1960s One Hit Wonders Trivia Quiz

Answer: Barry McGuire

"Eve of Destruction" was released in 1965. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1965. McGuire began his career in the folk-rock genre, but latter switched to the contemporary Christian genre. He appeared in the movie "The President's Analyst" in 1967, and also sang with The New Christy Minstrels and the Mamas and the Papas.

Answer: The Kingsmen

"Louie, Louie" reached number two on the Billboard Top 40 in 1963, where it stayed for weeks. No one could understand the lyrics, so audiences filled in their own. Even the FBI, which had been called in to investigate, couldn't figure out the lyrics and eventually gave up.

Answer: Lorne Greene

"Ringo" reached number one on the Billboard charts in December 1964. Lorne was a Canadian-born actor and starred as Ben Cartwright in the TV series "Bonanza". He won numerous honors and awards in Canada. With his deep, authoritarian voice he had been Canada's number one newscaster in the early 1950s.

Answer: Jeannie C. Riley

"Harper Valley PTA" made Jeannie C. Riley the first female to have a number one hit on both the country and pop charts at the same time, in 1968. It wouldn't happen again until 1980, with Dolly Parton's "9 to 5". Riley continued her country singing into the late 1970s when she switched to contemporary Christian music.

Answer: Acker Bilk

"Stranger on the Shore" reached number one on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in 1962 and was number two on the UK charts.

Bilk was the first British artist of the pop era to reach number one in the U.S. He was both a clarinetist and a band leader.

Answer: The Lemon Pipers

"Green Tambourine" reached number one in the U.S. in 1968. It was one of the first psychedelic songs to reach number one.

The Lemon Pipers were an Ohio-based group.

Answer: Ernie K-Doe

"Mother-in-Law" reached number one in 1968 on Billboard's Hot 100 and R&B charts.
Ernie and his wife Antoinette owned the Mother-in-Law Lounge in New Orleans. It was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina, but was rebuilt by Antoinette after Ernie's death.

Answer: Jeannine Deckers

"Dominique" was the first song by a Belgian artist (she was also known as The Singing Nun) to reach number one in the U.S.

Answer: Bruce Channel

"Hey! Baby!" was number one in the U.S. in 1961.

Bruce Channel never broke the top 40 again. The harmonica player in his band, Delbert McClinton, was an inspiration for John Lennon who used McClinton's style in many of the Beatles' early records.

Answer: Mark Dinning

In February 1960 "Teen Angel" reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100.
Later in his career Dinning had a number of hits in the country/western genre. Unfortunately, he became an alcoholic and showed up at a number of concerts drunk, thereby ending his career.

Answer: The Surfaris

"Wipe Out" rose to number two on the Billboard charts in 1963. When the song was recorded three of the four band members were 15 years old, the other was 17.

Answer: Kyu Sakamoto

In June 1963, "Sukiyaki" became the first number one hit on the Billboard chart by an Asian singer.

Tragically, Sakamoto was killed in Japan's worst aircraft disaster to date in 1985.

Answer: The Hollywood Argyles

"Alley Oop" was released in 1960 and was number one on the Billboard charts and rose to number twenty-four in the UK.

The group's name came from the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Argyle St. were the studio was located.

Answer: Steam

"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" reached number one in the U.S. in late December 1969.

Three musicians were fooling around in the studio; unbeknownst to them the studio released their jam session. The musicians refused to put their names to the song. Suddenly it rose to number one and the group was expected to tour, but there was no group. Instead of using their names they used the name "Steam". The studio put together a group of unrelated musicians to make the necessary appearances on tour, TV, etc.

Answer: New Vaudeville Band

"Winchester Cathedral" reached number four in the UK and number one in the U.S. in 1966.

While they were one-hit wonders in the U.S., they recorded several other hits in England.

Answer: Larry Verne

"Mr. Custer" was the biggest selling novelty record of the year in 1960.

Larry Verne was working in a photographer's studio down the hall from the music studio when the record producers grabbed him because of his deep southern drawl.

Answer: Norman Greenbaum

"Spirit in the Sky" reached number one in the UK and number three in the U.S. in late 1969.

The song has been used in many commercials, TV shows and movies. The Apollo 13 astronauts used it as a theme song for their TV appearances.

Answer: Jimmy Soul

"If You Wanna Be Happy" made it to the top of the U.S. charts in 1963.

It was a fun song, but many found it offensive, and it was banned by many radio stations.

Answer: Zager and Evans

"In the Year 2525" reached number one less than a month after its release in the summer of 1969. It also reached number one in the UK.

The song was about a vision of life in the future.

Answer: The Tornados

"Telstar" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and Billboard's Hot 100 in December 1962.

The Tornados were a British band and "Telstar" was an instrumental released shortly after the Telstar Communications Satellite was launched.