Various Artists - Dick Bartley Presents: One Hit Wonders of the '60s, Vol. 2

Great!

It had all of the best one time wonder songs that you would want in one. December 11, 2007

Misleading In More Than One Way

This CD is not only improperly titled - Dick Bartley's Original Rock & Roll Oldies Show Presents One Hit Wonders Of The '60s, Vol. 2 - it does not contain all original hit versions. Why does Bartley keep putting out things that are misleading? Of the 12 different artists included here only The Hombres, Crazy Elephant, The Fifth Estate, and The Wildweeds were true one-hit wonders.

All the others had at least one more Billboard Pop Hot 100 hit and, in the case of The McCoys and The Soul Survivors, fairly significant other hits. The latter, for example, had a Top 40 [# 33] with Explosion In Your Soul in early 1968, and The McCoys had two - Fever [# 7 in late 1965] and Come On Let's Go [# 22 in early 1966], in addition to six other Top 100 charters. Derek also had a # 16 with Mr. Bass Man in 1963 as Johnny Cymbal [his real name], along with two other Top 100 charters. The others may not have had any more Top 40 hits, but in each case they did chart more than once.

In the rather extensive fold-our liner notes Bartley says, for The McCoys, "But what about Fever and Come On Let's Go - didn't they follow Hang On Sloopy into the Top 40? OK, technically you've got me, but we've found a unique one-of-a-kind, long-unavailable version of Hang On Sloopy that deserves inclusion here." Perhaps so, but to collectors of original hit versions this is not acceptable. Especially when there's nothing on the OUTSIDE of the package to warn you.

For The Soul Survivors he describes Expressway To Your Heart as "the group's only Top 10 hit, in the fall of 1967." So, you might say to yourself, we'll cut him some slack and allow that he's zeroing in only on Top 10 material to define "one-hit wonders." But then, of course, you realize that the hit by The Fifth Estate topped out at # 11, those by The Hombres and Crazy Elephant reached # 12 only, Robert Knight's peaked at # 13, and No Good To Cry by The Wildweeds barely made the Top 100 at # 88 - far below the threshold positions of many of the songs he doesn't consider hits. So that doesn't wash either.

Why not just call it "a random collection of 1960's hits" and leave it that - with an explanation on the reverse that they are NOT all the original hit versions? If you don't care about such things this is an OK album. But for collectors like me it's annoying to say the least.
August 30, 2007

Could not receive the CD

Unfortunately, I was unable to get the CD because the post office could not deliver it to me. I complained to Amazon already. I would like to re-order, but I am not sure it will arrive.

Don Bankston
781-492-2937 May 13, 2007

Bubblegum ditties of the Baby Boomers

Here are the obscure recordings of "Flash-in-the-Pan" artists and "hits" of us Baby Boomers! Stuff that was the temporary fodder of Casey Kasum and the "top 40' "Hit" radio stations across the United States in the '60's.

One Hit Wonders that were played over and over in their time then promptly forgotten. They were re'released in the many incarnations of "K-Tel," then forgotten again as these K-Tel records found their way to thriftshops, then landfills.

If you want to reminisce about all that "bubblegum" heard as a child, be more imaginative! Pass this one by and instead purchase The Resident's Third Reich and Roll! Only The Residents could give these "one hit wonders" the ROASTING they DESERVED! April 13, 2007

Got me what I wanted...

OK, I wanted "Then You Can Tell Me Goobye" by the Casinos, and here's a CD that provided it. Very nice. The rest of it? Ehhhh...., could be worse, I guess. Only real disappointment was the version of "Everlasting Love" by Robert Knight. While Knight may have been the original, Carl Carlton certainly recorded what has become the definative version of this song and Knight's pales by comparison. That's the way it works with compilations, you get the good with the bad. Glad I bought it, though! January 5, 2007

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