One-hit wonders : an alternative history of popular music / edited by Sarah Hill.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hill, Sarah, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Popular music--History--20th century.

Popular music.

Popular music--History--21st century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (297 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Distribution:

[London, England] : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021

Place of Publication:

London [England] : Bloomsbury, 2022.

Summary:

"The one-hit wonder has a long and storied history in popular music, exhorting listeners to dance, to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, to ponder mortality, to get a job, to bask in the sunshine, or just to get up and dance again. Catchy, memorable, irritating, or simply ubiquitous, one-hit wonders capture something of the mood of a time. This collection provides a series of short, sharp chapters focusing on one-hit wonders from the 1950s to the present day, with a view toward understanding both the mechanics of success and the socio-musical contexts within which such songs became hits. Some artists included here might have aspired to success but only managed one hit, while others enjoyed lengthy, if unremarkable, careers after their initial chart success. Put together, these chapters provide not only a capsule history of popular music tastes, but also ruminations on the changing nature of the music industry and the mechanics of fame."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

The Chart of the Book: One-Hit Wonders' Top Hits

Introduction

Sarah Hill, St Peter's College, University of Oxford, UK

1. Buchanan & Goodman, "The Flying Saucer" Parts 1 & 2 (1956)

Paul Carr, University of South Wales, UK

2. The Kingsmen, "Louie Louie" (1963)

Samuel Murray, Middlesex University, UK

3. ? and the Mysterians, "96 Tears"

Adam Behr, Newcastle University, UK

4. The Easybeats, "Friday on My Mind" (1966)

Dai Griffiths, Independent Scholar, Oxford, UK

5. Norman Greenbaum, "Spirit in the Sky" (1969)

Philip Auslander, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

6. The Archies, "Sugar Sugar" (1969)

Jon Stewart, BIMM Institute, Brighton, UK

7. Serge Gainsbourg, "Je t'aime(moi non plus" (1969)

Philippe Gonin, University of Burgundy Franche-Comté, France; trans. Jackie Ortiz

8. Blue Swede, "Hooked On a Feeling" (1974)

Sarah Hill, St. Peter's College, Oxford, UK; with Bengt Palmers

9. Wild Cherry, "Play That Funky Music" (1976)

Robert Fink, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, USA

10. Althea and Donna, "Uptown Top Ranking" (1977)

Paul Long, Monash University, Australia

11. Plastic Bertrand, "Ça Plane Pour Moi" (1977)

Patrick McGuinness, St. Anne's College, Oxford, UK

12. Nick Gilder, "Hot Child in the City" (1978)

Richard Parfitt, Independent Scholar, Wales, UK

13. The Vapors, "Turning Japanese" (1980)

Abigail Gardner, University of Gloucestershire, UK

14. Aneka, "Japanese Boy" (1981)

Richard Elliott, Newcastle University, UK

15. Toni Basil, "Mickey" (1981)

Tim J. Anderson, Old Dominion University, USA

16. Trio, "Da Da Da" (1981)

Tim Quirk, Singer and Lyricist, USA

17. Nena, "99 Luftballons/99 Red Balloons" (1983)

Melanie Schiller, University of Groningen, Netherlands

18. The Grateful Dead, "Touch of Grey" (1987)

Tom Irvine, University of Southampton, UK

19. A View from the Ground: Latin Quarter, "Radio Africa" (1986)

Michael Jones, Senior Lecturer in Music, University of Liverpool, UK.

20. A View from the Desk: Product Management

Sarah Hill, St. Peter's College, Oxford, UK

21. Shakespear's Sister, "Stay"(1992)

Áine Mangaoang, University of Oslo, Norway

22. OMC, "How Bizarre" (1996)

Geoff Stahl, Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand

23. The Butthole Surfers, "Pepper" (1996)

Gina Arnold, University of San Francisco, USA

24. Chumbawamba, "Tubthumping" (1997)

Matt Grimes, Birmingham City University, UK

25. Meredith Brooks, "Bitch" (1997)

Asya Draganova, Birmingham City University, UK

26. New Radicals, "You Get What You Give" (1998)

Jon Gower, Independent Scholar, UK

27. Las Ketchup, "Aserejé" (2002)

Eulalia Febrer Coll, Conservatori Superior de Música de les Illes Balears and Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain

28. Gotye ft. Kimbra, "Somebody That I Used to Know" (2011)

Ellis Jones, University of Leeds, UK

List of Contributors

Index.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

9781501368448

1501368443

9781501368424

1501368427

9781501368431

1501368435

OCLC:

1286070978