Inevitably, when limiting a list to a pre-determined number of entries, there’s going to be some that just miss the cut. This is no different …

And so, here they are – the hard luck stories of the Radio Ga Ga Top 30 One Hit Wonder Countdown, presented in alphabetic order by song title (so as not to imply positions 31 to 40):

Classic – Adrian Gurvitz
Entered Charts:  9 June 1982
Entry Point:  40
Highest Position:  1
Weeks In: 15

Drift Away – Dobie Gray
Entered Charts:  7 June 1973
Entry Point:  35
Highest Position:  34
Weeks In:  4

Love Is All – Roger Glover & Guests
Entered Charts:  11 October 1978
Entry Point:  33
Highest Position:  7
Weeks In:  13

Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin
Entered Charts:  25 March 1971
Entry Point:  40
Highest Position:  1
Weeks In:  20

My Sharona – The Knack
Entered Charts:  8 August 1979
Entry Point:  30
Highest Position:  1
Weeks In:  19

Politics of Dancing – Re-Flex
Entered Charts:  8 March 1984
Entry Point:  35
Highest Position:  11
Weeks In:  9

Radar Love – Golden Earring
Entered Charts:  19 September 1974
Entry Point:  33
Highest Position:  8
Weeks In:  17

(Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay – Otis Redding
Entered Charts:  17 April 1968
Entry Point:  39
Highest Position:  7
Weeks In:  16

Sky High – British Jigsaw
Entered Charts:  11 September 1975
Entry Point:  40
Highest Position:  3
Weeks In:  18

Slice of Heaven – Dave Dobbyn with Herbs
Entered Charts:  1 April 1987
Entry Point:  38
Highest Position:  1
Weeks In:  23

There you go … make sure you’re back tomorrow (Tuesday 1 March) for number 30!

As was the case with the Australian Top 30 Countdown, the source of all chart information is a very excellent book, put together by my mate Steve Scanes and his co-author, Jim Barnes (no not that one). The book chronicles every song that has ever made the Australia national charts since 1956.

The new edition which spans from 1956 to 2010 is due for release as we kick off the countdown and like its predecessor contains lists by artist, by song title and by entry date into the charts.

If you want to secure your copy of this limited edition book, go to www.top40book.com.au

A great buy for any music fanatic!

Hey everyone

If you want to follow the Radio Ga Ga Top 30 One Hit Wonder Countdown throughout March, you have some alternatives:

1. Go to www.radiogaga.org.au/blog
2. Go to our Facebook page – www.facebook.com/radiogaga3wbc
3. Follow me on Twitter – www.twitter.com/neilbutler3wbc (a hash tag of #rgg1hit will be used)

Every day, a new entry will be revealed … on the Facebook page, you’ll also have the opportunity to comment about my choice (I’m keeping the comments off the Radio Ga Ga blog page due to spammers).

Tell your friends – the more people reading it, the better the comments will be!

Hi and welcome to this – my second Top 30 Countdown.

Based on the success and positive feedback for my first countdown – the Radio Ga Ga Australian Top 30 Countdown – I’ve decided to turn my hand to one-hit wonders.

Whenever setting out on these adventures, it is important to state the criteria for inclusion. In this countdown, here are the rules:

• the song must have charted in Australia at some time since 1956
• it must be the only chart entry by that artist or band since then
• where an artist has been successful with another band, for example, they are eligible for inclusion if their other venture is quite separate

For example, when Sherbet were having hits left, right and centre in the 1970′s, Daryl Braithwaite recorded a few singles that were backed by musicians from Sherbet amongst others. He would frequently interchange between Sherbet and solo.  Had he only had one solo song that charted, I’d consider him not to be a one-hit wonder because of his success in Sherbet at the same time. By contrast, John Waite had a hit with Missing You in the 1980′s and then re-entered the charts in 1990 with Bad English and “When I See You Smile”. I’m happy to consider John Waite as a one-hit wonder in that situation.

Anyway, enough about the countdown. It all kicks off on Tuesday 1 March with the number 30 song in the Countdown. Look forward to your involvement!

Cheers