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Streaming samples from Amazon
Click the picture below for samples of the one hit wonders on this page
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Most Popular One Hit Wonders
Summary of the biggest one hit wonders
of 1963 in popularity order
| 1. | Dominique
The Singing Nun |
| 2. | Tell Him
The Exciters |
| 3. | Sukiyaki
Kyu Sakamoto |
| 4. | Wipe Out
The Surfaris |
| 5. | Rhythm Of The Rain
The Cascades |
| 6. | Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp)
Allan Sherman |
| 7. | I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight
Barry And The Tamerlanes |
| 8. | Just One Look
Doris Troy |
| 9. | Killer Joe
The Rocky Fellers |
| 10. | Sally, Go 'Round The Roses
The Jaynetts |
| 11. | El Watusi
Ray Barretto |
| 12. | You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry
The Caravelles |
| 13. | Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport
Rolf Harris |
| 14. | Cast Your Fate To The Wind
Vince Guaraldi Trio |
| 15. | Swinging On A Star
Big Dee Irwin With Little Eva |
| 16. | Denise
Randy & The Rainbows |
| 17. | On Top Of Spaghetti
Tom Glazer And The Do-Re-Mi Children's Chorus |
| 18. | Wild Weekend
The Rebels |
| 19. | From A Jack To A King
Ned Miller |
| 20. | Our Winter Love
Bill Pursell |
1963 Number One Song Calendar
Find out which number one song
was big on any date with the
Number One Song Calendar page
1963 Top 40 Songs Of The Year
The Top Songs of 1963 in order
starting with the song of the year
Christmas And Holiday Songs
Take a look at the Christmas classics
The holidays are coming fast
One Hit Wonders Homepage
Master page for the one hit wonders
section of the encyclopedia
One Hit Wonders by Year
Choose another year of one hit wonders
Tunecaster has one hit wonder pages for every year from 1960 through 2000, including 1963.
One Hit Wonders are songs which are the most popular by an artist.
There are different views on what qualifies a song for a One Hit Wonder.
A One Hit Wonder could be an artist that had only one song in the top 10, top 20, or even top 40.
On these pages, strictly speaking, an artist is a One Hit Wonder
if the artist had exactly one song make the pop or rock top 20.
No artist can be considered a One Hit Wonder who made the top 20 twice.
This strict definition may create some strange results where a supergoup
like Metallica makes the Pop Top 20 charts once, despite a long list of rock number one songs.
Superstar side projects with temporary or transient names may be technical One Hit Wonders.
Additionally, a One Hit Wonder listed on this 1963 page
may be a song that is significantly more popular than other songs by the same artist,
even though it did not make the top 20.
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1963 One Hit Wonders Page
One Hit Wonders from 1963 at Tunecaster
Here are the US 1963 one hit wonders.
All the one hit wonder songs by the artists you remember,
and maybe some one hit wonders you forgot. Find a one hit wonder.
ultimate one hit wonders home page
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Complete Weekly Music Chart Archives:
Blue Peak Numbers take you to the weekly pop chart, from 1960;
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Jan 1963 |
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Tell Him The Exciters |
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| Although the number one song Tell Him was the only top 20 hit for The Exciters, the group received airplay for other songs. Tell Him was followed-up with Do Wah Diddy, which received some radio airplay months before Manfred Mann made the song a classic. | |
Jan 1963 |
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Echo The Emotions |
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| Doowop group The Emotions made the top 20 one time with this haunting song.
The Emotions that performed Echo was a different group than The Emotions that performed soul and dance tunes in the 1970s including Best Of My Love. | |
Jan 1963 |
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Wiggle Wobble Les Cooper And The Soul Rockers |
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| Although Wiggle Wobble was the only top 20 hit for Les Cooper And The Soul Rockers, the group received slight radio airplay with other songs like Twistin' (One More Time).
