Want to pad your 1960s playlist with some underrated gems, namely one-hit wonders of the era? A lot of bands and musicians made it big just once during the 1960s, and some of those artists have been somewhat lost to time. Let’s jog your memory a bit, shall we? The following one-hit wonders from the 1960s deserve way more love today!
Videos by American Songwriter
“The Game Of Love” by Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders
How about a little bit of blues rock goodness? “The Game Of Love” by English beat group Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders first dropped in early 1965. The song was a fast hit for the group, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 2 on the UK Singles chart. Sadly, the band couldn’t quite capitalize on the success of “The Game Of Love”. Their follow-up, “It’s Just a Little Bit Too Late”, didn’t quite crack the Top 40 in the US.
Eventually, though, a different version of the band would score success later in the 1960s. Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders would come to an end in 1965, but a newer iteration of the band called The Mindbenders would continue on and find success with the No. 2 US hit, “A Groovy Kind Of Love”, in 1965. That iteration of the band would also become a one-hit wonder, as none of their follow-ups reached the Top 40 of the Hot 100 chart.
“Steal Away” by Jimmy Hughes
This somewhat taboo Southern soul hit is a bit of a history-maker. Not only was the song a big crossover hit for R&B crooner Jimmy Hughes back in 1964, but it was also the very first song recorded at FAME Studios in Alabama.
“Steal Away” was a No. 17 hit on the Hot 100 chart that year. Hughes continued to chart well into the 1960s, but he never quite made it to the Top 40 on that chart again. Though, songs like “Neighbor, Neighbor” from 1966 and “Why Not Tonight” from 1967 made it to the Top 10 of the R&B charts in the US.
“Telstar” by The Tornados
Instrumental songs were quite popular in the 1960s. “Telstar” by The Tornados might just be one of the finest one-hit wonders of that particular 60s genre. If you love retro depictions of space age pop with a little surf rock mixed in, you’ll love this solid jam from 1962.
“Telstar” hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and did similarly well in the UK and Ireland, among other countries. Unfortunately, The Tornados never enjoyed another Top 40 hit on the Hot 100 again. However, they continued to pop up on the Australian charts through the mid-1960s.
Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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