Name The Eight TOP 20 "One Hit Wonders" On The Motown Family Of Labels

[Boogiedown]

If my count is correct [[hopefully:rolleyes:) , there were eight artists from the time of Motown's inception in '59/60 up until the year 1985 that made it just one time into the Top 20 of Billboard's Hot 100.

Those eight Motown artists are ?:confused:?

[Ngroove]

Okay, in exclusively pop chart standards, as some of them has had far many more in R&B charts, even a couple of them more successful in Britain than USA.

Contours [["Do You Love Me")
Brenda Holloway [["Every Little Bit Hurts")
Shorty Long [["Here Comes The Judge")
Tom Clay [["What The World Needs Now Is Love")
R. Dean Taylor [["Indiana Wants Me")
Undisputed Truth [["Smiling Faces Sometimes")
Thelma Houston [["Don't Leave Me This Way")
High Inergy [["You Can't Turn Me Off [[In The Middle Of Turnin' Me On)")
Charlene [["I've Never Been To Me")
Syreeta [["With You I'm Born Again") with Billy Preston, multi-top-tenner
Dazz Band [["Let It Whip")
Rockwell [["Somebody's Watching Me")
Mary Jane Girls [["In My House")

Jimmy Ruffin, excluded from list, out of recognition out of later, although out of Motown, hit, "Hold On To Your Love".

[mysterysinger]

Charlene? Jimmy Ruiffin?

[marv2]

Okay, in exclusively pop chart standards, as some of them has had far many more in R&B charts, even a couple of them more successful in Britain than USA.

Contours [["Do You Love Me")
Brenda Holloway [["Every Little Bit Hurts")
Shorty Long [["Here Comes The Judge")
Tom Clay [["What The World Needs Now Is Love")
R. Dean Taylor [["Indiana Wants Me")
Undisputed Truth [["Smiling Faces Sometimes")
Thelma Houston [["Don't Leave Me This Way")
High Inergy [["You Can't Turn Me Off [[In The Middle Of Turnin' Me On)")
Charlene [["I've Never Been To Me")
Syreeta [["With You I'm Born Again") with Billy Preston, multi-top-tenner
Dazz Band [["Let It Whip")
Rockwell [["Somebody's Watching Me")
Mary Jane Girls [["In My House")

Jimmy Ruffin, excluded from list, out of recognition out of later, although out of Motown, hit, "Hold On To Your Love".

Great job Ngroove!

[marv2]

We can add Kim Weston - "It Takes Two" [[w/Marvin Gaye) went to #14.

[PeaceNHarmony]

If "Red Hot' sold sufficiently to be considered a hit it would have to be included on a one-hit wonder list.

[jobeterob]

If "Red Hot' sold sufficiently to be considered a hit it would have to be included on a one-hit wonder list.

Yea but it sold 640 copies.

[Boogiedown]

Contours [["Do You Love Me")
Shorty Long [["Here Comes The Judge")
Tom Clay [["What The World Needs Now Is Love")
R. Dean Taylor [["Indiana Wants Me")
Undisputed Truth [["Smiling Faces Sometimes")
High Inergy [["You Can't Turn Me Off [[In The Middle Of Turnin' Me On)")
Charlene [["I've Never Been To Me")
Dazz Band [["Let It Whip")

__________________________


Very good job Ngroove!!:cool:

Here are the eight that are in Wayne Jancik's book called ONE HIT WONDERS, of which you named all eight and then some!!

[Ngroove]

Contours [["Do You Love Me")
Shorty Long [["Here Comes The Judge")
Tom Clay [["What The World Needs Now Is Love")
R. Dean Taylor [["Indiana Wants Me")
Undisputed Truth [["Smiling Faces Sometimes")
High Inergy [["You Can't Turn Me Off [[In The Middle Of Turnin' Me On)")
Charlene [["I've Never Been To Me")
Dazz Band [["Let It Whip")

__________________________


Very good job Ngroove!!:cool:

Here are the eight that are in Wayne Jancik's book called ONE HIT WONDERS, of which you named all eight and then some!!

Thank you very much.

Sometimes seems a little funny to acknowledge a few as "one hit wonders".

