Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Rock’n’roll trivia time once again gang. This week, we’re traveling back to the 1970’s.
Our topic this week is ONE HIT WONDERS. By this, I mean artists or groups that had
ONE Top 10 hit. They may have had other songs make the charts, but they only made it
into the Top 10 ONCE. Some of these might be a little tough, but there’s usually a clue in
each question. We have 10 questions, so give yourself 10 points for each correct answer
and let’s see how close you can come to 100%. Answers, as always, are below the questions.
No fair peeking. Good luck.

1. This group from the Netherlands ‘shocked’ the world with several million selling singles,
yet they only had one # 1 on the Billboard charts. The group was anything but ‘blue’
about their success. Can you name this 1970 chart topping hit?

2. This artist engineering many of The Beatles hits and went on to produce Pink Floyd
among others. In 1973, a song he wrote AND sang made it to # 2 on the Billboard singles
chart. Oh Babe, can you name him?

3. She was the daughter of one of the pioneers of pop music. In the Fall of 1977, she ‘lit up’
the Billboard singles chart with her only # 1 hit, which stayed at the top of the charts for a
then record 10 weeks. Can you name her? (HINT: She’s a descendent of one of the heroes
of The Alamo.)

4. This soul/funk group originated in Scotland and although they did have several charted hits,
their ONLY # 1 happened on February 22nd, 1974. One of the members of this group
later worked with Paul McCartney. Can you name the hitmakers?

5. This performer actually made the Top 10 twice with the SAME song. It was a ‘Monster’ hit
in 1962 and went all the way to # 1. It was re-released in 1973 and made it as far as # 10.
Can you name this song and artist?

6. This group yodeled their way into the # 9 spot in the summer of 1973. The name of the
group was Focus. “Hocus Pocus” was the song. Which country was Focus from?
a. Sweden b. Norway C. Holland

7. Rappers these days, are on the charts constantly. Everybody’s rapping, but this American
group was the FIRST to make it all the way to # 1 with a song ABOUT a rapper. Can you
name this group?

8. This 1976 # 1 hit about a trucker inspired a movie of the same name. Can you name the
song and the singer?

9. This song was a ‘pop music’ smash in 1979 making it to the # 1 position. ‘Initially’, the
writer/singer said in interviews that his intent was 'trying to create a fusion of styles that
summarized the previous 25 years of music'. What was the songs’ title and who sang it?

10. This California born singer/songwriter was a member of the 1960’s band Spirit and in the
1970’s, he co-founded the group Jo Jo Gunne. In April 1978, his most successful solo hit
‘thundered’ onto Billboards’ Top 10 chart at # 9, where it remained for 2 weeks. Can you
name the artist and his hit?

ANSWERS

1. The song was “Venus” by The Shocking Blue, who hailed from The Hague, Netherlands.
They formed in 1967 and by 1973, had sold over 13 million records, mostly in The
Netherlands. Shocking Blue disbanded in 1974. In 1989, Nirvana, on their debut album
“Bleach” on the Sub Pop label, covered the Shocking Blue song “Love Buzz”.

2. Norman ‘Hurricane’ Smith engineered The Beatles first album in 1963 and continued until
“Rubber Soul” in 1965. He then became a record producer, working with Pink Floyd on their
debut album, “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” as well as “A Saucerful of Secrets” and
“Ummagumma”. He also produced British groups The Pretty Things and Barcley James
Harvest. On Febuary 17th, 1973, his hit, “Oh Babe, What Would You Say?’ was the # 3 song
on Billboard’s singles chart. Norman Smith died in March of 2008.

3. That would be Debbie Boone. Her song was “You Light Up My Life”. Debbie won a Grammy
Award in 1978 as “Best New Artist”. In the 1980’s, Debbie was recorded more country
material. Her father is ‘50’s & ‘60’s hitmaker Pat Boone and yes, she is a decendant of Daniel
Boone, who died at The Alamo.

4. The Average White Band is the name of the group. Their # 1 hit was the classic instrumental
“Pick up The Pieces”. Their original guitar player, Hamish Stuart, later joined Paul
McCartney’s touring band.

5. Remember “Monster Mash” by Bobby (Boris) Pickett? Pickett had a nightclub act in the late
1950’s and got his nickname because of his spot on impression of horror film actor Boris
Karloff. It was # 1 in 1962, then resurfaced on the chart briefly in 1970, then hit the Top 10
again in 1973. Pickett died in 2007.

6. Focus was formed in Amsterdam, Holland. Jan Akkerman, Thijs van Leer, Martin Dresdan
and Hans Cleuver were the Four original members of Focus.

7. The Jaggerz made it to # 2 in 1970 with the song “The Rapper”. The Jaggerz’ lead singer,
Donnie Iris, went on to a successful solo career with a string of hits in the 1980’s. His
two biggest hits were “Ah! Leah!” in 1980/81 which got to # 29 and 1982’s “My Girl” which
went to # 25.

8. C.W. McCall’s “Convoy” was # 1 in 1976. Two years later, a movie inspired by the song was
in theatres. “Convoy”, the film, directed by the legendary Sam Peckinpah, starred Kris
Kristofferson as Martin ‘Rubber Duck’ Penwald. The movie also starred Ali McGraw, Ernest
Borgnine and Burt Young (who played Paulie in the “Rocky” series of movies).

9. M (real name Robin Scott) was the lead singer and writer of “Pop Muzik” which hit # 1 for
one week in November of 1979. A cover version of the song appeared on the soundtrack
album for the 1998 movie, “A Night At The Roxbury” starring Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan.
The film was based on a recurring skit from TV’s Saturday Night Live.

10. Jay Ferguson was born in Burbank, California (home to NBC, Universal, Warner Brothers
and the Walt Disney Studios) was a member of the groups Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne. In April
1978, his most successful solo hit, “Thunder Island” landed in the # 9 spot on Billboard’s Top
10 chart. The song remained # 9 for 2 weeks, then dropped out of the Top 10.

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