In the 1950s, Les Cooper was a singer with The Empires. Wiggle Wobble was written by Les Cooper. | |
Jan 1963 |
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Coney Island Baby The Excellents |
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| Coney Island was in Brooklyn, New York City. The Excellents were from The Bronx, New York City. The echo sound of the singing was created by recording in a hallway.This became the most popular song by the group. The Excellents received minor airplay with other songs too, like You Baby You, the other side of this single. | |
Jan 1963 |
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Sneaky Sue Patty Lace And The Petticoats |
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| Although Sneaky Sue was the only top 20 hit for Patty Lace And The Petticoats, the group followed-up with Girls Don't Trust That Boy which received slight radio airplay. | |
Feb 1963 |
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Loop De Loop Johnny Thunder |
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| Loop De Loop was built upon classic children's lyrics. Johnny Thunder was the stage name of Gil Hamilton. This was the only top 20 song for Johnny Thunder. A few years later, he would have some success with Everybody Do The Sloopy. | |
| Cast Your Fate To The Wind was a top 20 one hit wonder for Vince Guaraldi, a jazz writer and piano player. The follow-up, Mr. Lucky, received slight airplay. Vince Guaraldi was best known for performing Peanuts themes for movies and TV specials. Cast Your Fate To The Wind was written by Vince Guaraldi. | |
Feb 1963 |
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From A Jack To A King Ned Miller |
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| From A Jack To A King was recorded in 1957. This was the only pop top 20 entry for the country star, and This song was written by Ned Miller. | |
Mar 1963 |
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Rhythm Of The Rain The Cascades |
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| Rhythm Of The Rain was the only top 20 hit for The Cascades. The group received airplay for other songs too like The Last Leaf. | |
Mar 1963 |
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Wild Weekend The Rebels |
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| The instrumental song Wild Weekend was the only top 20 hit for The Rebels. The group received some airplay as The Hot-Toddys and as The Rockin' Rebels with songs like Rockin' Crickets and Buffalo Blues. Wild Weekend was written by Tom Shannon and Phil Todaro. | |
Mar 1963 |
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Mama Didn't Lie Jan Bradley |
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| Soul singer Jan Bradley had her only top 20 song with Mama Didn't Lie. In 1965, she received some notice with song I'm Over You. | |
Mar 1963 |
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Our Winter Love Bill Pursell |
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| The instrumental song Our Winter Love was the only top 20 hit for piano player Bill Pursell. He followed-up with Loved, which received slight radio airplay. Our Winter Love was written by John Cowell and Bob Tubert. | |
Apr 1963 |
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Mr. Bass Man Johnny Cymbal |
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| Ronnie Bright was the actual bass man in Mr. Bass Man. Johnny Cymbol later changed his stage name to Derek and made the 1969 number 13 hit Cinnamon. Mr. Bass Man was written by Johnny Cymbal. | |
Apr 1963 |
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Pipeline Chantay's |
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| The instrumental song Pipeline was the only top 20 hit for Chantay's. The group followed-up with other songs that received slight radio airplay, like Monsoon.
This song was written by Brian Carman and Bob Spickard. | |
May 1963 |
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Killer Joe The Rocky Fellers |
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| Killer Joe was the only top 20 hit for The Rocky Fellers. The group had other songs that received minor airplay such as Like The Big Guys Do. | |
May 1963 |
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El Watusi Ray Barretto |
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| During the watusi craze, El Watusi was the only solo top 20 hit for drummer Ray Barretto. He never had another song with mentionable airplay. The song was from album Charanga Moderna. | |
May 1963 |
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Hot Pastrami The Dartells |
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| Hot Pastrami was the only top 20 hit for The Dartells. follow-up Dance, Everybody, Dance received slight radio airplay. This song was written by Doug Phillips. | |
| In 1961, Kyu Sakamoto recorded Ue O Muite Aruko (I Look Up When I Walk). For Americans, it was released as Sukiyaki and became a 1963 number one song, the biggest Japanese language hit ever.
In 1981, A Taste Of Honey reworked the song and brought it to number one again. Finally, in 1994, 4 P.M. (for positive music) made a dance version, and the song hit number one a third time.
Kyu Sakamoto followed-up this song with China Nights (Shina No Yoru), which received some international radio airplay. Sukiyaki was written by Rokusuke Ei and Hachidai Nakamura. | |
Jun 1963 |
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On Top Of Spaghetti Tom Glazer And The Do-Re-Mi Children's Chorus |
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| On Top Of Spaghetti was a spoof of the song On Top Of Old Smokey. In 1951, Vaughn Monroe And His Orchestra and The Weavers And Terry Gilkyson each had popular versions of that song.
Tom Glazer was a popular singer and host in the 1940s, with his radio program Tom Glazer's Ballad Box. He sang on many records for decades, and wrote popular songs recorded by others. | |
Jul 1963 |
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Swinging On A Star |
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| Swinging On A Star was first made popular by Bing Crosby in 1944. Big Dee Irwin was the lead singer of the group The Pastels that had the 1958 top 20 near miss song Been So Long. There were two unrelated groups called The Pastels. Big Dee had other songs that received minor airplay too, like I Only Get This Feeling. | |
Jul 1963 |
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Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport Rolf Harris |
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| Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport featured a rhythm sound made by a piece of masonite. This was the only US top 20 song for international star Rolf Harris. Internationally, he had many hits including a 1993 remake of the Led Zeppelin song Stairway To Heaven. | |
| Just One Look was the only top 20 hit for Doris Troy. This song was remade by The Hollies, Anne Murray, and Linda Ronstadt, among others. Doris Troy followed-up with What'cha Gonna Do About It, which received slight radio airplay.