Take Shorty Long, for instance. Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection boxed set has "Devil With The Blue Dress On" and "Function In The Junction". "Devil With The Blue Dress On", obviously inspired Mitch Ryder to perform the clearly much more successful hit version, that I'd assume, on Whoopi Goldberg's Vegas oldies medley on Sister Act II when she added "Devil With The Blue Dress", Mitch Ryder's was thought on, but hey, as the current Motown slogan goes, "Motown [[Shorty Long) did it First". And, to be honest, I hear more "Function In The Junction", on Sirius XM's Soul Town, even once at an antique mall, than "Here Comes The Judge".

Also just as amusing, every once in a while when I look through my dad's old 45 rpm collection, R Dean Taylor's "Candy Apple Red". The usual thing with hits, would be under the momentum of the big hit, would attempt to duplicate it, or record / music buyers would possibly go "Hey, there's [[insert singer)'s new single", and buy it on the spot, under reverance of fresh happy memories of big hit, as long as the big hit was still running hot. Although, my dad would later say "I have no idea why I have this one".

[vgalindo]

Okay, in exclusively pop chart standards, as some of them has had far many more in R&B charts, even a couple of them more successful in Britain than USA.

Contours [["Do You Love Me")
Brenda Holloway [["Every Little Bit Hurts")
Shorty Long [["Here Comes The Judge")
Tom Clay [["What The World Needs Now Is Love")
R. Dean Taylor [["Indiana Wants Me")
Undisputed Truth [["Smiling Faces Sometimes")
Thelma Houston [["Don't Leave Me This Way")
High Inergy [["You Can't Turn Me Off [[In The Middle Of Turnin' Me On)")
Charlene [["I've Never Been To Me")
Syreeta [["With You I'm Born Again") with Billy Preston, multi-top-tenner
Dazz Band [["Let It Whip")
Rockwell [["Somebody's Watching Me")
Mary Jane Girls [["In My House")

Jimmy Ruffin, excluded from list, out of recognition out of later, although out of Motown, hit, "Hold On To Your Love".
Didn’t the Mary Jane Girls have more hits than just “In my House” ? Wasn’t “All Night Long” a hit?

[Ngroove]

Didn’t the Mary Jane Girls have more hits than just “In my House” ? Wasn’t “All Night Long” a hit?

On the R&B charts.

Just like, under BILLBOARD Pop Chart statistics, Rick James never had a top ten hit.

[vgalindo]

On the R&B charts.

Just like, under BILLBOARD Pop Chart statistics, Rick James never had a top ten hit.
Ok. Thank you.

[PeaceNHarmony]

Yea but it sold 640 copies.Goodness. I actually thought it did better than that. Just gave a listen via: YT. Worse than I remembered. YEOW!!

[Boogiedown]

OK you DRATS hooligans , get back to that subforum that's designated for such petty antics! :p

Back on topic:


Thank you very much.

Sometimes seems a little funny to acknowledge a few as "one hit wonders".

Take Shorty Long, for instance. Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection boxed set has "Devil With The Blue Dress On" and "Function In The Junction". "Devil With The Blue Dress On", obviously inspired Mitch Ryder to perform the clearly much more successful hit version, that I'd assume, on Whoopi Goldberg's Vegas oldies medley on Sister Act II when she added "Devil With The Blue Dress", Mitch Ryder's was thought on, but hey, as the current Motown slogan goes, "Motown [[Shorty Long) did it First". And, to be honest, I hear more "Function In The Junction", on Sirius XM's Soul Town, even once at an antique mall, than "Here Comes The Judge".

Also just as amusing, every once in a while when I look through my dad's old 45 rpm collection, R Dean Taylor's "Candy Apple Red". The usual thing with hits, would be under the momentum of the big hit, would attempt to duplicate it, or record / music buyers would possibly go "Hey, there's [[insert singer)'s new single", and buy it on the spot, under reverance of fresh happy memories of big hit, as long as the big hit was still running hot. Although, my dad would later say "I have no idea why I have this one".

It's true , once you tap into that elusive 'hit' motherlode , mine that vein all you can ! As in this, the follow up to Betty Wright's CLEAN UP WOMAN :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baga1JRLY50

lol!!


Ngroove , if you're curious as to why there's a discrepancy between your list and the one in the book , [[as I was) here's how the book explains it: Their list of "one hit wonders" is of those artists that had only one Top 40 hit AND it made into the Top 20.
You are correct to say Brenda Holloway and Thelma Houston had only one Top 20 hit , however they each had at least one other single release that charted in the Top 40 as in SATURDAY MORNING , WHEN I'M GONE....
And pairings that were considered one-offs , Like Barbra Streisand with Neil Diamond or Donna Summer, were not included....as was not Billy Preston w/Syreeta.
Lastly , Rockwell and Mary Jane Girls did not get listed because at the time of publication the authors didn't feel their careers had played out long enough to brand them as One Hit Wonders.

good stuff!!

[marv2]

She went further than that! She went along to work with you with "Secretary"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IogtTA56Tog

[nativeNY63]

Okay, in exclusively pop chart standards, as some of them has had far many more in R&B charts, even a couple of them more successful in Britain than USA.

Contours [["Do You Love Me")
Brenda Holloway [["Every Little Bit Hurts")
Shorty Long [["Here Comes The Judge")
Tom Clay [["What The World Needs Now Is Love")
R. Dean Taylor [["Indiana Wants Me")
Undisputed Truth [["Smiling Faces Sometimes")
Thelma Houston [["Don't Leave Me This Way")
High Inergy [["You Can't Turn Me Off [[In The Middle Of Turnin' Me On)")
Charlene [["I've Never Been To Me")
Syreeta [["With You I'm Born Again") with Billy Preston, multi-top-tenner
Dazz Band [["Let It Whip")
Rockwell [["Somebody's Watching Me")
Mary Jane Girls [["In My House")

Jimmy Ruffin, excluded from list, out of recognition out of later, although out of Motown, hit, "Hold On To Your Love".
Rockwell was the bombs when it came out! Question - How are you related to Berry Gordy Jr and that's the only song/thing you're known for??? I digress, there was that pesky domestic abuse/battery thing with his girlfriend awhile back.

[nativeNY63]

Didn't see Chuck Brown's I feel like bustin loose.

[Boogiedown]

Ngroove , if you're curious as to why there's a discrepancy between your list and the one in the book , [[as I was) here's how the book explains it: Their list of "one hit wonders" is of those artists that had only one Top 40 hit AND it made into the Top 20.


...... that is to say then there are some 400 additional 'one hit wonders' whose singular Top 40 entries peaked in the lower numbers [[#21-40) and therefore did not crack the Top 20.

But I won't ask which amongst these were Motown artists.:rolleyes: lol!

[Boogiedown]

......although I have the answer should anyone express interest.

[Ngroove]

...... that is to say then there are some 400 additional 'one hit wonders' whose singular Top 40 entries peaked in the lower numbers [[#21-40) and therefore did not crack the Top 20.

But I won't ask which amongst these were Motown artists.:rolleyes: lol!

I've long dismissed relying solely on the popular charts, the moment I've read that while Rick James had three number one hits [["You And I", "Give It To Be Baby", "Cold Blooded") on the R&B charts with two additional number ones [["Super Freak", "Glow") on the Dance Charts, "You And I" only scaled thirteen and "Super Freak" only sixteen on the US Billboard Pop charts.

Opening up to more than just the pop charts, even got my eyes and ears open to how many "Top Ten" hits Junior Walker & the All Stars truly had.

[nativeNY63]

William DeVaughn, Just Be Thankful for What You Got.

[Boogiedown]

I've long dismissed relying solely on the popular charts, the moment I've read that while Rick James had three number one hits [["You And I", "Give It To Be Baby", "Cold Blooded") on the R&B charts with two additional number ones [["Super Freak", "Glow") on the Dance Charts, "You And I" only scaled thirteen and "Super Freak" only sixteen on the US Billboard Pop charts.

Opening up to more than just the pop charts, even got my eyes and ears open to how many "Top Ten" hits Junior Walker & the All Stars truly had.
Well you're smart to do that , because since the Top 40 was a conglomeration of several music types obviously only some of them will be able to cross over, not every soul song , every disco song , every country song , MOR, jazz , etc.. , even some of the big titles from them , is going to be able to obtain space in a collected Top 40 trying to identify itself as 'pop'.
Certainly in the case of disco, some of the very best songs , number ones even on that chart , were not able to jump over into Top 40 and they will therefore forever be secret to the masses. That's one reason disco as a specific radio format erupted in 1979, because much of the music wasn't being heard otherwise.

But conversely there is certainly lots of music that was limited to the Hot 100/ Top 40 that was not on any other chart, so I wouldn't dismiss it as a resource entirely, which I know you aren't saying.

Yes Rick James was a glaring example of an artist that got the short end of the deal in that process. Well be glad you weren't in the UK then, where chart-wise they next to didn't know James existed!