3 Rock Artists From the 1970s Who Disappeared After One Hit

Some musicians score a big hit just once before almost totally disappearing from the Hot 100 chart. It’s quite a phenomenon, but not an uncommon one, and certainly not a definitive reflection of a band or musician’s talent. The charts (and the music industry) are simply tough to crack. Let’s look at a few 1970s rock bands and musicians who seemingly disappeared after scoring one hit. Personally, I think these artists deserved much better than the charts afforded them.

Starland Vocal Band

Starland Vocal Band was only around for a few years, shining bright with their debut single before burning out by 1981. The song in question is the 1976 megahit “Afternoon Delight”, a soft rock jam that topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and did similarly well in Australia, the UK, and Canada. The pop-rock band took home two Grammy Awards for the tune, including Best Arrangement for Voices and Best New Artist. They beat Boston, for crying out loud! 

Despite releasing several singles and albums throughout the rest of the 1970s, they totally disappeared from the US Top 40. They’ve since reunited on and off again, but it’ll always be crazy to me that they fizzled out so quickly after delivering one of the best tunes of the 70s.

Rickie Lee Jones

This rock-meets-R&B talent really deserved more hits than she got. Jones’ debut single, the 1979 tune “Chuck E.’s In Love”, was a No. 4 hit on the Hot 100 chart and also made it to the Top 20 in the UK and Australia. It was pop-jazz radio fodder, and by far Jones’ most successful song. Unfortunately, none of her follow-up singles did nearly as well. The follow-up “Young Blood” barely made it to No. 40. To mainstream listeners, Jones had disappeared. But she didn’t actually disappear. Jones continues to make sorely underrated music across rock, pop, R&B, and jazz today, her last release being the 2023 jazz record Pieces Of Treasure.

Looking Glass

Remember the soft rock hit “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” from 1972? Looking Glass had quite a hit on their hands with this jam, as it topped the Hot 100 that year and did similarly well across other charts. And yet, after that debut hit, the band never made it to the Top 30 on that chart again. The 1973 song “Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne” did fairly well at No. 33, but the band didn’t hit the charts at all with the follow-up “Sweet Somethin’”, and they called it quits in 1975.

Thankfully, this entry on our list of 1970s rock bands that disappeared didn’t disappear for good. In 2003, OG member Elliot Lurie revived the band with new members.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images