Exploring Unforgettable One-Hit Wonders: Musical Gems from the 60s and 70s

 Step into the musical time machine and embark on a whimsical adventure through the fantastical world of one-hit wonders of the 1960s and 1970s. From trippy psychedelic beats to funky disco rhythms, get ready to groove to the tunes that once ruled the airwaves and left an indelible mark on music culture. Join us as we uncover the stories behind these fleeting hits, celebrating the creativity and courage of artists who dared to do something different. So, grab your dancing shoes, tune in and travel back in time to rediscover the magic of these unforgettable musical oddities!

In 1961, Ernie K-Doe, an African-American rhythm-and-blues singer, recorded "Mother-in-Law", written and produced by Allen Toussaint. This song is from US. It was a #1 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard R&B charts. Toussaint also contributed a piano solo.

After several unsuccessful takes, Toussaint threw away the composition while leaving the room. One of the backup singers, Willie Hopper, thought it was such a good song that he convinced K-Doe to give it one more try.

Was everyone doing kung fu fighting in the 1970s? According to Carl Douglas they were. This unique novelty song was originally a B-side to the single "I Want to Give You My Everything", but the song was not as powerful as the song about kicking a windmill in Douglas's face.

The single sold 11 million copies and became a staple of film and television, but that was all she wrote for Douglas's career as a pop star.

"Sugar sugar. Honey honey." Can you hear it in your head right now? If so, we didn't mean to ruin your day, but our job is to remind you of these brilliant one-hit wonders. Released in 1969 by the fictional Archies, the song remained on the Hot 100 chart for 22 weeks during a time of extreme social unrest and massive musical innovations. This fictional Riverdale band continued to release singles throughout the '70s, but none of them had the impact of "Sugar Sugar."

"Mississippi Queen" might sound like a song straight out of the Skynyrd influenced world of southern rock, but it's actually performed by Mountain, a group of Long Island natives. The band came together in 1969, just in time to perform at Woodstock (talk about good timing), before scoring a #21 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. The group broke up after two years, proving the adage that it's best to join forces. And get out.

Who knew that a song written from the perspective of someone on his death bed would be such a big hit? In 1969, Roy Clark's version of "Yesterday When I Was Young" reached the top of the charts in Canada and the United States. To make things even weirder, this version of the song was played at the funeral of baseball legend Mickey Mantle in 1995.

This very strange hit single from 1969 is basically built around a late 20th century poem that is absolutely wild. Even though Spiral Staircase never scored another hit of this magnitude, it has been covered repeatedly by artists as diverse as Sonny and Cher to Lena Horne and even pop-punkers Goldfinger.

What an amazing song this is to become a hit single. More famous for her roles on The Carol Burnett Show and Mama's Family, Vicki Lawrence scored a big hit in 1973 with this true crime monster about a murder in a small Southern town. Lawrence continued to record music throughout the '70s but never scored another hit.

With its prominent sitar tune and lyrics about a paan operator begging for money, how can this song not be a hit? The really cool thing about this song is the tape echo effect that is applied to the word "Play" in the chorus which echoes the word into a snare roll. It's very catchy, and it's understandable why people stuck with this song for a short period of time.

The song reached number 1 in the United States and Canada before reaching the top 10 worldwide, but it was all written for the Lemon Pipers.

"Harper Valley PTA" is a country song written by Tom T. Hall, which was a major international hit single for country singer Jennie C. Riley in 1968. It later became the basis for a hit film and TV series.

Riley's records sold over six million copies as a single. The song helped Riley reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.S. Hot 100 with a single song. She became the first woman to top both Hot Country Singles charts, a feat that was not repeated until Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" in 1981.

Released by bubblegum pop outfit Crazy Elephant, produced in the studio by the Marzao-Calvert Studio Band, "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" is a super love song by the numbers — but there's nothing so weird about it. Rather than just release the song as a single without making a big deal about it, the members of the Marzao-Calvert Studio Band created an entire back story for Crazy Elephant that gets even weirder by the syllables. His bio reads: