For as long as we’ve been ranking singles by their commercial success through sales numbers, one-hit wonders have been interesting anomalies of this system. These tracks bubbled up to the surface of the Billboard Hot 100 once, after which the artist was never able to recreate the same Top 40 success, whether by choice or by poor sales. On rare occasions, the “one-hit wonder” status of a track does little to negate the fact that it’s an incredible cut, and that includes these four one-hit wonder songs from the early 1970s.
“Mississippi Queen” by Mountain
Following its February 1970 release, this song peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, making “Mississippi Queen” the most commercially successful single by Mountain ever released. The song appeared on their debut album, Climbing!, and remains a staple on classic rock radio today. Between the signature cowbell and the fat, fuzzy guitar tones, “Mississippi Queen” embodies the best of what early 1970s rock had to offer.
“Layla” by Derek & The Dominos
Derek & The Dominos were technically a one-hit wonder because they only had one major single, “Layla”, under that name. However, the musicians themselves—Eric Clapton, Carl Radle, Jim Gordon, and Bobby Whitlock—were hardly one-hit wonders in their own right. This particular version of “Layla” blended folk-rock and blues into one infectious track, which, interestingly, had quite the star-studded inspiration.
“Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass
The early 1970s saw the rise of what would later be called yacht rock, and seafaring tracks like “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass helped lead the way. This vibey, ultra-early-70s song about a bartender named Brandy who can never win the sailors over their first true love, the sea, was the most commercially successful song Looking Glass ever released. Lineup changes eventually led to the disbanding of the group shortly after the single’s release, cementing them among the better one-hit wonders of the early 1970s.
“Spirit In The Sky” by Norman Greenbaum
With its distinctive guitar tone and catchy refrain, Norman Greenbaum captured lightning in a bottle with his 1970 one-hit wonder, “Spirit In The Sky”. Plenty of artists had already tried to blend blues-rock and gospel with much less effective results, but something about Greenbaum’s song struck just the right balance of sacred and secular. Although Greenbaum managed to make it onto the Billboard Hot 100 with a subsequent cut, “Canned Ham”, it didn’t break into the Top 40. Thus, he wraps up our list of songs that prove the early 1970s produced some of the best one-hit wonders of all time.
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