Project 24: One Hit Wonders
Pick a one hit wonder tune from the 50s, 60s, or 70s.
Kelly Duclos covers Just One Look
We used to hear this one on Kool 108 back in the 90's. Broke out the 4 track and recruited my son, Henry, to play percussion using the bottom of a mic stand and also to be co-engineer. Good fun!
Noah Warren covers
What Have They Done To My Song
I really wanted to cover The Purple People Eater because there's a conspiracy theory about the lyrics. However, that song has three key changes and I firmly believe that three is an excessive amount of keys for a novelty song.
I fell down a youtube hole of one hit wonders and novelty songs from the 70's Melanie's 1970 hit "What Have They Done To My Song Ma." came up. It's been covered by many, including Jack Wild, Ray Charles, Nina Simone, The New Seekers and Miley Cyrus. All, (save for Nina) have incorrectly titled it after its opening lyrics "Look what they've done to my song ma".
Halfway through this song I suddenly realized why it's so familiar. It was the jingle for 1987's Oatmeal Raisin Crisp Cereal, among other brands such as Lifebuoy soap and Ramada Inn.
I kind of miss that annoying trend in advertising- straight up repurposing a hit song to sell a product. I guess Ozempic's bringing it back by ripping off Pilot's "Magic", so I should bite my tongue. Good times!
Grant Eull cover Rock On and Bang A Gong (Get It On)
I decided to stay in the 70s, and didn't have a chance to get to all the one hit wonders I wanted to attempt. Rare Earth, I just Want To Celebrate was top of the "didnt get to list". First up for this project was David Essex Rock On as I felt I could do something sort of creative with it. As most of you know that's a stretch for me; but I do like how it turned out using tons of synths and a more aggressive style. The version David recorded has some really unique delays in it so I recommend you give it a re-listen if interested in a cool laid back attitude and production. As for another choice, I decided to keep recording T. Rex tunes in my normal "mimic as close as I can" production style. This will be my 4th T. Rex submission. Some may argue T. Rex was not a one hit wonder artist, but I would counter that Bang A Gong (Get it On) was his only number 1 and most radio listeners have never heard anything else, and actually don't even know his original version as the radio plays Power Station's version most often. Anyway, as always it was a great time and a fun project. Thanks for listening, I am excited to hear what others submit.
Tom Stromsodt covers Seasons in the Sun
When faced with a choice, I’m gonna choose 70s AM radio 9/10 times. I should have tried to cover the b-side “put the bone in” as well but alas, no time.
Todd Newman covers Shake It
It was tough to find a song to cover for this project—there are too many cool one hit wonder songs! However, I’d been thinking about doing a version of “Shake It” by Iain Mathews for years, so this was my chance. I’ve always loved that record, partly because I always thought there was an undercurrent of melancholy to it, despite the bright arrangement of it on the single (saxophone solo and fills!), and partly because I love the detail in some of the lyrics. Also, maybe there’s some nostalgia for things and emotions I remember from when I was a kid/teen, and some I never actually experienced as a high school loner, but always wished I did. Iain Mathews has had a pretty amazing career. He was in Fairport Convention and Mathews Southern Comfort before embarking on a solo career. I think “Shake It” becoming a pop hit probably took him by surprise. He still tours, and judging from the YouTube footage I’ve seen, sounds fantastic. I’d certainly go see him perform if he played around here! On a technical note, I did a bunch of mixes of it, but I’m not sure that the best one has been achieved yet. But sometimes you’ve got to just keep on truckin’!
Ian Royal covers Sleepwalk
My one-hit wonder pick is Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk". I ran the slide guitar part through my 303 clone ran through some echo/verb, the rest: soft synths and Live's 909 kit.
Colby Heston covers Magnet and Steel
Magnet and Steel was released in 1978 by Walter Egan. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks worked with Walter on his first album during which he developed a crush on Stevie and wrote Magnet and Steel about her for his second release, Not Shy. Lindsey and Stevie sing background vocals on the song and were co-producers.
I was messing around creating beats, since I probably need the most work in that area. I came up with a decent reggae beat and thought that this song would fit. This one is definitely more of a "sketch" than some of my other submissions as I got really busy towards the end but it was fun nevertheless.
Hope that you enjoy it!