One Singular Sensation (The Late 1970s) Quiz

Answer: Starland Vocal Band

Starland Vocal Band, in addition to becoming the Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards, got a Grammy for Best Vocal Arrangement for Multiple Voices for their one hit. CBS put them on a variety show for a stint during the summer of 1977. Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, later members of Starland Vocal Band, co-wrote "Take Me Home, Country Roads" for John Denver. Between that song and "Afternoon Delight", they have two songs that will endure forever.

But Starland Vocal Band would not. They faded quickly and broke up in 1981.

Answer: Debby Boone

Debby Boone did a version of this megahit in 1977, and it would become the biggest hit of all of the 1970s according to Billboard. It spent a record ten weeks at the top spot, a record it held for over fifteen years. And strangely, she would never see another Hot 100 song. Except for some mild success on the Country and Christian charts, she was THE one hit wonder with a status that wasn't surpassed until Los Del Rio gave us "Macarena" in 1995.

Answer: Walter Egan

Walter Egan had great backing from producer Lindsey Buckingham, and this song was a departure from the norm of the disco era. This Number Eight song would be his only major hit that Walter would see, but this wouldn't be his last bout with fame. He appeared on the Chuck Woolery-hosted game show "Scrabble", and would win four times.

When Chuck read his bio and found he was a singer-songwriter, he had Walter sing a song, and the world would hear "Magnet and Steel" one more time. The song saw a resurgence in the 1990s appearing in the movies "Boogie Nights" and "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo".

Answer: M

M was essentially a one man band; it (he) had some continued success in Great Britain. But no success like what he gained in 1979 with "Pop Muzik".

Q was another one-hit wonder from the 1970s with a disco hit called "Dancing Man". X was a punk band with some success from the 1980s. And P was a one album band Johnny Depp put together back in the 1990s.

(I actually featured this song in another quiz long ago featuring songs with purposeful misspellings.)

Answer: Sniff 'n' the Tears

Sniff 'n' the Tears gave us the infectious departure away from typical disco at the time. But they were star crossed from the moment they released their first album. In their home country, their label's pressing machine broke down, so during their publicity tour appearing on a television show to push their album in Britain, they had no album to sell. So they only gained success in other locations away from Great Britain.

At least three band members left the band simultaneously after the first album, so this band seemed destined to one hit wonder status.

Answer: Gary Numan

Gary Numan did have some continued success in Great Britain, finding the Top Ten on the British singles chart five more times, so apologies to the British players who don't think of him as a one hit wonder. But you also probably got this one right, having more exposure to Numan and his career. On the left side of the pond, this was his only Top Ten he would ever see.

The song has legs, it still is considered one of the more iconic beginnings to the New Wave era in music.

Answer: Randy VanWarmer

Randy VanWarmer started out as a balladeer on his first album. A series of mistakes stalled his momentum; his manager thought no publicity would make him more mysterious, that didn't help. And his second album was dark and brooding which went nowhere in keeping him relevant. Having his father die in a car accident when he was a teen led him to predominantly sad music, which doesn't lead to many fans.

He passed away from leukemia at the age of 48.

Answer: Ram Jam

In reality, it wasn't even Ram Jam that recorded this song, it was a regional band called Starstruck. When it became successful, the producer and guitarist of the song, Bill Bartlett, got picked up by New York studios who formed Ram Jam around Bartlett.

The thing is, they didn't even re-record it, they kept the original track to send out nationally. African American organizations tried to boycott the song due to its lyrics, even though they were written by black blues artist Huddie Ledbetter. The boycott didn't hold up, and it would become their only Top Ten hit.

Answer: Elvin Bishop

If you put Mickey Thomas, he may have been asked to sing the song, but he was not the head of the band or the author of the song. Some billed them as the Elvin Bishop Band, but the album was billed to strictly Elvin Bishop on the cover. Mickey Thomas however, would have greater success following the release of this song; he (and drummer Donny Baldwin) would be asked to join the band Jefferson Starship. Elvin Bishop would stick with his blues roots, but would never find the top 40 again, whereas Mickey Thomas with Starship would find the top singles spot three times in the US as their lead singer.

Answer: Wild Cherry

Wild Cherry took their name from the cough drop flavor while setting their roots in Ohio in 1970. Originally a regional rock band, the drummer claims a fan in Pittsburgh yelled out, "Are you white boys gonna play some funky music?" when disco was becoming popular. Since fans were asking for more disco, they took the quote as inspiration for this song in their first national self titled album.

The album would reach the Top Ten in addition to the Number One single. It gained a couple of Grammy nominations for them along with some other awards, but that would be its only chart success.