Female Singer One-Hit Wonders Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joanie Sommers

Ten-year-old Joan Drost won a radio singing contest singing "Your Cheatin' Heart". After her family relocated to California she landed a role on television's "77 Sunset Strip" and sang a duet with one of the show's stars. Before long she was recording solo singles under the name Joanie Sommers and scored a hit with "Johnny Get Angry".

The exposure of the single led to roles in movies such as "The Lively Set" in 1964. Soon she was a regular on many game shows and after singing a Pepsi commercial she became known as "The Pepsi Girl".

After a decade of being in the spotlight Joannie decided to focus on raising a family. Shelly's Number One one-hit wonder was "Johnny Angel". Irma Thomas had her one hit with the number 17 "Wish Someone Would Care". Jean Knight's claim to the one-hit wonder list is "Mr. Big Stuff" from 1971.

Answer: Charlene

When Charlene Duncan recorded "I've Never Been to Me" in 1977 using her first name, the song barely dented the Top 100 and dropped from sight. Five years later a Florida DJ began giving the song airplay. It was a good thing she only used her first name because by the time the song hit number three in 1982 she had divorced her husband, producer Larry Duncan, and married Jeff Oliver.

In 1982 she recorded a duet with Stevie Wonder called "Used to Be" which failed to reach the Top Forty. She recorded an album in 1983 but never had another successful single. Regina Richards recorded her only Top Ten hit, "Baby Love", under her first name in 1986.

After leaving ABBA Anni-Frid Lyngstad had her only US hit with "I Know There's Something Going On" using the name Frida. Phil Collins plays drums on the recording.

In 1972 "Brand New Key" was a hit for Melanie Safka, who also recorded using her first name.

Answer: Summer

Jacqueline McDonnell recorded "Wonderful Summer" under the name of Robin Ward as a demo for a songwriter. Jacqueline was born in Hawaii into a military family, raised in Nebraska and after winning a singing contest she got steady work on radio. She relocated to Los Angeles to work in the recording industry and do commercials.

She was doing session singing when she was asked by songwriter Perry Potkin to sing "Wonderful Summer" so he could shop it around. Among her many recognizable backing vocals are the girl singing in Pat Boone's "Speedy Gonzales" and the female voice in the original "Star Trek" theme.

Her vocal talent is heard on approximately 800 movie soundtracks and she is the voice of Cindy Bear in "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!". In addition to doing backing vocals for a legion of top artists artists, he was also a regular singer on such shows as "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour", "The Red Skelton Show" and "The Carol Burnett Show".

Answer: Vicki Sue Robinson

Vicki Sue Robinson's first stage appearance was with her mother at a major folk festival. Before she was eighteen she was in the cast of "Hair" on Broadway and in 1973 she was cast in "Jesus Christ Superstar". Her singing ability led to invitations to do backing vocals for many national artists and eventually an opportunity to record her own album for RCA. "Turn the Beat Around" spent six weeks on the charts and garnered Robinson a Grammy nomination.

After she failed to equal the success of "Turn the Beat Around" she resumed taking various acting roles.

When Disco began attracting a nostalgia audience in the nineties Vicki became part of a tour featuring other artists of the genre such as K C and the Sunshine Band and Thelma Houston. Anita Ward had a one-hit disco wonder with "Ring My Bell", Thelma Houston with "Don't Leave Me This Way" and Alicia Bridges' hit was "I Love the Nightlife (Disco Round)".

Answer: Vicki Lawrence

Cher was originally offered the song but she turned it down and Vicki Lawrence recorded the song, her only major hit. She was a cast member of "The Carol Burnett Show" at the time. Vicki's husband at the time, Bobby Russell, wrote the song. Vicki recorded an album featuring the song as the title of the album.

The cover depicted Lawrence in a checked country style shirt, but the song barely made the Top Forty on the Country charts. When a movie of the same name was filmed in 1981 centering around the story line in the song, Tanya Tucker sang a version with the lyrics slightly altered to adhere to the revised plot line. When Vicki had her own television show she did a duet with Reba McEntire after Reba had recorded a number 12 cover version in 1991. Barbara Mandrell and Helen Reddy have not recorded a version of the song.

