3 Classic Rock Three-Hit Wonders From the 1960s That Could Have Kept Charting

One-hit wonders come and go, and they’re often known as such for the rest of their careers. However, a lot of three-hit wonders, particularly those from the 1960s, often fly under the radar. The following famous bands would be considered three-hit wonders themselves, as they successfully scored three Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. And I think their music is worth revisiting. Let’s take a look!

The Kingsmen

I’ll admit, in the past, I’ve incorrectly labeled The Kingsmen as one-hit wonders. They might be best known for “Louie Louie”, but they actually enjoyed three total Top 40 hits during their career.

The Kingsmen made it big with their most well-known and first major hit, “Louie Louie”, in 1963. That song made it all the way to No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart. Their second hit from 1964, “Money”, peaked at No. 16. Their last Top 40 hit was “The Jolly Green Giant” from 1964, which peaked at No. 4

The Zombies

How about some classic English baroque pop and rock music? You can’t go wrong with The Zombies.

The Zombies’ first Top 40 hit was their debut single, “She’s Not There”, from 1964. The tune made it all the way to No. 2 on the Hot 100. The follow-up “Tell Her No” from that same year peaked at No. 6. Interestingly enough, it took several years for the band to score another Top 40 hit, and it would be their last. “Time Of The Season” from 1968 peaked at No. 3, and it would be the band’s final Top 40 hit in the US.

The Royal Guardsmen

These three-hit wonders from the 1960s really capitalized on a novelty pop song and made a whole career from it, more or less. The Royal Guardsmen made it big with their novelty pop hit from 1966, “Snoopy vs. The Red Baron”. The song hit No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart. The follow-up song from 1967, “The Return Of The Red Baron”, hit No. 15 on that chart. The group’s last Top 40 hit would surprisingly be a reissue of their debut song, “Baby Let’s Wait”, which didn’t chart at all back in 1966. However, the reissue of the song in 1968 made it all the way to No. 35 on the Hot 100 chart. 

“Snoopy’s Christmas” is worth noting, as this 1967 song has become one of the band’s most memorable tunes. And while it topped the Billboard Best Bets For Christmas chart several times, it never made it to the Hot 100 chart.

Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns