Customer Reviews

One Hit Wonders: 60's 1

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've sometimes purchased CDs just to get one cut. In this case, two of the entries made the price of the disc worth the cost. I had not heard 'Do it Again, Just a Little Bit Slower' by Jon and Robin since it was on the top 40 radio station WHLO in Cleveland when I was a teen, so I was surprised to see it available on CD. It's one of those songs that you can listen to over and over again without tiring of it. Also, 'Midnight Mary' was one of my favorites back then, though I thought the full title was 'Meet Me at Midnight Mary', which is probably why I hadn't found it before. The mastering job done by Rhino is commendable. Most of the cuts are in true stereo. A very worthwhile purchase.

The Dick Bartley "One Hit Wonders" series has a lot more than one thing going for it. These discs feature a wide variety of music that placed on the Top 100 Charts during the 1960s. Volume One features classic vocals like the Wee Five's "You Were On My Mind", the lesser known but much better Barry & the Tamerlanes "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" (as opposed to the Tommy Boyce/Bobby Hart single of the same name), and Joey Powers' "Meet Me At Midnight, Mary." There are also popular instrumentals like David Rose's "The Stripper", Kai Winding's "More" and the beautiful "Cast Your Fate to the Wind."

As with any Rhino collection, the mastering is superb and the sound magnificent. Yes, I only gave it five stars, but this disc (and the one's that followed in the series) rates enough stars to fill a small galaxy. Don't miss it!

Dick Bartley Presents: One Hit Wonders of the '60s, Vol. 1 has some pretty incredible hits that truly were "one hit wonders" by talented recording artists that for some reason just never had another one of their songs hit the number one spot on the charts. The quality of the sound is excellent and the artwork is very well done. Great!

The CD begins with We Five performing their awesome hit entitled "You Were On My Mind;" this has a soft `60s pop rock flavor to it and it sounds great even today. We Five harmonize very well and all the stars were in exactly the right places when We Five recorded this terrific song. "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" by Barry & The Tamerlanes is a strong number even if it's not exactly my favorite on this album; the percussion marks the beat well and Barry & The Tamerlanes give this one their all.

Then there's THAT number. David Rose's "The Stripper" is a very well known tune even though most people probably don't know that David Rose and His Orchestra performed this. David was a very talented artist and musician and "The Stripper" is a huge highlight of this album. Hooray for David Rose!

"Walk Right In" by The Rooftop Singers is a huge hit that still gets airplay today; they sound something like The Mamas & The Papas crossed with Peter, Paul & Mary but they still hold their own rather well. I really like "Walk Right In" and I'm sure that if you like this type of 1960s folk rock music you're going to like this, too. In addition, listen for "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" by Sounds Orchestral. This tune has a bossa nova flavor to it that makes it sound rather elegant and that's very special. Sounds Orchestral really had it all together when they recorded this hit.

"If You Wanna Be Happy" by Jimmy Soul always makes me laugh; I really love this tune and I never tire of hearing it! Jimmy's perspective on choosing a mate for marriage is really rather candid! There's also a very special number on this album entitled "The Girl From Ipanema" which is performed here by Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto. Astrud sang flat but for some reason I can't quite verbalize it actually enhanced the beauty of this number.

"The Cheater" by Bob Kuban & The In-Men has some great singing and the percussion works well along with the electric guitars; and then the album ends nicely with Kai Winding performing "More." "More" is a sublime instrumental number and it was covered by many artists especially back in the 1960s and early 1970s.

This album is a great first installment in this CD series of one hit wonders of the 1960s compiled by Dick Bartley. I highly recommend this CD for people who enjoy music from this era.

This CD is great. I am always in search of an oldies compilation containing original recordings by the original artists. Unfortunately there are lots out there that are original artists but remakes and not clearly advertised as such. You can take this one to the bank. It's the songs we listened to when we were kids!

I bought this for 'I wonder what she's doing tonight' and 'Last Kiss'. I forgot about all the other great song's on this CD. BUY IT IF YOU LOVE ANY OF THE SONGS ON THE CD THEY ARE GREAT

I never thought I'd hear "Do It Again Just a Little Bit Slower" on my own CD player! Jon and Robin and the In Crowd created a masterpiece when they recorded this quirky little pop tune. I had long sought "Midnight Mary," too, and here they are on the same collection. Technically speaking, each song has a terrific sound, too. Rhino really knows how to pick 'em!

Thanks to all who take pains to locate and reissue so many of these otherwise 'lost' treasures. Even after giving up on some titles, it's a real joy to find them in crisp renditions in CDs like this one--and, at a reasonable price. A million thanks!

The first volume of Dick Bartley's one-hit wonders is a cool excursion into that tiny transistor radio residing in your top-40-addled little skulls. It strikes a fine balance between legendary tunes and lesser-known hits. The most famous one-hit samples here are J. Frank Wilson's eternal teen tragedy "Last Kiss," Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto's sashay with the "Girl From Ipanema" and, of course, David Rose's "The Stripper." But several heretofore criminally underplayed tunes get to shine in the spotlight again, most notably Bob Kuban & the In-Men's "The Cheater," "You Were on My Mind" by We Five, "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" by Barry & the Tamerlanes, and Sounds Orchestral's lively version of Vince Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind."

I bought this CD primarily because of the song 'You Were On My Mind' by the We Five, and The Rooftop singers. The rest of the CD was good, it was worth the money I paid for it.

Sometimes, you want a special song, and you buy a complation of this type. More often than not, that song just dosent sound right. That is NOT the case with "One Hit Wonders". You will NOT be disapointed. Every song sounded even better than I remembered. These Cuts are the ones that played on the radio. They are NOT, re-recorded, or different "takes". At least I believe that is the case. Either way you will enjoy these unique songs.
Dan White