Just One Look was written by Gregory Carroll and Doris Payne aka Doris Troy. | |
Jul 1963 |
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Brenda The Cupids |
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| Brenda was the only release by The Cupids. There were other groups with the same name that were unrelated to this group. | |
Aug 1963 |
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Wipe Out The Surfaris |
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Aug 1963 |
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Denise Randy & The Rainbows |
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| Denise was the only top 20 hit for Randy & The Rainbows. The group released other songs like Why Do Kids Grow Up and Happy Teenager, but none were very popular. Denise was written by Neil Levenson. | |
Aug 1963 |
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Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp) Allan Sherman |
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| This comedy record was a top 20 one hit wonder for Allan Sherman. His 1965 song Crazy Downtown based on the Julie Brown number one song Downtown was somewhat famous. | |
Aug 1963 |
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More Kai Winding & Orchestra |
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| Kai Winding was a pre-rock era trombone player who was featured in many recordings. As a solo artist, he recorded under varied names like, in 1946, Kai's Krazy Kats with the song Loaded. The song was from the movie Mondo Cane. This song was written by Nino Oliviero and Riz Ortolani. | |
Aug 1963 |
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Wait Til' My Bobby Gets Home |
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| Darlene Love was a major singer at Motown Records, singing for group The Blossoms, and backing up many artists at the time. As a solo singer, (Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry was a popular song and a top 20 near miss, but the follow-up, Wait Til' My Bobby Gets Home, was her only top 20 song. This song was written by: Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry. | |
Sep 1963 |
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Martian Hop The Ran-Dells |
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| Martian Hop was the only top 20 song by The Ran-Dells, and a huge international record. The duo followed-up with other songs including Sound Of The Sun that received minor radio airplay. | |
| Although Sally, Go 'Round The Roses was the only top 20 hit for The Jaynetts, the group had some other songs out, like Keep An Eye On Her. | |
Sep 1963 |
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The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget The Raindrops |
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| The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget was the only top 20 hit for The Raindrops. The duo received airplay with other songs too like What A Guy.
The Raindrops was the duo of married songwriting team Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. The two wrote many top songs, mostly in the 1960s, for many artists. This was one of their compositions. | |
Oct 1963 |
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Please Don't Kiss Me Again The Charmettes |
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| Soul vocal group The Charmettes had a top 20 one hit wonder with Please Don't Kiss Me Again. This song was written by Kenny Young. | |
Oct 1963 |
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Bust Out The Busters |
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| instrumental song Bust Out was a top 20 near miss and the only popular song by The Busters. | |
Oct 1963 |
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Reach Out For Me Lou Johnson |
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| Lou Johnson was a famous soul singer who crossed over to have only one top 20 song with Reach Out For Me. In 1964 Dionne Warwick had a top 20 near miss with this same song. This song was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. | |
Nov 1963 |
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Maria Elena Los Indios Tabajaras |
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| Instrumental song Maria Elena was a Mexican song first made popular in 1941 by Jimmy Dorsey And His Orchestra, and a top 20 one hit wonder for Los Indios Tabajaras, who were members of the Brazilian Tabajara tribe. This song was written by Ernesto Lecuona. | |
Nov 1963 |
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Cry To Me Betty Harris |
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| Although Cry To Me was the only top 20 hit for Betty Harris, she received minor radio airplay with other songs like His Kiss. | |
Nov 1963 |
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Vito & The Salutations |
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| Unchained Melody was made popular in 1955 by Les Baxter, Roy Hamilton, Al Hibbler, and others. The song was also performed by Roy Orbison and Andy Williams and others. Vito & The Salutations totally rearranged the song, and produced a top 20 hit. Vito never had another top 20 hit, but he received slight airplay with other songs like Eenie Meanie. | |
| Dominique was the only big hit for The Singing Nun, and a huge 1963 number one song even though she refused to promote the record. Nun Jeannine Deckers wanted to remain anonymous as she played guitar in the convent. The church helped her attain a record contract, but she soon left the church.
Although number one song Dominique was the only top 20 hit for The Singing Nun, she followed up with Tous Les Chemins (All The Roads) which received minor airplay. She later recorded under other names.
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Dec 1963 |
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I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight Barry And The Tamerlanes |
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| I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight was a one hit wonder for Barry And The Tamerlanes. The group followed-up with Roberta, which received slight radio airplay. Barry was Barry DeVorzon, writer and record producer, who co-wrote and performed 1976 number 8 instrumental song Nadia's Theme (The Young And The Restless), but was left off the record label. | |
Dec 1963 |
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Wonderful Summer Robin Ward |
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| Wonderful Summer was the only top 20 hit for Robin Ward. She received slight airplay with other songs too, like follow-up song Johnny Come And Get Me. | |
Dec 1963 |
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You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry The Caravelles |
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| The Caravelles took You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry from the B-side of the Tennessee Ernie Ford classic 1955 single Sixteen Tons, and made it a one hit wonder for the group. The Caravelles then had some notice with follow-up, Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue). You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry was written by Bob Merrill and Terry Shand. | |
Dec 1963 |
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The Boy Next Door The Secrets |
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| The Boy Next Door was a one hit wonder for The Secrets. The group received minor radio airplay with other songs too, like Hey Big Boy. | |
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