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.
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| blue # = pop chart |
| 1 | Tell Him | 1 | Jan 1963 |
| 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. |
| 2 | Coney Island Baby | Jan 1963 |
| 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. |
| 3 | Echo | 9 | Jan 1963 |
| 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. |
| 4 | Wiggle Wobble | 14 | Jan 1963 |
| 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. |
| 5 | Sneaky Sue | 13 | Jan 1963 |
| 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. |
| 6 | Loop De Loop | 11 | Feb 1963 |
| 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. |
| 7 | Cast Your Fate To The Wind | 4 | Feb 1963 |
| Vince Guaraldi Trio |
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| 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. |
| 8 | From A Jack To A King | 8 | Feb 1963 |
| 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. |
| 9 | Rhythm Of The Rain | 2 | Mar 1963 |
| 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. |
| 10 | Wild Weekend | 8 | Mar 1963 |
| 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. This song was written by Tom Shannon and Phil Todaro. |
| 11 | Mama Didn't Lie | 10 | Mar 1963 |
| 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. |
| 12 | Our Winter Love | 9 | Mar 1963 |
| 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. |
| 13 | Mr. Bass Man | 10 | Apr 1963 |
| Johnny Cymbal |
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| 14 | Pipeline | 10 | Apr 1963 |
| 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. |
| 15 | Killer Joe | 2 | May 1963 |
| 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. |
| 16 | Hot Pastrami | 13 | May 1963 |
| 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. |
| 17 | El Watusi | 2 | May 1963 |
| 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. |
| 18 | Sukiyaki | 1 | Jun 1963 |
| Kyu Sakamoto |
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| 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. |
| 19 | On Top Of Spaghetti | 6 | Jun 1963 |
| 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. |
| 20 | Swinging On A Star | 6 | Jul 1963 |
| Big Dee Irwin With Little Eva |
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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. |
| 21 | Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport | 5 | Jul 1963 |
| 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. |
| 22 | Just One Look | 2 | Jul 1963 |
| Doris Troy |
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| 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. |
| 23 | Brenda | 17 | Jul 1963 |
| 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. |
| 24 | Wipe Out | 2 | Aug 1963 |
| The Surfaris |
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| Although instrumental song Wipe Out was the only top 20 hit for The Surfaris, the group received some radio airplay with other songs like Surfer Joe. In 1987, Fat Boys And The Beach Boys remade Wipe Out and it hit number 12. |
| 25 | Denise | 5 | Aug 1963 |
| 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. |
| 26 | Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp) | 9 | Aug 1963 |
| 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. |
| 27 | More (Theme From Mondo Cane) | 10 | Aug 1963 |
| 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. |
| 28 | Wait Til' My Bobby Gets Home | 20 | Aug 1963 |
| Darlene Love |
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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. |
| 29 | Martian Hop | 16 | Sep 1963 |
| 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. |
| 30 | Sally, Go 'Round The Roses | 5 | Sep 1963 |
| The Jaynetts |
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| 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. |
| 31 | The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget | 13 | Sep 1963 |
| 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. |
| 32 | Please Don't Kiss Me Again | 16 | Oct 1963 |
| 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. |
| 33 | Bust Out | Oct 1963 |
| The Busters |
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| instrumental song Bust Out was a top 20 near miss and the only popular song by The Busters. |
| 34 | Reach Out For Me | 18 | Oct 1963 |
| 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. |
| 35 | Maria Elena | 10 | Nov 1963 |
| 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. |
| 36 | Cry To Me | 12 | Nov 1963 |
| 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. |
| 37 | Unchained Melody | 17 | Nov 1963 |
| 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. |
| 38 | Dominique | 1 | Nov 1963 |
| The Singing Nun |
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| 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. |
| 39 | I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight | 2 | Dec 1963 |
| 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. |
| 40 | Wonderful Summer | 11 | Dec 1963 |
| 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. |
| 41 | You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry | 5 | Dec 1963 |
| 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. |
| 42 | The Boy Next Door | 20 | Dec 1963 |
| 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. |