60 Of The Most Bizarre One Hit Wonders Of The 1960s and 1970s

By Sarah Norman | October 29, 2023

Jeannie C. Riley, 'Harper Valley P.T.A.'

Prepare to be transported back in time as we dive into the world of music to explore the quirkiest and most eccentric one-hit wonders that graced the airwaves during the colorful decades of the 1960s and 1970s. From psychedelic pop gems to offbeat disco delights, join us on a musical journey filled with delightful oddities, unexpected chart-toppers, and artists whose fleeting moments in the spotlight left a lasting imprint on music history. Get ready to groove, laugh, and reminisce about the most bizarre and unforgettable tunes that captured hearts for a moment, forever etching their place in the annals of musical curiosities. Let's turn up the volume and rediscover the delightful eccentricities of the bygone era's one-hit wonders!

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"Harper Valley PTA" is a country song written by Tom T. Hall that was a major international hit single for country singer Jeannie C. Riley in 1968. It later became the basis for a hit film and TV series.

Riley's record sold over six million copies as a single. The song made Riley the first woman to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.S. Hot Country Singles charts with the same song, a feat that would go unrepeated until Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" in 1981.

Crazy Elephant, "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'"

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source: reddit

Released by Crazy Elephant, a bubblegum pop outfit put together in the studio by the Marzao-Calvert Studio Band, "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" is a super by the numbers love song - but that's not what's so strange about it. Rather then simply release the song as a single without making a big deal about it, the members of the Marzao-Calvert Studio Band created an entire back story for Crazy Elephant that gets weirder by the syllable. Their bio reads:

Kasenetz-Katz discovered their latest hitmaking group, the Crazy Elephant (whom they consider the ultimate in underground acts) in a Welsh coal mine. As everyone can plainly see by looking at the charts, they rose to overnight fame. 'We come up on the elevator,' said the group's lead singer. Nevile Crisken, London nightclub owner, read an article in The Mining News, the country's leading underground newspaper, about a group of miners who hadn't been in the sun in four years. Working in the lowermost depths of the mine, they spent their spare time playing in a rock and roll band. 'We had lots of rocks down there too,' grins the group's drummer. McSteve hopped the first train to Wales, located the mine and descended 18,372,065 feet beneath the surface of the earth and signed the group to a long-term management pact.