Najee said:

yup

PurpleCharm said:

Didn't Fredrick have another song that was bigger than "Calling Your Name"? Wasn't it "Gentle"?

funkpill said:

McFadden and Whitehead had another top 20 song called "I hEard It In A Love Song".

daPrettyman said:

I think it's the same song. The song may actually be called 'Gentle' and not 'Calling Your Name'. They say Calling Your Name So Many times that I thought that was the name of the song...lol

daPrettyman said:

I already mentioned "I Heard It in a Love Song" in the revision of my initial post. The song never made it into the Billboard R&B Singles top 20, so I would say McFadden and Whitehead qualifies.
[Edited 8/4/07 8:32am]

Najee said:

Sorry.

daPrettyman said:

No offense taken. McFadden and Whitehead's "I Heard It in a Love Song" came close to making the top 20 of the Billboard R&B Singles chart (peaking at No. 23, 1980).
[Edited 8/5/07 13:56pm]

Well, here's my one hit wonder artists and songs:

Keni Burke: Keep Risin' To The Top
Men At Large: So Alone
Dorothy Moore: Misty Blue

At any rate, this is how I view an artitst's career trajectory:

One hit wonder: An artists rises from obscurity to have one big hit on the pop charts and then quickly disappears back into obscurity.

One album wonder: This is where a lot of artists who are listed as one hit wonders really belong. They have one really huge hit, but then have a minor hit or two from the same album, and then the follow up album really bombs. Then they usually end up going back into obscurity after the failed album or two.

Flash in the pan: These artists may have only two or three big hits, but they are spread out over two, three or four albums before they go into obscurity.

Modest successes: These artists actually manage to have a number of hits over several albums, but because of their shortcomings or their style of music, they don't develop into huge stars. Many of them call it quits after a number of years, but some of these artists may still be performing.

Cult bands: These are the true niche artists. Some of these artists have "technically" had only one or two hits on the radio (or never had a hit radio single), but they consistently have albums which go platinum and/or sell out arenas. They most likely are huge in a very specific genre of music (Slipknot, Disturbed, the Flaming Lips, Phish, most country acts, a lot of Latin acts).

Big stars: These artists are huge for a relative period in time, but after that time is over, while they still may be remembered fondly and people still attend their concerts, they usually don't equal the success they had in their prime. (Paula Abdul, Bryan Adams, Duran Duran, Culture Club, Smashing Pumpkins)

Superstars: These are the huge mega-selling acts that sell zillions of albums, have numerous top ten or number one hits, and sell out stadiums. (The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, U2, Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Beyonce).

728huey said:

I am so there with everything you've said except for Paula Adbul being categorized as a big star. Are you only considering the artist's music popularity or their entire celebrity cause Paula seems more like a flash in the pan when dealing with only her music. Folks wouldn't see her on tour or buy her albums now even at gunpoint.

Najee said:

Dude, these must have been "obscure hits" (oxymoron? lol) - like 'Give Me Tonight' and "Do You Want to Get Away" and "Thinkin' About You" and "Sir Lancelot". I'll give you "Unconditional Love" though.

PurpleCharm said:

That's the 2nd Shannon reference and I've never heard that cut.

Wordy Rappinghood barely made a dent on the music scene.

AlexdeParis said:

Don't worry, I named stuff others already had too!

Adina Howard, Michell'e, Xavier(Work That Sucka To Death"), All For One.

ThePunisher said:

Michel'le had 3 hits (Nicety, No More lies, Something In My Heart))

MuthaFunka said:

Under the production of Dre.

Shannon - Ok, I see Shannon made the R&B charts at #6 with "Give Me Tonight" so she no longer qualifies as a 1 hit wonder from the R&B standpoint.

Timex Social Club - The two following singles "Thinkin' About Ya" and "Mixed-Up World" both reached the R&B top 20. (So they're on the cusp I think of 1 hit R&B wonders)

Musical Youth - It's funny, because now I have to take back un-calling Musical Youth NOT a 1-hit wonder because "Unconditional Love" was Donna Summer's song off her album. They are a 1-hit wonder.

Calloway - Remains a 1 hitter quitter.

Tom Tom Club - "Wordy Rappinghood" did some damage in the UK but not on the R&B charts here in the U.S., so they remain a 1-hit wonder.
[Edited 8/4/07 11:31am]

MuthaFunka said:

That Shannon joint was the cut.

MsLegs said:

Yeah, I see!

MuthaFunka said:

MuthaFunka said:

We can't forget all their hits as Club Nouveau either.

sosgemini said:

Okay...so I just wiki'd Club and Timex and discovered they were indeed two separate bands with a couple bandmates in common. Why did I always think that Timex had to change their name due to a threat from the watch maker Timex? Was that just a urban myth?

Ghetto Heaven- The Family Stand

MuthaFunka said:

That's why I mentioned that it may have been big in just Detroit as far as the US is concerned. Detroit being much more progressive in the techno/dance/house music arena and all. I heard Wordy Rappinghood on the radio just as much as Genius of Love

MsLegs said:

Give me the night
then if you don't want to stay
then I'll just forget you

I think that's how the chorus goes.


[Edited 8/4/07 12:39pm]

sosgemini said:

Yea people would always confuse the 2 groups.

muse87 said:

Good one.

PurpleCharm said:

I'm in Cali and I think I heard Wordy like 5 times tops .

MuthaFunka said:

Exactly. This was especially true at that time because these groups would release songs around the same time sounding alike.

nurse said:

Anita follwed up that song with a flop single called "Don't Drop My Love",released in late 1979.She faded away shortly thereafter.

The funny thing about "Ring My Bell" is....it was basically an afterthought.It was the last song recorded for her debut album.No one expected it to be a hit.They just needed one more uptempo track for the album,which is dominated by ballads.Radio DJs heard it and the rest is history.