3 One-Hit Wonders From the 1970s That Found Success More Than a Year After They Were Released

Being a professional musician is not for the weak-hearted. When you’re an artist, the job is to be creative. But at the same time, there is no guarantee that anyone will like (or buy) your work when you share it with the world. Sometimes a song hits right away, sometimes it doesn’t. And sometimes you have to wait a year or more to find out. That’s what we wanted to highlight here. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 1970s that found success more than a year after release.

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“Love Hurts” by Nazareth from ‘Hair Of The Dog’ (1975)

While this song was originally released by The Everly Brothers in 1960, the Scottish rock band Nazareth released their own rendition of the single nearly 15 years later on November 8, 1974. But even that version took some time to rise up the vaunted lists. In early 1976, about a year and a half later, Nazareth’s offering peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 charts at No. 8 (and in 1977 it peaked in the UK at No. 15). Just like love at times, this one was a slow burn. But in the end, it left its mark.

“The Entertainer” by Marvin Hamlisch from ‘The Sting’ (1973)

This is an interesting one, and we might need a ruling from the judges—but do you remember ragtime? Of course, you weren’t there in real-time, but the genre of music is hard to forget. It’s a jaunt, a lark. And the most famous ragtime song is “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin, which he composed in 1902. When that song was first shared with the public, there were no Billboard charts. Shoot, the phonograph was barely 25 years old. But in 1973, Marvin Hamlisch recorded a rendition of “The Entertainer” for the soundtrack of the film The Sting. Incredibly, his version hit No. 3 on the Hot 100. That gave a new light to the instrumental, and we hope that made Joplin smile from up above!

“Layla” by Derek And The Dominos from ‘Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs’ (1970)

While “Layla” is one of the most famous classic rock songs from the 1970s, and while it features one of the biggest names in the genre—Eric Clapton—it was a slow burn upon its release. Clapton and his band, Derek And The Dominos, released “Layla” in 1970 on their LP, Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs. But it wasn’t until August of 1972, when the seven-minute version of the song (with full piano outro) was released that it rose up the charts and hit No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Even the best of things sometimes take a little while to make their impact!

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