In 1973, the United States ended its involvement in the Vietnam War. Former president Lyndon B. Johnson died. The Supreme Court legalized abortion with its decision in the landmark Roe v. Wade case. An oil crisis and the first of a series of economic recessions occurred. Also, Motorola engineer Martin Cooper made the first cell phone call with his brick-sized device.
The highest-grossing movies of 1973 were The Exorcist, The Sting, and American Graffiti. The top three Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles were “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” by Tony Orlando and Dawn, “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce, and “Killing Me Softly with His Song” by Roberta Flack.
The year saw a plethora of great one-hit wonders – from soul and funk to folk rock and prog rock. Over 30 artists notched their one and only Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973. Remember, to qualify as a 360°Sound one-hit wonder, an artist must have had just one entry in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. It was tough narrowing it down to the greatest. We hope you enjoy these six standout one-hitters from ‘73!
King Harvest – “Dancing in the Moonlight”
Songwriter: Sherman Kelly
Genre: Pop rock
Billboard Hot 100: #13 on February 24
Sherman Kelly wrote this breezy, harmony-rich single following his injuries in a gang assault he suffered while visiting St. Croix, USVI. While recovering, Kelly dreamed of an alternate reality consisting of peace and joy, and the result was King Harvest’s sole Top 40 hit.
“Dancing in the Moonlight” would become a classic-rock radio staple and find a home in numerous movies and TV shows. The New York-based band only released two albums, Dancing in the Moonlight and 1976’s King Harvest, before disbanding in ‘76. In 2012, the four co-founders reunited for the band’s 40th anniversary.
Vicki Lawrence – “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”
Songwriter: Bobby Russell
Genre: Country pop
Hot 100: #1 on April 7
Actress and comedian Vicki Lawrence made a name for herself on The Carol Burnett Show beginning in the late ‘60s. When filming an episode, she met singer-songwriter and future husband Bobby Russell, who had written this Southern Gothic murder ballad [For a fascinating history of murder ballads, check out this interview].
When producer Snuff Garrett’s preferred choices to record the song, Liza Minnelli and Cher, didn’t pan out, Garrett brought Lawrence into the studio. She laid down the lead and backup vocals, and the result was a surprise #1. Lawrence followed it up later that summer with the single “He Did With Me,” but it stalled at #75.
When The Carol Burnett Show ended in ‘78, Lawrence starred as Thelma Harper, better known as Mama, in her own show Mama’s Family. She’s currently touring the country as “Vicki Lawrence and Mama – A Two Woman Show.”
Focus – “Hocus Pocus”
Songwriters: Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman
Genre: Progressive rock
Hot 100: #9 on June 2
“Hocus Pocus” has to be one of the most irresistibly bonkers singles to ever hit the top 10. Focus were a Dutch prog rock group fronted by classically trained flautist Thijs van Leer. The song features Zeppelin-esque riffing, thunderous drum breaks, a flute solo, whistling, screaming, and lots of yodeling.
I highly recommend you check out The Midnight Special performance below. Focus only had four minutes on the show, so they had to play the nearly seven-minute song extra fast, which proved fitting for van Leer’s manic stage presence.
Dr. John – “Right Place, Wrong Time”
Songwriter: Mac Rebennack
Genre: Funk
Hot 100: #9 on June 30
Mac Rebennack, better known as Dr. John, was accompanied by fellow New Orleans funk legends The Meters on his Top Ten smash “Right Place, Wrong Time.” Amazingly, it was The Night Tripper’s only song to crack the Top 40 in his storied six-decade-long career. The follow-up single “Such a Night,” also from the In the Right Place album, peaked at #42. A gumbo of funk, New Orleans R&B, jazz, and blues, “Right Place, Wrong Time” carried that distinct flavor that only Dr. John could prepare.
“That was my life for a long time,” Rebennack said of the hit to Songfacts. “At the same time, I was in the wrong place at the right time, and the right place in the wrong time, too. That was the problem.”
The line “just need a little brain salad surgery,” a reference to fellatio, inspired the title of (1972 one-hit wonders) Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s third album. The working title of the prog rockers’ album was Whip Some Skull on Ya, apparently also a BJ reference.
Stories – “Brother Louie”
Songwriters: Errol Brown and Tony Wilson
Genre: Pop rock
Hot 100: #1 on August 25
In the spring of ‘73, British funk group Hot Chocolate had a UK #7 hit with “Brother Louie,” a groovy song about an interracial love affair. Their version had a spoken word interlude that contained racial slurs. New York-based rock band Stories dropped the epithets and added a lush string section, and their cover shot to #1 on the Hot 100 later that year. The funky wah-wah guitar, bass, and organ on “Brother Louie” make it sound like 1973 in the best way.
Ann Peebles – “I Can’t Stand the Rain”
Songwriters: Ann Peebles, Don Bryant and Bernard “Bernie” Miller
Genre: Soul
Hot 100: #38 on December 22
One night in Memphis in 1973, R&B singer Ann Peebles was about to leave for a concert when it started pouring. “I can’t stand the rain!” she snapped. When Don Bryant, a Hi Records staff songwriter, heard that, he thought of all the recent R&B rain hits like The Dramatics’ “In the Rain” and Love Unlimited’s “Walking in the Rain with the One I Love.”
Bryant, who would marry Peebles the next year, sat at the piano and began composing and Peebles and broadcaster Bernie Miller added lyrics. They presented “I Can’t Stand the Rain” to Hi Records studio wiz Willie Mitchell, the producer behind countless Al Green classics, and he suggested using an electric timbale to create the raindrop riff that opens the song.
In 1978, disco band Eruption took a cover to #18 on the Hot 100. As a child of the ‘90s, my introduction was rapper Missy Elliot’s “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” which heavily sampled the Peebles version.
Check out more of 360°Sound’s favorite one-hit wonders from the ’60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, and aught:
Greatest One-hitters through the decades
