One Hit Wonders - 1980s Trivia

1. The son of what 1950s rock icon had a U.S. Top 10 in 1980?

From Quiz One-Hit Wonders VH1 Forgot

Answer: Johnny Burnette

Memphis native Rocky Burnette went to number eight with "Tired of Toein' the Line". Father Johnny was one of the pioneers of the rockabilly movement.

From Quiz Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow

Answer: Into the Night

"Into the Night" has one very odd distinction for a one-hit wonder, in that it made the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 twice, first in 1980 and again in 1989. One-hit wonder status actually led to this, as an Arizona disc jockey started playing the song as part of a "Where are they Now" segment, causing people to rediscover this classic.

From Quiz Obscure One Hit Wonders of the Eighties

Answer: The Young Rascals

Felix Cavaliere and fellow Young Rascals member Eddie Brigati were inducted into The Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009. Along with Dino Danelli and Eddie Brigati the Young Rascals formed in New Jersey. All the members except Dino Danelli had been part of Joey Dee's backing band, The Starlighters. The Young Rascals made their first national television appearance on "Hullabaloo" in February, 1965, performing their debut single, "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My heart Anymore". "Only A Lonely Heart Sees" was Cavaliere's only Top Forty solo recording. In the early eighties he and Dino Danelli worked with Steve Van Zandt in Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. He has also been busy producing albums for various artists as well as touring with Ringo's All Starr Band and Felix Caviliere's Rascals.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 7

Answer: Benny Mardones

Billboard number 11, September 6, 1980. Billboard number 20, July 7, 1989. Mardones hailed from Cleveland Ohio. He released this song in the summer of 1980 and it barely missed the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 charts. Mardones disappeared from view, but in 1989 an Arizona disc jockey was doing a segment on a "Where Are They Now?" type show, and added Mardones' song to his play list. Other radio stations followed and the song actually made it back into the Top 20 almost nine years after its initial release. Combining the weeks on the charts for the song, it became the longest charting hit of the 1980s with a total of 37 weeks. Mardones' voice has been compared to that of Journey's Steve Perry, and Mardones has been used to substitute for Perry on occasion in concert.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 6

Answer: Rocky Burnette

Billboard number eight, July 26, 1980. Rocky is the son of the late Johnny Burnette, one of the pioneers of rock and roll. Dad had a hit called "You're Sixteen" in 1960 among his other hits. Rocky made the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 with this 1980 release. It is typical of the rockabilly style made famous by his father. This music had somewhat of a revival in the early 1980s.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 5

Answer: Gary Numan

Billboard number nine, June 7, 1980. Of course it was Gary Numan. He was a native of West London, who hit the scene in the U.K. in the late 1970s and actually did chart a song in the U.S. called "Are Friends Electric?" which could only manage a number 85 Billboard Hot 100 placing. "Cars" was actually released in the U.K. in 1979, and made it to the U.S. shores over one year later having already been a number one hit in the U.K., as well as Canada and Germany. Numan continued to release songs in the U.K. and Ireland all thorough the 1980s and into the 1990s but never charted a Top 40 U.S. hit again.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 4

Answer: Lipps Inc

Billboard number one, May 31, 1980. Lipps Inc. were out of Minneapolis, and were a studio band formed by Steven Greenberg. This song is generally considered the last song of the "disco" genre to make it to number one on the charts in the U.S. It also got to number two in the U.K. Their only other Billboard Hot 100 charting hit called "Rock It" got as high as number 64 on the U.S. charts. They did, however, have a couple of higher charting singles on the U.S. Dance charts.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 3

Answer: Charlie Dore

Billboard number 13, May 3, 1980. Charlie Dore grew up in England, and originally trained as an actress. She was part of a country influenced band in the late 1970s called Prairie Oyster. When that band broke up she was signed as a solo artist, and recorded an album called "Where To Now". This song was the second release off the album and was her only U.S. success.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 2

Answer: Syreeta

Billboard number four, April 19, 1980. Syreeta (Syreeta Wright) had a career which lasted over 30 years. She was working as a secretary at Motown Records in the 1960s and she was used as a backup singer, and then signed to record on her own. She was also considered as a replacement for Diana Ross, after her exit from The Supremes. She was involved with a number of tunes in the late 1960s. She was also married to Stevie Wonder for about 18 months in the early 1970s, and recorded a number of tunes with him. Her greatest success came with this song, as a duet with Billy Preston in 1980. Sadly, she passed away due to cancer in 2004.

