If you were a youngin’ in the 60s, I bet there were more than a few songs, especially one-hit wonders, that you secretly couldn’t get out of your head. And I bet at least one of the following three one-hit wonders from the 60s is on that list. Let’s take a look!
“Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies
Considering that this song was produced by a cartoon band, it’s not exactly shocking that “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies is on the cheesy side. But who cares? It was a fun little song back in 1969, and it’s still a fun little song today.
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“Sugar, Sugar” was a bubblegum hit for the fictional band The Archies. It topped the US and UK charts for weeks back in 1969. The song was written by Andy Kim and Jeff Barry, and recorded by a group of studio musicians. While this particular song did well, The Archies never scored another big hit.
“They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” by Napoleon XIV
Like many novelty songs from the 1960s, “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” by Napoleon XIV is on the silly side. And I bet if you were a kid during that decade, you ate this one right up.
This 1966 novelty tune was written and performed by one Jerry Samuels under the name Napoleon XIV. That was a character who wore an admittedly creepy little mask and was vaguely similar to Napoleon Bonaparte. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year. Sadly, Samuels never had as big of a charting hit again.
“Wipe Out” by The Surfaris
I wouldn’t call this pioneering surf rock tune “cheesy” or even think of it as a guilty pleasure. However, considering how overused this song has been through the years, I bet those who were kids in the 1960s are sick of it, even if they loved “Wipe Out” back in the day. However, we can’t ignore the fact that this was one of the greatest one-hit wonders of the 1960s.
This instrumental tune peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart back in 1963, and has been featured in dozens of films and TV shows since. Sadly, the group never had as successful of a hit again.
Photo by RB/Redferns
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