Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Greeting Card Campaign: 9-25 One-Hit Wonder Day

Click here to download card.
September 25 is One-Hit Wonder Day!  Andy Warhol famously predicted that in the future everyone would be famous for 15 minutes. While most of the musicians we celebrate today had a bit longer than 15 minutes, they only broke the top 40 once with songs that still rattle around in our heads long after we've forgotten who sang them. How many of these do you remember?

  • The Teddy Bears' "To Know Him is to Love Him" (1958)
  • The Hollywood Argyle's "Alley Oop" (1960)
  • Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs, "Stay" (1960)
  • "Dominique" by the Singing Nun (1963)
  • The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" (1966)
  • John Fred and his Playboy Band's "Judy in Disguise" (1968)
  • Jeanie C. Riley's "Harper Valley PTA" (1968)
  • Iron Butterfly's "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida" (1968)
  • Zager & Evans' "In the Year 2525" (1969)
  • Shocking Blue's "Venus" (1970)
  • Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" (1970)
  • Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" (1970)
  • Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun" (1974)
  • Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting" (1974)
  • Van McCoy's "The Hustle" (1975)
  • Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight" (1976)
  • Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life" (1978)
  • Devo's "Whip It" (1980)
  • Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire" (1982)
  • Bertie Higgins' "Key Largo" (1982)
  • Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy" (1988)
  • Baha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out" (2000)
  • Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" (1992)
There are others, but most of these guys either hit number 1 or got as close as they could just behind some less ephemeral musical powerhouse.

Anyway, today's a good day to dig out your old tape or record collection and play some of your favorite one-hit wonders. While you're at it, send your favorite dance partner this One-Hit Wonder Day card to tell her that sometimes one hit is all you need.

Just click on the caption below the picture of the rock band. The link will take you to a pdf file in Google Docs. Remember, instead of printing from Google Docs, click on "File" in the upper left corner, then select "Download" and copy the file to your own computer.  Open it with Adobe PDF Reader or whatever PDF reader you use and print the card from there. For some reason Google Docs doesn't handle fonts well, even though they are supposed to be embedded in the PDF document itself.

This is a side fold card, so when it prints, be sure to tell your printer it's in "landscape" format so you get the whole file. Flip it on the short side to print double-sided. Much quicker that way. Now, crank up the volume, push back the furniture and spin her around the living room a couple of times to the tune of your favorite one-hit wonders.

© 2013 by Tom King

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