From Quiz 80's One Hit Wonders Vol. 1

Answer: Teri DeSario

Billboard number two, March 1, 1980. Terri DeSario hails from Miami, Florida and grew up learning all genres of music. She was a lover of jazz, and even played the harp. She had a minor hit called "Pleasure Train" in 1978, which was written by Barry Gibb of The BeeGees. Her only Top 40 hit however was this cover of a Barbara Mason tune, first released in 1965. She collaborated with her high school friend, Harry Wayne Casey, to send this song up the charts. Harry Wayne Casey is better known as "KC" of the "KC and the Sunshine Band"

From Quiz One Hit Wonders of the 80s

Answer: Buggles

The Buggles success as a one-hit wonder likely would not have happened were it not for the newly created MTV. The song itself did not chart all that well (barely making the Top 40 in the US), but the video's place in music history has transformed the song (and group) into a well-known piece of music trivia lore. The video first aired on MTV just after midnight on August 1st, 1981, nearly two years after the single was released. As sort of commemoration, MTV aired the video once again as its one millionth video on February 27, 2000.

From Quiz One Hit Wonders Of the 1980s

Answer: Devo

Devo formed in Ohio. They remain one of the most innovative and successful bands of all time.

From Quiz Rare Early Eighties One Hit Wonders

Answer: The Salt In My Tears

Martin Briley performed with Ian Hunter before his only hit was released.

From Quiz One (or Two) Hit Wonders in the 80s

Answer: Kim Carnes

Kim Carnes also did a duet with Kenny Rogers 'Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer.

From Quiz 1980's One hit wonders

Answer: Tommy Tutone

From Quiz One Singular Sensation (The Late 1980s)

Answer: Nu Shooz

Nu Shooz's "I Can't Wait" had some longevity on the chart, it never made the top spot, but it had legs on how long it maintained on the Top 40, which made it a big hit on the year-end charts. But Nu Shooz never gained that pop chart success again.

From Quiz One-Hit Wonders VH1 Forgot

Answer: Delbert McClinton

McClinton's "Giving It Up For Your Love" went to #8. Schneider's version of the Tony Martin and Elvis Presley classic "It's Now or Never" was a #14; Schneider was later known for Bo Duke from "The Dukes of Hazard" and Johnathan Kent from "Smallville." Sheppard was one of the top country artists of the 1970s and 1980s, but "I Loved 'Em Every One" only topped out at #37 on the pop charts. The daughter of the Man in Black went to #22 with "Seven Year Ache".

From Quiz Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow

Answer: Rapper's Delight

"Rapper's Delight" and Blondie's "Rapture" actually share common roots. Deborah Harry, of Blondie, was a fan of New York City rapper Fab Five Freddy, and invited her bandmate Chris Stein and Chic's Nile Rodgers to a hip hop event. Shortly thereafter, Blondie and Chic were playing a gig together. While Chic was playing their hit "Good Times", Fab Five Freddy and The Sugarhill Gang began a freestyle rap to Good Times. When the Sugar Hill Gang recorded the rap with the sample, Rodgers threatened a lawsuit, but after he was given co-writer's status and royalties, he eventually grew to enjoy the song. Harry and Stein wrote "Rapture" shortly thereafter, blending disco, new wave, and rap.

From Quiz Obscure One Hit Wonders of the Eighties

Answer: Emmylou Harris

In the late seventies Emmylou Harris collaborated with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt to record an album together. Emmylou released a solo album with "Mister Sandman" and recorded the other vocal parts herself. Emmylou's version was included on her "Evangeline" album. "Seven Year Ache" was a crossover hit by Rosanne Cash that made it to Number 22 on the Billboard charts. Susan Anton had her one hit with the Number 28 song, "Killin' Time". "Somebody's Knockin'" was the only Top Forty hit on the Billboard Pop charts by Country singer Terri Gibbs.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 7

