Today's question, can a hard rock band establish a career that will last decades on the basis of one hit? The answer: Go, Jim Dandy, Go. By the way, you might be playing bass for Black Oak Arkansas in a Fargo bar next weekend.
Mountain, "Mississippi Queen." 1970. When Leslie West decided to become a heavy metal guitarist, he put the emphasis on heavy. In 1975, he released an album called The Great Fatsby. This simple hard riff number made it to #21 on the American charts but flowed all the way up to #4 in Canada. Covered in 2005 by Ozzy Osbourne. It needed less cowbell.
Ten Years After, "I'd Love to Change The World." 1971. Alvin Lee's group have the distinction of being one hit wonders in the U.K. and in the States with different songs. Their 1970 single "Love Like a Man" hit #10 in Britain in October of 1970. "I'd Love to Change the World" peaked at #40 in the U.S. in 1971. Pair this one up with Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" on your socially conscious yet equally morally ambiguous message song mix tape.
Argent, "Hold Your Head Up." 1972. Rod Argent was no rookie. He penned "She's Not There," "Tell Her No," and "Time of the Season" with The Zombies. Argent was classified as a "progressive" rock group at the time, which seemed to mean more pompous synthesizer arrangements. Argent also wrote "God Gave Rock and Roll to You," which Kiss covered in 1991. If you can forgive him for that one, you are a better person than I am. By the way, this ode to proper neck posture made it to #5.
Stories, "Brother Louie." 1973. Songs about jungle fever were pretty…um, racy back in the early 1970s. The original version of this tune was done by Hot Chocolate of "You Sexy Thing" fame and went to #7 on the U.K. charts in 1973. The Stories took this number to #1, but it was so unrepresentative of the band's more Beatlesque sound, that they couldn't follow it up. I guess it was too soon to cover "Brown Sugar."
Black Oak Arkansas, "Jim Dandy." 1974. Black Oak is a crummy little burg in Northeast Arkansas that only exists so places like Manila and Goobertown can feel better about themselves (I know of what I speak). LaVern Baker took this number to #17 on the pop charts in 1956 and BOA pushed it to #25 in 1974. Robert Christgau's take on the back at the time, "they have never achieved competence – they are actively untalented."
Head East, "Never Been Any Reason." 1975. This one is kind of a cheat, since it didn't make the Top 40 (peaked at #68) and "Love Me Tonight" (#54) and "Since You've Been Gone (#46) were bigger hits. However, this is the one that got played on classic rock stations for over a decade. Roger Boyd is currently a university professor and the band still plays weekend gigs. Check them out the next time you are in Effingham, Illinois.
Thin Lizzy, "The Boys Are Back in Town." 1976. Twin lead guitar heaven. Scientists from MIT have determined that this song is 378.74 times better than anything else on this list. (Oh, stats – this one hit #12 in the States, #8 in the U.K., and #1 in Ireland).
Ram Jam, "Black Betty." 1977. This song has been around longer than your grandma, first originating in the 19th century. "Black Betty" may be a reference to a bottle of whiskey, a musket, or a penitentiary transfer wagon, but it's definitely not about that sticky "Brother Louie" stuff. The interesting thing about Ram Jam's take on this, a cover of Lead Belly's version that went to #18, is that Ram Jam never recorded it. Bill Bartlett of the Lemon Pipers recorded the song while in a band called Starstruck and that version was released under Ram Jam's name. Bam Ba Lam.
The Rockets, "Oh Well." 1979. The Rockets were a popular Motor City hard rock band, fueled by Jimmy McCarty and Johnny "Bee" Badanjek, who had both played with Mitch Ryder's Detroit Wheels. Fleetwood Mac had an international hit with "Oh Well" in 1969, but it only reached #55 in the States. The Rockets took this Peter Green composition to #22 in 1979. By 1983, the band was gone, but not forgotten. They played a reunion gig in July of 2010 in front of 10,000 fans.
Molly Hatchet, "Flirtin' with Disaster." 1979. Tossed this one in here because 1978 was a lousy year for hard rock one hit wonders and we all wanted an even ten songs in this list. Danny Joe Brown could effectively growl out the Southern rock numbers but suffered from diabetes from the age of 19. He passed away in 2005, but Molly Hatchet still lives on, playing this signature song (which made it to #42) in corn dog festivals across the United States. 45 different musicians have been or are currently in the band, but they still lag behind Black Oak Arkansas, which has had 50 band members. (Head East looks like complete upstarts in comparison with only 21 current and former band members. They really have some work to do).