Tag: One Hit Wonder

Human Beinz – Nobody But Me ….One Hit Wonder Week

It’s something about those 1960s garage band songs that I really like. Songs like Louie Louie, A Little Bit Of Soul, Hang On Sloopy, and the list goes on and on. They were not epic complicated songs…no just fun songs for everyone to enjoy and relate to.

This is one of the most negative songs ever recorded. The word “no” appears 100 times and “nobody” gets sung 46 times, according to rock critic Dave Marsh.

A couple of years ago, as I did with House MD, I found an older show called The Office and I loved it. I binged it twice through. They did an incredible one-take intro using this song in the 7th season that I’ll have posted below.

I give them an A+ on having a unique band name…  They were an American rock band from Youngstown, Ohio…originally known as The Human Beingz but their name was spelled wrong (Beinz) on their contract but they just left it that way. I remember hearing this on Kill Bill Vol 1 and also on oldies radio stations through the years. The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard 100 in 1968.

This was a cover…and that surprised me. It was originally done by the Isley Brothers in 1962. It was written in the studio by Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley, and O’Kelly Isley, Jr.

Another trivial thing about this song… these are the dances it lists… The Shingaling, The Skate, The Boogaloo, and The Philly. And if you listen to the end of the song…their bass player Mel Pachuta is hitting an empty Pepsi bottle with a drumstick. The producer wanted something different and that made him happy. You can clearly hear it at the end.

Nobody But Me

No-no, no, no, no-no-no, no, no-no, no, no-no
Na-no, no, na-no, no-no, na-no, no-no, no, no-no, no

Nobody can do the (Shing-a-ling) like I do
Nobody can do the (Skate) like I do
Nobody can do (Boogaloo) like I do
Nobody can do (Philly) like I do

Well, don’t you know
I’m gonna skate right through
Ain’t nobody do it but me
Nobody but me (Nobody but me)

Yeah, I’m gonna spin, I do
Ain’t nobody do it but me, babe
(Nobody but me)
Well, let me tell you nobody
Nobody but me

Let me tell you, nobody
(Nobody) nobody
(Nobody) nobody
(Nobody) nobody
(Nobody) nobody
(Nobody) nobody
(Nobody) nobody
(Nobody)

No-no, no, no, no, no-no-no, no, no-no, no, no-no
Na-no, no, na-no, no-no, na-no, no-no, no, no-no, no

Nobody can do the (Shing-a-ling) like I do
Nobody can do the (Skate) like I do
Nobody can do (Boogaloo) like I do
Nobody can do (Philly) like I do

Ooh, yeah
Nobody, nobody
Nobody, nobody

Music Explosion – A Little Bit Of Soul

I hope you are having a great Sunday!

This is a good song for a beginner on guitar plus it’s a cool 60s pop/rock song. I bought the single when I was a kid after I heard it on AM radio. The Music Explosion was an American garage rock band from Mansfield, Ohio. It’s one of those songs that will stick in your head all day…in a good way.

Their record company Laurie didn’t like the song and was reluctant to release it. They finally did and it became a local hit in Ohio. After that, they got some promotion in California and the song took off.

Songs like this were important to rock music. One-hit wonders gave the stage to many garage bands not named Stones, Beatles, and Who. Many times they played simple melodies with a variation of Louie Louie chord pattern like this one. After they were released…many unknown artists like the future Allman Brothers, Tom Petty, and others were playing these songs in clubs, parties, and well…garages.

The Music Explosion disbanded in 1969. Their only other hit on the Hot 100 was 1967’s “Sunshine Games,” which peaked at #63 on the Billboard 100. It was written by John Carter and Ken Lewis.

The song peaked at #1 in Canada and  #2 on the  Billboard 100 in 1967. I sometimes hear this song in shows…it was featured in The Wire in the 2004 episode “Middle Ground.”

Their other hit…Sunshine Games

Little Bit Of Soul

Now when you’re feelin’ low and the fish won’t bite
You need a little bit o’ soul to put you right
You gotta make like you wanna kneel and pray
And then a little bit of soul will come your way

Now when your girl is gone and you’re broke in two
You need a little bit o’ soul to see you through
And when you raise the roof with your rock’n’roll
You’ll get a lot more kicks with a little bit o’ soul

And when your party falls ’cause ain’t nobody groovin’
A little bit o’ soul and it really starts movin’, yeah

And when you’re in a mess and you feel like cryin’
Just remember this little song of mine
And as you go through life tryin’ to reach your goal
Just remember what I said about a little bit o’soul

A little bit o’ soul, yeah (a little bit o’ soul)