Answer: Larry Graham

Billboard number nine, September 20, 1980. Graham was part of the successful "Sly And The Family Stone" which had some monster hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s and were part of the original Woodstock in 1969. After the band broke up, he formed his own group, called "Graham Central Station", and recorded several songs, one of which was a rendition of "Hair" which became a mild hit. He went solo in the early 1980s and recorded this song, which was his only hit as a solo artist.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 6

Answer: The S.O.S. Band

Billboard number three, August 16, 1980. This band was an ensemble group out of Atlanta, Georgia which was formed in 1977. The S.O.S stands for Sounds Of Success.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 5

Answer: Charlene

Billboard number three, May 22, 1982. This song came out of nowhere. Charlene was an R & B singer from California, who signed with Motown Records in 1973. Her first song called "All That Love Went To Waste" was released in early 1974 and failed to chart. She released three songs off an album she recorded in 1977 called "It Ain't Easy Comin' Down", and all three went nowhere. This song was one of them and it charted at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100. Somehow, a Tampa Florida disc jockey started playing this song in 1982 and it took off, reaching number three on the charts, 5 years after its original release.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 4

Answer: Bertie Higgins

Billboard number eight, April 17, 1982. Bertie was a less than successful artist in the 1960s with a group called the Romans, later becoming The Roemans, while doing backup vocals for Tommy Roe. This song was his only Top 40 entry.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 3

Answer: Joey Scarbury

Billboard number two, August 15, 1981. Scarbury grew up in California and was signed to a recording contract at age 14. His first single never made the charts, but undaunted, he sang backup during the 1970s for many artists, most notably Loretta Lynn, and also continued to write music. His break came in the late 1970s when he was chosen by producer/composer Mike Post who picked Scarbury to record this song. While he never again achieved Top 40 success he continued to write and has had hits recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys, Eddie Rabbitt and Kenny Rogers.

From Quiz 80s One Hit Wonders Vol. 2

Answer: Grover Washington Jr.

Billboard number two, May 2, 1981. Grover Washington Jr. is considered by many to be one of the pioneers of the genre known as "smooth jazz". Born in Buffalo, New York in 1943, his greatest success came in the 1970s and early 1980s with this song being the peak of his success. The song itself was a collaboration with Bill Withers. Not only did the song just miss the top of the charts, but it won a Grammy Award in 1982 for Best R&B Song. Washington passed away in 1999.

From Quiz 80's One Hit Wonders Vol. 1

Answer: Delbert McClinton

Billboard number eight, Februrary 21, 1981. Delbert McClinton, born in Lubbock Texas in 1940, gave us this song in 1981. He is a Grammy winning artist and has been a band leader since 1962. He charted this song off an album called "The Jealous Kind". In 1992 he recorded a duet with country legend Tanya Tucker called "Tell Me About It" which became a number four single on the Country charts. He also won two Grammy awards, the first in 1991 for a duet with Bonnie Raitt called "Good Man, Good Woman", and in 2006 for his album titled "Cost Of Living". Oh, and one more thing. If you ever see the movie "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray, the opening song called "Weatherman" was his as well.

From Quiz One Hit Wonders of the 80s

Answer: Mickey

Of course we all know her as Toni Basil. Her cheerleading video was a hit on MTV and she parlayed that one hit into a long career as a choreographer of both music videos and films. This song seems to be resurrected every few years by one form of media or another, including the 2000 Kirsten Dunst movie "Bring It On."

From Quiz One Hit Wonder Lyrics By Year: 1980

Answer: "it will astound you"

"Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime" was the only major North American hit for The Korgis in 1980. In 1979, they managed to gain popularity in Britain with their song "If I Had You" which reached #13 on the music charts in the UK. In the United States, "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime" managed to reach #11 on the charts in 1980, and reached #5 in the United Kingdom. Much of the song is repetitive and was popularized by the following lyrics: "Change your heart, look around you Change your heart, it will astound you I need your loving, like the sunshine, Oh.... And everybody's got to learn sometime Everybody's got to learn sometime Everybody's got to learn sometime"

From Quiz One Hit Wonders Of the 1980s

Answer: Yarbrough & Peoples

Calvin Yarbrough and Alisa Peoples are from Dallas, TX. They were childhood friends. They also had another hit with "Don't Waste Your Time". Now they are a married couple.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:51 AM

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