3 Classic Rock One-Hit Wonders That’ll Have You Singing at the Top of Your Lungs

There is something about classic rock music that makes you want to sing along. Similarly, there is something about one-hit wonders that makes you want to sing along. So, when you combine the two, it’s like a PB&J of sing-along fun. It’s perhaps the most perfect combination for late-night lyrical crooning into the weekend night. The following classic rock one-hit wonders have stood the test of time both for their compositions and for the fact that people simply just love to sing along to their words and rhythms. Indeed, these are three classic rock one-hit wonders that are perfect to sing along to.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Black Betty” by Ram Jam (1977)

With a beat that will get your toes tapping and your hips moving, this song features terrific riffs and masterful electric guitar playing. It’s a surprise that Ram Jam didn’t have another hit like their rendition of “Black Betty”. Nevertheless, this song is enough to get your heart jumping like it was on a pogo stick. And with all that great energy pumping through you, it’s hard not to sing along with lead vocalist Myke Scavone. It helps that the lyrics are mostly repeated over and over, as he belts:

“Whoa, Black Betty, bam-ba-lam
Whoa, Black Betty, bam-ba-lam
Black Betty had a child, bam-ba-lam
The damn thing gone wild, bam-ba-lam
Said, “It weren’t none of mine,” bam-ba-lam
The damn thing gone blind, bam-ba-lam
I said, oh, Black Betty, bam-ba-lam
Whoa, Black Betty, bam-ba-lam.”

“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by Iron Butterfly (1968)

It might not be totally clear what Iron Butterfly’s lead vocalist Doug Ingle is saying in this song, but it sure is fun to sing along to whatever the words might be! Ingle offers such a deep-voiced, almost cartoonish tone that it puts a smile on your face as you begin to belt out the lyrics. The thumping drum beat and fat bass line propel you as the electric guitar provides a melody on which to sing. Indeed, Ingle offers a proposal to walk in “the garden of Eden“:

“In-a-gadda-da-vida, honey,
Don’t you know that I love you?
In-a-gadda-da-vida, baby,
Don’t you know that I’ll always be true?
Oh, won’t you come with me
And take my hand?“

“Cum On Feel The Noize” by Quiet Riot (1983)

This song is fun to sing along to because of the vocal register that frontman Kevin DuBrow brings to the table. It’s just fun to scream along with the rollicking music. And it’s almost an athletic feat to sing along to this track. On the recording, Quiet Riot seems to employ a whole chorus to back them up on the lyrics. That adds to the desire to sing along, to be one of the joyous voices singing about feeling the noise, the song, the music, and the classic rock vibe that this 1980s band provides.

“Come on, feel the noise
Girls, rock your boys
We’ll get wild, wild, wild
Wild, wild, wild
So, you think I got an evil mind?
I tell you, honey
I don’t know why, I don’t know why
So you think my singing’s out of time?
It makes me money
I don’t know why, I don’t know why
Anymore, oh, no.”

Photo via YouTube screenshot of “Black Betty” by Ram Jam