"One Hit Wonders" Daily Trivia

Hint for #200......She had a great break from school.

 

Tin Star for #200.

If the story on Wikipedia is correct (about a 50/50 chance), how the hit came to be is interesting.

 

Tin star for #200

 

ANSWER TO YESTERDAY'S QUESTION......


#200


4/13/19


Her first two bombs were "Lover's Lullabye" and "Top 40 Blues". Her follow-up was "Winter's Here" but it bombed also.

"Wonderful Summer" / Robin Ward
Dot Records #14 1963





There is way too much to write about Robin Ward that most people don't know, So, since we've been hearing her in so many places we were unaware of, I'll yield to Wiki........Jackie Ward (born Jacqueline McDonnell, 1941), better known as Robin Ward, is an American singer, regarded as a "one-hit wonder" of 1963 million-selling song "Wonderful Summer". However, using her real name she was highly accomplished and successful singing in groups. Ward's voice is heard in U.S. television series, motion pictures, advertisements, and pop records. She is one of the real singers of the hits attributed to The Partridge Family. At the age of 13, Ward was hired by Los Angeles television station KTLA to sing on a Your Hit Parade-like program, Bandstand Revue; Ward performed popular hits for four years. Then she started a career of singing on demo and released recordings. One 1962 session was singing the "la la la" parts in Pat Boone's "Speedy Gonzales", which became a million-selling single. (Elton John said the "hook" in his best-selling single "Crocodile Rock" was inspired by Ward's "Speedy Gonzales" vocal.)[2]
In 1963, songwriter-producer Perry Botkin Jr. hired Jackie Ward to make a demo recording of "Wonderful Summer", a song he wrote with co-writer and co-producer Gil Garfield.[3]The purpose of a demo is to persuade "name" singers to record a song by demonstrating how it might be done. After recording Ward's vocal at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, Botkin thought it might sound better if her voice was higher-pitched, so he sped up the recording by wrapping splicing tape around the capstan of the machine. Botkin realized the finished recording, with bird and surf sound effects added, was good enough to release as a pop music single. But because the sped-up singing sounded younger than 21-year-old Jackie Ward, she suggested using her daughter's first name Robin on the record label. That fall, "Wonderful Summer" was released by Dot Records as a 45rpm single. Sales exceeded one million copies in the United States, propelling the record to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart of December 14–21, 1963.[4]

An album followed, with limited success. Jackie Ward made additional "Robin Ward" recordings, including a duet with radio DJ Wink Martindale, another Dot Records artist. In 1964 Ward released the single "Winter's Here", which reached #123 on the Billboard chart. Because "Wonderful Summer" is her only Hot 100 hit, the singer named Robin Ward is considered a one-hit-wonder. However, while the public did not know Jackie's real name, many of her other recordings were and still are widely heard.
As her young-sounding Robin Ward records were disappearing from radio play, Jackie Ward's grown-up singing career was expanding. At times in 1960s-1970s she could be heard almost everywhere.

In the early to mid-1960s Jackie was one of the singers on The Red Skelton Show and The Danny Kaye Show, and later, on The Carol Burnett Show. In the 1970s she sang on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.

Ward sang in hundreds of commercials, most notably for Rice-a-Roni ("The San Francisco treat").

Ward's voice is heard in dozens of television theme songs, including Flipper, Batman, Love, American Style, Maude (with Donny Hathaway providing the lead vocal), and The Partridge Family.

By her own estimate, Ward's voice can be heard in "maybe 800" films. Among the notable are her voice dubbed as Natalie Wood singing Academy Award-nominated song "Sweetheart Tree" from movie The Great Race, as Wood in Inside Daisy Clover, and as Janet Leigh in An American Dream. Ward is the singing voice of Cindy Bear in Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!, and the Singer in Charlotte's Web. In 1965 movie Beach Blanket Bingo, Ward sings "New Love" and "Fly Boy", lip-synched by actor Linda Evans.

Along with her TV, movie and advertising singing, Ward is heard on hundreds of pop recordings, including backing Barbra Streisand on "Stoney End". and other major recording artists including Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Gordon Lightfoot, the Carpenters, Cass Elliot, and Joan Baez. Ward did broadcast recordings of musicals Hair, Grease, Annie, and Hello Dolly. Ward sang a duet with Allan Sherman on his song Here's To the Crabgrass from his 1963 comedy album My Son The Nut. In 1967, she sang on Gábor Szabó's album for Impulse!, Wind, Sky And Diamonds, as a member of The California Dreamers.

Ward also sang alto in vocal groups heard on many hit records and popular albums, including the Anita Kerr Singers and the Ron Hicklin Singers (who anonymously made many hit records beyond the Partridge Family). As a member of the Ray Conniff Singers, Ward recorded several lead and solo vocals.

The Partridge Family
Ward's longest-lasting contribution might be The Partridge Family TV show and hit records, where she is heard but not seen or identified. Other than show star David Cassidy (and star Shirley Jones on a couple of songs), none of the actors participated in singing or playing the songs; on camera they lip-synced and pretended to play instruments while the soundtrack is actually recordings by session musicians. Ward was in the Ron Hicklin Singers vocal group, along with brothers John Bahler and Tom Bahler, and Ron Hicklin. With Cassidy singing lead, this group did all the TV show performances and records credited to the Partridge Family (along with session instrumental musicians who became known as the Wrecking Crew). Since the public did not know who really created the many Partridge Family songs that became big hits, Ward again was anonymous. See...I told you you would be surprised.


It has always puzzled me how an artist or group could sometimes have a megahit and we never hear from them again. Especially if they wrote it. As a final authority I'll use the Billboard Top 40 charts because that should narrow the field to songs most everyone is familiar with.In some cases, an artist could have had another minor regional hit that no one ever heard of. I know of a One Hit Wonder where the group had two other hits in the South but people on the west coast would have never heard them. I will try to make the questions somewhat difficult to attract multiple answers or guesses. Each day I will update this thread with the previous day's answer and a new question. Correct answers should contain the correct title and artist as it appeared on the record or chart.
What I found recently after starting this thread was that if someone correctly answers the question soon after it's posting, it takes away the incentive for others to participate. I don't want that to happen since this is a forum. So, let me describe how I think this can work successfully. You have five choices for initial answers...

1. If you absolutely know that you know the answer, without any doubt, simply post "GOLD STAR", and leave a comment, if you like, about the song that doesn't hint or giveaway the answer. Please come back and post your full comments and memories about the song after the answer has been posted. This is what I want to encourage the most since this is a forum.

2. If you want to confirm your initial thought and look it up, post a SILVER STAR , with the same criteria as in #1.

3. If you want to take the time to research the answer, post a TIN STAR. Same criteria as #1.

4. Post your guesses. But let us know it's a guess, meaning it may or may not be correct. Comments would be welcomed.

5. Simply post "I don't know" and leave any comments you might have.

With these choices, it gives everyone a chance to correctly answer the question early and still leave room for everyone to participate until the official answer is posted. Again, I really want to hear your comments and memories about the song/artist. Good luck and have fun !


NEW QUESTION......



#201


4/14/19


With a singer we've mentioned before, these English guys named themselves after a New York Town.




Please choose from the answer options above........

 

Apart from remembering her Summer song, I came across In His Car on a vinyl VA album in the 1980s or 90s.

 

Gold Star for #201

 

Silver for #201

 

Ward's voice is heard in dozens of television theme songs, including Flipper,


I wonder if that's Robin singing...."They call him Flipper, Flipper......"

 

201 - Tin. Got the band name from the clue couldn't remember right off their one hit.

 

Wonderful Summer truly is wonderful, further evidence of how good 1963 was musically.

I've listened to several other Robin Ward songs on YouTube, and some of them are very good. (Same for another one-hit wonder, Joanie Sommers)

I did not know that! I've seen the movie fairly recently, it's quite funny ...

 

#201 Gold

Some controversy about who sang the lead vocal on this one

 

One of my all time favorite movies! Jack Lemmon was hilarious!

 

Hint for #201.....Same singer who sang "Gimee Dat Ding".

 

Gold Star for #201.

 

Tin star for #201.

 

Blimey, he got around a bit, didn't he!

Tin star.

 

Silver for #201... the second hint did it. The other guy who sang on "Gimme Dat Ding" is also eligible for this thread.

 

Ok, the clue did it for me. So is that still a gold star?

 

ANSWER TO YESTERDAY'S QUESTION........



#201


4/14/19


With a singer we've mentioned before, these English guys named themselves after a New York town.


"My Baby Loves Lovin'" / White Plains
Deram records #13 1970






Tony Burrows was formerly a member of British hitmakers Ivy League and Flowerpot. He also furnished vocals for The Brotherhood Of Man, Edison Lighthouse, The Pipkins and First Class. White Plains was a little different in that they had numerous other British chart hits.


It has always puzzled me how an artist or group could sometimes have a megahit and we never hear from them again. Especially if they wrote it. As a final authority I'll use the Billboard Top 40 charts because that should narrow the field to songs most everyone is familiar with.In some cases, an artist could have had another minor regional hit that no one ever heard of. I know of a One Hit Wonder where the group had two other hits in the South but people on the west coast would have never heard them. I will try to make the questions somewhat difficult to attract multiple answers or guesses. Each day I will update this thread with the previous day's answer and a new question. Correct answers should contain the correct title and artist as it appeared on the record or chart.
What I found recently after starting this thread was that if someone correctly answers the question soon after it's posting, it takes away the incentive for others to participate. I don't want that to happen since this is a forum. So, let me describe how I think this can work successfully. You have five choices for initial answers...

1. If you absolutely know that you know the answer, without any doubt, simply post "GOLD STAR", and leave a comment, if you like, about the song that doesn't hint or giveaway the answer. Please come back and post your full comments and memories about the song after the answer has been posted. This is what I want to encourage the most since this is a forum.

2. If you want to confirm your initial thought and look it up, post a SILVER STAR , with the same criteria as in #1.

3. If you want to take the time to research the answer, post a TIN STAR. Same criteria as #1.

4. Post your guesses. But let us know it's a guess, meaning it may or may not be correct. Comments would be welcomed.

5. Simply post "I don't know" and leave any comments you might have.

With these choices, it gives everyone a chance to correctly answer the question early and still leave room for everyone to participate until the official answer is posted. Again, I really want to hear your comments and memories about the song/artist. Good luck and have fun !


NEW QUESTION........


#202



4/15/19



These guys originated in Tampa. After their OHW the founding singer/guitarist left to join another OHW group who had a classic hit.





Please choose from the answer options above.

 

Therein lies the controversy

 

Tin star for #202. Some folks might have the impression that they were a San Francisco band.

 

re. #201 there has been some speculation as to who sang lead on White Plains "My Baby Loves Lovin"

There seems to be no doubt that Tony Burrows voice is heard in the song.

White Plains - My Baby Loves Lovin'

and

My Baby Loves Lovin’ – White Plains – 1970

indicates that it was likely Ricky Wolff sang lead on this track

 

Gold Star #202 - When the singer/guitarist in question joined the second OHW band, they metamorphosed into an almost completely different sound.

 

That's why in the question and answer I simply said "singer" and "furnished vocals" not lead singer.

 

Tin star for #202.

At the time the song was a hit, it was widely believed that it was "ripped from the headlines."