Obscure One-Hit Wonders of the Sixties Quiz

Answer: The Ivy Three

The Ivy Three was a trio that formed in 1959 with three undergrad students at Adelphi University. The group's founding members were Charles Koppelman, Artie Berkowitz (who went by Artie Kaye) and Don Rubin. Koppelman used the stage name Charlie Cane and wrote "Yogi" with Lou Stallman and Sid Jacobson, the owners of Shell Records. After the success of "Yogi" the group disbanded within a year.
Charles Koppelman became Martha Stewart's assistant on "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" and served as the CEO of EMI, a music publishing company. Don Rubin remained in the music business as a manager. Artie left show business.


"Diamonds and Pearls" was a Top Twenty song in 1960 by The Paradons. A Number 16 version of "Over The Rainbow" qualified The Demensions for one-hit-wonder status in 1960 and The Little Dippers made it to Number Nine the same year with a song titled "Forever".

Answer: Philip Upchurch Combo

Philip Upchurch was a guitar and bass player who had worked with with The Kool Gents, The Spaniels and The Dells. He formed his own group and released songs as the Philip Upchurch Combo and several solo efforts including "Upchurch" (1968), "Phil Upchurch" (1978) and "Name Of The Game" (1983).

Bob Moore and his Orchestra had a 1961 Number Seven hit with "Mexico". "I Like It Like That, Part 1" went to Number Two for Chris Kenner and "Apache" was a Top Ten for Jorgen Ingmann and his Guitar.

Answer: Billy Joe and the Checkmates

Billy Joe and the Checkmates was one of the only groups to use a dampened xylophone on a hit record. The melody of the song was taken from a catchy jingle for Maxwell House coffee. Billy Joe was actually a musician named Louis Bideu who had a local television show in New York in the fifties called "The Lew Bidell Show".
When the first batches of 45 RPM records on the Dore label were printed the song was simply titled "Percolator". The word "Twist" was added to enhance the record's appeal as a dance tune.

"The Jam-Part 1" was by Bobby Gregg and His Friends in 1962. "Bongo Stomp" was a 1962 instrumental by Little Joey and the Flips and The Routers had a Top Twenty with "Let's Go (Pony)" the same year.

Answer: The Glencoves

The Glencoves formed on Long Island in 1961 and rode the resurgence of folk music on college campuses to the Top Forty with "Hootenanny". The Select Records label was their only charted hit.
Hootenanny was originally a word to describe something that you couldn't recall the proper name for, similar to "thingamajig". In the early sixties Hootenanny became synonymous with a gathering where folk singers would encourage audience participation while singing folk songs.

"The Boy Next Door" was a Top Twenty for The Secrets. The Pastel Six charted "Cinnamon Cinder (It's a Very Nice Dance)" in 1963. The Village Stompers had a Number Two instrumental hit with "Washington Square".

Answer: The Cookies

Earl-Jean McCrea joined The Cookies in 1961. In 1964 she began a solo career and recorded "I'm Into Somethin' Good" for Colpix Records. When Herman's Hermit's recorded their version of the song their guitarist, Derek Leckenby, arranged an uptempo version of the song that went to Number 13 in the US. The Beatles recorded a version of "Chains". The British Invasion interrupted or cut short the careers of many emerging US solo artists such as Earl-Jean McCrea.

The Jelly Beans had their one hit in 1964 with the Top Ten release, "I Wanna Love Him So Bad". "Who Do You Love?" was a Top Ten by The Sapphires, the same year The Murmaids went to Number Three with "Popsicles and Icicles".

Answer: The Spokesmen

John Medora (also known as Johnny Madara)was a founding member of The Spokesmen. He composed the 1957 hit, "At The Hop", with David White and Arthur Singer. David White was another member of The Spokesmen who had been with Danny and The Juniors when the group had success with "At The Hop". Roy Gilmore was the third member of The Spokesmen. "Dawn of Correction" made it to Number 26 on the US charts. The group followed with an unsuccessful cover of the Beatles' "Michelle" before disbanding.

"Leader of the Laundromat" was a 1965 Top Twenty release by The Detergents.The Busters went to Number 25 with "Bust Out". "Keep On Dancing" by The Gentrys went to Number Four.

Answer: Jackie Lee

Bobby Byrd and Earl Nelson were originally with the fifties Doo-Wop group, The Hollywood Flames, before forming a duo. After they had formed the duo Byrd began a solo career and had a hit using the name Bobby Day titled "Rockin' Robin". Byrd was replaced with Bobby Relf and the duo released several singles for various labels until "Harlem Shuffle" became a hit.
Earl Nelson derived the name Jackie Lee by using his wife's first name and his own middle name when he recorded "The Duck".

The Top Forty, "Day For Decision", was a spoken response to "Eve of Destruction" done by Johnny Sea that used "America" as background music. Buddy Starcher released a narrative song titled "History Repeats Itself" that depicted the similarities between the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln. Tommy McLain had a hit in 1966 with "Sweet Dreams".

Answer: The Yellow Balloon

"Yellow Balloon" was released by The Yellow Balloon in May, 1967. It reached Number 25 on the US charts. One of the members of the band was Don Grady. Grady had starred as Robbie Douglas on "My Three Sons" and had also been a Mousketeer. Another member of the short-lived band was Daryl Dragon. In 1967 the group released one eponymous album and the singles "Yellow Balloon" and "Good Feelin' Time". The flip-side of "Yellow Balloon" was a version of the song recorded backwards called "Noollab Wolley".

Jan and Dean originally recorded "Yellow Balloon" but their version failed to break the Top 100 because The Yellow Balloon's version received more airplay.
"Beautiful People" was recorded by Kenny O'Dell in 1967. "Talk Talk" was by The Music Machine. Miriam Makeba took "Pata Pata" to Number 12 in 1967.

Answer: People!

People! formed in San Jose in 1965. They took "I Love You" to Number 14 three years later. A version by The Zombies did not fare as well in the US. People! was one of the earliest progressive rock bands, one of the first to use two drummers on stage and were considered inspirations by bands such as Yes, Genesis and ELP. Although the band released ten singles, "I Love You" was their only Top Forty hit. The band endured a membership change in 1968 when several members joined Scientology. They reformed and recorded more albums until they finally dissolved in 1971.

The Avant-Garde's single Top Forty hit was "Naturally Stoned". The Equals featured Eddy Grant as a member and had a US Top Forty hit with "Baby Come Back" and The Magic Lanterns charted "Shame Shame" in 1968.

Answer: Vik Venus

Jack Spector recorded "Moonflight" on Buddah Records as "Vik Venus, Alias: Your Main Moon Man". The novelty song was done the same year that Neil Armstrong landed on the moon and was about the fictitious Achilles moon flight. Spector used sound bytes from various other songs that by artists who were also with Buddah Records. In 1994 Spector was on the air at station WHLI Radio on Long Island when he passed away from an obvious heart attack.

"Jealous Kind of Fella" was Garland Green's only hit. "Groovy Grubworm" was released by Harlow Wilcox and the Oakies in 1969 and Derek's only hit was the Number 11 "Cinnamon".