

1) The Marshall Tucker Band: “Fire on the Mountain” (#38, 1975); “Heard it in a Love Song” (#14, 1977) – 53 Points

Back in the ’70s, if you’d asked me how many Top 40 hits Marshall Tucker had, I would have guessed at least five or six. In fact, while they had quite a few songs that came close to breaking into the Top 40, only two actually cleared that hurdle. Songs such as “Can’t You See” (#75) and “Last of the Singing Cowboys”(#42) were on the radio so often it’s easy to assume they also made the Top 40 charts, but obviously not. As a result, chart-wise, Marshall Tucker didn’t have the national success that many other Southern rock groups did, and that’s a shame: they produced some really fine music.

2) Blue Oyster Cult: “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”(#12, 1976); “Burnin for You”(#40, 1980) – 52 points

On some levels, it’s hard to believe this group is here because they’re so well known (though truthfully, that may have more to do with Christopher Walken yelling “More Cowbell!” on SNL than their body of work). On the other hand, when you consider Black Sabbath never had a Top 40 record at all, maybe not. The fact is that they had one classic rock song almost break the Top 10 in 1976 then one that barely cracked the Top 40 four years later. By the way, I realize the second release snuck in during the ’80s and not the ’70s, but I figured it was close enough to allow. After all, they were just one chart spot from only being a one-hit wonder!

3) Dave Mason: “We Just Disagree” (#12, 1977); “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”(#39, 1978) – 51 points

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPxz8tvh0MQ

Unlike Marshall Tucker and Blue Oyster Cult, I’m not surprised Dave Mason is here, and frankly, I’ve always thought of him more in terms of his time as a member of Traffic than as a solo artist. What I am surprised by is that after “We Just Disagree,” his second chart effort was 1978’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” I would have thought 1970’s “Only You and I Know” would have been the other chart record, but it only came in at #42. I think it’s the best song of the three, hands down.

4) The Hudson Brothers: “So You Are a Star”(#21, 1974); “Rendezvous”(#26, 1975) – 47 Points

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTX-ndJZgCc

I never understood the hype surrounding these guys, and you would only know what I mean if you lived through the ’70s. They were the “headline act” on at least three different TV shows, none of which lasted very long. Then again, television execs in the ’70s felt like they could take any musical group with a Top 40 hit and build a show around them (anyone remember The Starland Vocal Band Show?). I’ll admit “So You Are a Star” is an okay song, but “Rendezvous” is the worst type of ’70s kitsch. To me, the greatest accomplishment any of them had was that Bill Hudson married Goldie Hawn, and their children were the actress Kate Hudson and the actor Oliver Hudson. Ultimately, I guess I’m surprised they’re on this list because it’s shocking they had the talent to have two Top 40 hits!

5) Jay Ferguson: “Thunder Island” (#9, 1977); “Shakedown Cruise” (#31, 1979) – 40 Points

Before he was a solo act, Jay Ferguson had some limited chart experience with the bands Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne, but early on, it seemed as if his career as a solo artist would quickly eclipse that. His second solo album, Thunder Island, yielded a Top 10 single of the same name, while his third album offered up “Shakedown Cruise” which peaked at #31. After a few more albums (though no more Top 40 singles), he became a very successful writer of TV and film scores; among his compositions is the award-winning television theme for The Office (US).

6) Stealers Wheel: “Stuck in the Middle With You” (#6, 1973); “Star” (#29, 1974) – 35 Points

I think the first time I (and probably anybody else) heard “Stuck in the Middle with You” back in 1973, you’d have been able to get odds that Stealers Wheel would go on to do great things and have a long and glorious career. That was partially right: individually, member Gerry Rafferty would have some big hits, including “Baker Street” and “Right Down the Line,” and member Joe Egan would release some solo recordings as well. Collectively, however, the act that fancied themselves a group along the lines of Crosby, Stills and Nash didn’t last very long, and the time they were together was marked by frequent personnel changes.  After a second Top 40 hit, 1974’s “Star,” the group soon thereafter dissolved.

