3 One-Hit Wonders From the 1970s That Secretly Changed Music Forever – American Songwriter

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By
Jacob Uitti
When it comes to bands that changed the world, you could list a number of them off the top of your head. There are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and others. Then there are artists like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Bob Dylan who also made huge impacts. But what about those groups that helped to change the future of popular music that aren’t necessarily household names today? Well, that’s just who we wanted to shine a light on here. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 1970s that secretly changed music forever.
Rap music was invented in New York City in the mid-1970s. From there, the style grew. What began in small house parties blossomed into community gatherings in the parks. Soon, a movement spread. And by 1979, the genre had its first commercial radio hits. “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang helped to change not only the fate of hip-hop but of the entire world. Over the next handful of decades, the creative style would become the dominant cultural force on Earth. And that has a lot to do with this sticky song.
Right around the time that hip-hop music was invented, another style was getting off the ground. In the mid-1970s, disco music was taking nightclubs by storm. People danced the night away to upbeat, hypnotizing songs. And at the top of the list was the 1975 track “The Hustle” by Van McCoy. When you want to get people to dance, it’s important to give them a song that directs them on how. And that’s what this offering did, helping to bring disco to the forefront of culture (for a time).
Today, when you think about electronic music, it’s all very common. The idea that someone would take a computer and make a song has almost become cliché. But in the 1970s, that was all very novel. And the German-born band Kraftwerk was at the forefront. The group’s at times eerie, at times thrilling electronic songs both helped to inspire future generations of music composers, but some of Kraftwerk’s songs were also sampled in rap tracks from the 1990s.
Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images
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