"One-Hit-Wonders" of My Life, pt. 3

Welcome back for the third installment of the series.

In 1967, The Summer of Love, protest songs were a dime a dozen. But one of them has most definitely survived the test of time and is even now still much played and well known on classic rock channels across the country. The fact that it was a one-hit-wonder is somewhat of a surprise when you consider the talent of the musicians involved.

Of course, I'm talking about the song "For What It's Worth" by a band that took it's name from the manufacturer of a steamroller which had been parked in front of their producers' house, Buffalo Springfield. The band consisted of Steven Stills (later of Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young)), Neil Young (also of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, as well as a solo artist of great renown afterwards), Jim Messina (who would go on to form Poco, then become half of Loggins & Messina), Richie Furay (also a member of Poco, then Souther Hillman Furay band), drummer Dewey Martin, and bassist Bruce Palmer. Due to many internal troubles and various legal issues, the band only made three albums between 1966 and 1968 before breaking up. However, "For What It's Worth", written by Stills, was the only Top 40 hit they would have, climbing to #7 in 1967.

The little trivia nugget I found most interesting about this particular song and group is that the entire thing hinged on a chance encounter and breaking the law. Stills and Young had met briefly in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada in 1965. They hit it off quickly and knew that they wanted to work together. But Steven's band split after that tour, and he went to Los Angeles. Young eventually also ended up there, and they were looking for each other without success. Stills was about to give up and head for San Francisco. Stills, their eventual producer Barry Friedman, and Furay were stuck in traffic on Sunset Boulevard, when they recognized Young's black 1953 Pontiac hearse going the opposite direction. After an illegal u-turn, they caught up...and history was made.

"One-Hit-Wonders" of My Life, pt. 2

Welcome back for the second installment in the series!

If you grew up during the 1980's, you were more than likely exposed to the genre of rock music known as "Hair Metal". MTV put this music right out front, back in the days when they still did little more than music videos. American radio stations followed suit, and it became very popular.

In 1983, a band named Autograph was formed in the Los Angeles area. The name evolved from the Def Leppard song "Photograph". The band consisted of Steve Plunkett on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Steve Lynch on lead guitar, Randy Rand on bass, Steve Isham on keyboards, and Keni Richards on drums. They recorded some rough demos, which were brought to the attention of a friend of theirs named Andy Johns, a record producer of some fame. Andy invited the band to the famous Record Plant studio to re-record and upgrade the demo tapes, with him producing, for free!

It was the new demo tape that Keni played for his close friend, David Lee Roth of Van Halen. David was so impressed that Autograph was invited to play as a supporting act for Van Halen's 1984 tour. Interesting trivia tidbit number one: Autograph played as their opening act 48 times! This was almost unheard of for an unsigned band. Following a show at Madison Square Garden in New York, the band was finally signed by MCA. Their first album, Sign In Please, was released in October of 1984. In 1985, came the release of "Turn Up The Radio". It went to #29 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Autograph released 2 more albums, in '85 and '87, and while MTV continued to play their videos, they never hit the Hot 100 again.

Here's todays other trivia nugget: Steve Lynch had a distinctive, two-handed fretboard tapping technique, and this song's solo actually won Guitar Player magazine's "Guitar Solo of the Year" award!

"One-Hit-Wonders" of My Life

This is the first in a new series of weekly blog posts that will feature a "One-Hit-Wonder" and anecdotal references or trivia regarding the particular song. If you are a fan of rock and roll music, as I am, then you should enjoy having this all in one spot!

I always wondered what it would be like for an artist to have one song hit the charts, climb like a rocket, and think that your career was "made", only to never be able to repeat it. Lack of talent? No, I really doubt that would be the reason. Changing attitudes? Maybe, but I doubt that's really it either. But to have gotten that big break, and then..."poof"...it's over? Man, that would be harsh!

I have decided that I would start with 1965, the year I was born.

The theme to the James Bond movie Goldfinger turned out to be the only 'hit' ever released in the U.S. for Shirley Bassey. It was released in 1964, but peaked at number 8 on the Billboard charts in 1965. It was the one and only time that she made the top 40 in America, though she'd been to #1 in the UK twice, and the top 10 on 7 other previous occasions.

But wait! There's more!

The song was originally recorded by Anthony Newley, who'd help write it. But it was re-recorded by Shirley Bassey, with the legendary George Martin producing. Here is the real "nugget" of trivia, though. A young, aspiring guitarist sat in on the recording sessions for this song. He later would go on to become a legend in the world of rock and roll, but at the time, he was only a respected session man.

His name? Jimmy Page!