7) The Looking Glass: “Brandy” (#1, 1972); “Jimmy Loves MaryAnn” (#33, 1973) – 34 points

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWO6f4ugZPs

The Looking Glass probably has the greatest separation between their two hits, having hit #1 right out of the gate, then having their next single stall at #33, then — nothing. “Brandy” was so overplayed during the 1970s that I almost wonder if that didn’t hurt the group ultimately, because “Jimmy Loves MaryAnn” is not a bad song and has a nice hook of a chorus. That was it though, and unlike most groups on this list who couldn’t crack the Top 40 again but came close, this group never even had another Top 100 song!

8) Andrew Gold: “Lonely Boy” (#7, 1977); “Thank You For Being a Friend”(#25, 1978) – 32 Points

Andrew Gold was truly a musical jack-of-all-trades, who could not only play a variety of instruments, but who produced, engineered, composed, and sang music as well. He played on albums and singles by many artists including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Brian Wilson, Diana Ross, Neil Diamond, Roy Orbison, and many, many others, so perhaps he never felt as compelled to devote all of his energies to his own career as a solo artist. After breaking into the Top 10 with “Lonely Boy,” he only had one more Top 40 hit. Oddly enough, it’s a version of that second and lower charting hit, “Thank You for Being a Friend,” that is today the better known of the two, after its time as a theme for television’s The Golden Girls.

9) The Ozark Mountain Daredevils: “If You Wanna Get to Heaven”(#25, 1974); “Jackie Blue” (#3, 1975) – 28 points

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARKNTDuNmk8

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils were a Missouri-based band who signed with A&M records in 1973. Their first album featured “If You Wanna Get To Heaven,” which topped out at #25 on the charts, while their second album featured the Top 10 single, “Jackie Blue,” which went all the way to #3. Despite their success, the Daredevils didn’t like the grind of touring, didn’t want to move to California (as A&M requested), and didn’t want to reinvent the sound of “Jackie Blue” over and over again, all of which A&M wanted them to do. Throw in the personnel changes that every band eventually faces and predictably, repeated chart success was not forthcoming despite having recorded two great songs.

10) Redbone: “The Witch Queen of New Orleans”(#21); “Come and Get Your Love”(#5, 1974) – 26 points

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWnRMAVWVjk

Redbone was a Native American rock group, and the swamp-rockish “Witch Queen of New Orleans” was their first hit, peaking at #21 in 1972. Perhaps because it was such a unique sound it would have been easy for the group to fall into the “one hit wonder” status, and for a couple of years it looked as if that might be the case; for the rest of 72 and all of 73 they didn’t have anything that even broke the Top 100. Then in 1974 they released “Come and Get Your Love,” which soared to #5 and seemed to suggest the group might have some staying power after all. It has since became one of the 70’s most identifiable songs, but nevertheless, no more chart success followed.

11) Maxine Nightingale: “Right Back Where We Started From”(#2, 1976); “Lead Me On”(#5, 1979) – 7 Points

And the winner (?) is… Maxine Nightingale! Considering her two charters were both in the Top 5, we have to assume there was a lot of unrealized potential left on the table in this case. She did have six other chart records besides these two, but they were on charts other than the Billboard pop Top 40 or in other countries, and so they didn’t quite make this survey. Admittedly, the peppy, poppy, “Right Back Where We Started From” and the slow ballad “Lead Me On” are unalike enough that that it’s hard to believe they are even by the same artist, and maybe that has something to do with the fact that Nightingale was never able to build a consistent following with her music. By the early 1980s she moved away from pop music altogether.

Did any artists or songs on this list surprise you? Let us know in the comments!

Rick Simmons

Dr. Rick Simmons has published five books, the two most recent being Carolina Beach Music from the '60s to the '80s: The New Wave (2013) and Carolina Beach Music: The Classic Years (2011). Based on his interviews with R&B, “frat rock,” and pop music artists from the '50s, '60s, and '70s, his books examine the decades-old phenomenon known as Carolina beach music and its influence on Southern culture. His next book, The Carolina Beach Music Encyclopedia, 1940-1980, will be published by McFarland in 2018. He currently lives in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.