Most of us are familiar with the term ‘One-Hit Wonder’, especially if we’re among those who love to listen to Oldies. In an earlier post, I suggested that artists whose one hit reaches the top of the charts should be called Super-One-Hit Wonders, but what would you call someone who had one big hit and a couple of lesser hits? Maybe you could figure that the extras were each 1/3 of a hit, total them up with the big one, and call the group ‘1-2/3 Hit Wonders’.
That’s pretty silly, but the fact is that there a lot of musicians who would fall into that type of in-between category. That being the case, I’m going to coin 
a new term: One-Hit-Plus Wonders. I offer it for general use by those who find it apt but won’t hold my breath about royalty payments.
The Danleers were a very successful but short-lived Brooklyn singing group that flourished for a while in the late Fifties. Lead singer Jimmy Weston was accompanied by Johnny Lee, Nat McCune, Willie Ephraim, and Roosevelt Mays. Supporting the guys as manager and occasional songwriter was Danny Webb.
Danny wrote the song that was their first real success, “One Summer Night,” which rocketed up the charts and became a million-seller after its release in 1958. The group rode the rocket up too and soon found themselves booked on national tours and even appeared on Dick Clark’s new TV show.
They followed up with some good songs, including “I Really Love You,” “Prelude To Love,” and one of my favorites, “Picture Of You.” (Video below.) Unfortunately their fortunes went South, and by 1959 the group was breaking up. They were briefly reformed a time or two in the Sixties and again in the late Eighties, as part of the oldies circuit.
Geezer Music Club 
Your current post, “Harpers Bizarre – Beyond The Bridge”, and the mention of the Danleers immediately caught my attention. Being a child of the fifties, I was a huge fan of the music as most of the kids were. I never was a collector in those days and normally within weeks my records would be in a pitiful state from mishandling and overuse. In the mid-eighties however, I decided to embark on beginning a collection of all that old music….hoping to secure every last song on whatever media and in pristine condition. I think I have been reasonably successful in that endeavor.
It was during that project that I ran across the Danleers’ song, One Summer Night, and was flabbergasted at the fact that I had never, ever heard that song. I noted that it had reached #7 on the billboard charts in ’58’ which was even more perplexing. And to this day it remains one of my favorite “fifties songs” and to this day I will never know why I never heard that song before I started my collecting in the mid-eighties. I was a radio-junkie in the fifties.
On the other hand, somewhere out there is another song that I had heard on the radio in the mid-fifties whose melody and words still haunts me and I never was able to find it. All I have in my memory about that song is what I remember as the first line in the song which was, “It’s easy to remember – the first kiss that you gave me.”
But I have digressed…. 🙂
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If you should happen to hear from someone who remembers the name of the song containing the lyrics “It’s easy to remember the first kiss that you gave me” please let me know. Also, there’s one that starts out “My life’s complete because of you.” Would be nice to know the name of that one.
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Digress all you want, Alan…just keep sending in those great and informative comments.
Sorry I don’t remember the song you’re searching for but maybe someone else will.
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I know exactly what song you’re talking about and I have been searching for that song since about 1959 I think! It goes….”It’s easy to remember the first kiss that you gave me, a kiss meant for me only, yes, I’ll remember….” It’s a female artist, am I correct? Boy! If you ever find this, please let us know!! BTW — did you live in or near upstate NY? I wonder if it was regional — maybe someone local — because I have found no one who even remembers that song! So good to know I’m not the only one in the world being haunted by that song! It was truly a beautiful tune!
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Don’t think it was regional. It was very popular down here in Georgia.
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“One Summer Night”. I remember it well. I was 15 years old. Girlfriends name- Judy. The song “blaird out” on my white plastic 2 nob Westinghouse radio. One nob “On”. One nob “Tuner”. No bass. No treble. You know what? The sound was still magic to my ears.
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i have been searching for years to locate the song “its easy to remember the first kiss that you gave me.”i know i heard it in the fall of 1958 because i was being sent away from home and that was my favorite since it reminded me of the girl i was leaving behind. PLEASE, before i kick the bucket, somebody find this for me. PLEASE. loydshelton@att.net
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no patti, it wasn’t a regional song because i live in tennessee. there was a dj in memphis that was a friend of elvis and i think he is still living. maybe bg would have the ability to contact George. i am positive he would at least recall the name.
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oops! left off dj’s full name…george klein. we had dewey phillips and wink martindale as well that were in memphis at that time. phillips is dead and wink was in hollywood last i heard. he did t.v. for a while.
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Just a thought — you guys aren’t thinking about the old song “It’s Easy To Remember” that’s been recorded by everybody from Bing Crosby to Billie Holiday, are you?
First verse goes like this:
Your sweet expression
The smile you gave me
The way you looked when we met
It’s easy to remember
So hard to forget
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Hey BG,
Wow, been some activity on this old post of yours. I was doing some more “Google-ing” on the ‘easy to remember’ song and this post came up. Good to find out I am not the only one who has haunting memories of that beautiful song. I’ll have to check back from time to time to see if any one has ‘gotten lucky’! Was really surprised to see the comments regarding the selection.
And no BG, it not the Billie Holiday song. Not even close actually but thanks for keeping us in mind.
As to Patti’s question which others have already responded, I was living in Little Rock, Arkansas at the time so I also don’t think it was a local hit. And it was definitely a girl singer or singers. If I were to try and put a sound to it seems it sounded like something the Ronettes would have done in a slow ballad style.
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Thanks for stopping by, Alan.
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BG,
I will be following up this post with an email to you in a day or so but I just wanted to let you know that I “FOUND” the song I have been searching for over the past 45+ years. The title of the song is “The First Kiss” and it was recorded in the Norman Petty Studios by none other than, get this, the Norman Petty Trio. Its posted on YouTube and you can listen to it here:
It was released in August of 1957 and hit #81 on the Top 100 which is why it was so short-lived. Just had to share my excitement.
Alan
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That’s great news, Alan. Hopefully other folks interested in the song have put a check-mark in the “Notify me of follow-up comments”, so will know about your find.
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i am so thrilled,that is a good word, that u found ‘the first kiss.’ now i can listen and have those good memories of being 15 years old. i told my wife that i was now done on all my bucket list with this song added.
thanks for all the detective work u did and for the person(s) who responded. i never would have thought it was a trio. i honestly do not recall ever hearing of that group.
thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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Just a note to add. watch for an upcoming post about the song and the group on the GMC. 🙂 (Alan already knows this.)
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