Answer: Doris Troy

Doris Troy took "Just One Look" to number ten in 1963. Her father disapproved of her singing anything but Gospel music so she remained in the choir until she was older and got herself a job as an usherette at the Apollo in New York City. James Brown reportedly heard her and she began doing session work with artists such as The Drifters and Dionne Warwick. Doris and Gregory Carroll wrote "Just One Look" and after the song became a hit she was offered session work with Humble Pie and the Rolling Stones along with many other British artists.

Her vocal backing work can be heard on Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". "Mama I Want to Sing" is a stage play about her life. Doris passed away in 2004 at her home in Las Vegas. Betty Harris joined the one-hit-wonder club with "Cry to Me". "I Know" was Barbara George's only top hit. Ketty Lester had a sixties hit with "Love Letters".

Answer: Dog

"Walkin' My Cat Named Dog" is Norma Tanega's only hit. The song begins with a bluesy harmonica and is loosely categorized as a novelty song. Norma came from a musical family and earned a Master's degree. In her twenties she was a camp counselor and sang a campfire song about not being able to have a dog. Someone with connections to the Four Seasons connected her with producer Bob Crewe who was forming his own label.

He was impressed enough to sign Norma and her cute song. He apparently had his finger on the pulse of America's listening audience.

The song reached number 22 on the charts. She landed a tour with several artists of the day such as The McCoys, Gene Pitney and Bobby Goldsboro. After none of her subsequent released charted well Crewe dropped her from his label.

She continued to perform and eventually relocated to her California home where she became a music teacher.

Answer: Minnie Ripperton

Minnie Ripperton was gifted with a 5 1/2 octave vocal range. She enhanced her vocal abilities by getting serious training which led to a stint as a regular session vocalist with Chess Records in Chicago. She got to know many of the legendary Chess artists such as Muddy Waters and Etta James.

After working in the music business for some time, Minnie relocated to Florida to take a break. A representative from Epic records urged her to record the "Perfect Angel" album and "Loving You" became a hit single from the album.

The song was sung by Minnie to her daughter when she was a baby. The baby grew to become Maya Rudolph of "Saturday Night Live". Minnie was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in 1979 at age 31. "Poetry Man" was a hit for Phoebe Snow the same year. Freda Payne had a one-hit wonder with "Band of Gold" in 1970. "Rescue Me" was done by Fontella Bass in 1965.

Answer: Karla Bonoff

California native Karla Bonoff has gained prominence as a songwriter. She began her professional career as a backing vocalist for various artists and in 1977 she released her own debut album. Despite releasing two more albums in the eighties she failed to have a significant hit until "Personally" reached the number 19 spot in 1982. Linda Ronstadt has recorded many of Bonoff's compositions including "Trouble Again", "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me" and "Falling Star". Karla is a member of the on-again/off-again band Bryndle and released her first live album in 2007. Alison Moyet released "Invisible" in 1984. "How Do I Survive?" was released by Amy Holland in 1980. "Love Makes a Woman" was released by Barbara Acklin in 1968.

Answer: Diane Renay

Diane Renay was born in South Philly as Renee Diane Kushner. She took vocal lessons as a young girl and a family friend who happened to be a record producer got her an audition with a label. She recorded and released a song called "Little White Lies" that failed get national recognition.

When a follow-up also failed to chart, Diane was dropped from the label's roster. She switched labels and at the young age of 17 recorded "Navy Blue". The song broke nationally and reached number six so Diane recorded an album by the same name. Future recordings were only local or regional hits and Diane Renay never realized another top ten record. Gogi Grant released the Number One "Wayward Wind" in 1956. "Bobby's Girl" was recorded by Marcie Blane in 1962 and "You'll Lose A Good Thing" was done by Barbara Lynn the same year.