“Chick-A-Boom” is a song that everyone has heard at least once in their life. And if you haven’t, you surely remember the lyrics: “Last night I had a crazy dream about a chick in a black bikini”…”she must be a magic genie”. The hit song that reached number 9 on the US Billboard Pop chart in 1971, was performed by Dick Monda, better known by his fantastic moniker, Daddy Dewdrop. In the photo below, you can see Daddy Dewdrop in all his glory – with a huge mustache and a train conductor’s hat.
As it turns out, Monda was a music producer for an animated TV series called the ‘Groovy Goolies’. The famous “Chick-A-Boom” was originally written and recorded for the show, and producers had no idea it would become a chart-topping hit.
"I Love The Nightlife" by Alicia Bridges
Even though Alicia Bridges might look like a punk chic, she's definitely a disco princess. Her hit song "I Love the Nightlife", released in 1978, was Bridges's personal love letter to nightlife. Needless to say, she loved parties and dancing, and she wanted listeners to love it as much as her.
Her voice had a cheekiness to it that made it one of a kind, but Alicia was clear from the start - this would be her only venture into disco music. Apparently, she simply said she wasn't interested in making a full album in the disco genre, even though producers made her a very generous offer.
"The Rapper" by The Jaggerz
Many people still believe that this band's name was a play on Mick Jagger's name, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The rock band from Pennsylvania released their hit song "The Rapper" right in the middle of Rolling Stones mania, in 1970, so it's not surprising people got confused at first.
However, the band explained that they chose the name after Pittsburgh slang word for a type of thorny bush. The hit song was a fun boogie with groovy electric guitar riffs that was only surpassed in popularity by "bridge Over Troubled Water", by Simon & Garfunkel. The Jaggerz wrote many other singles that made the Billboard Hot 100 charts, but they never topped them like "The Rapper".
"Magic" by Pilot
Back in the '70s, Pilot was one of Scotland's most famous rock band, and their hit "Magic" won a gold record just a few short months after its release in 1974. Not only is it an extremely catchy tune, it actually makes you think like you're in a magic show. Whether you agree or not, the song definitely had a certain kind of magic to it, since it sold nearly a million copies worldwide.
"Magic" made it to number 5 in the U.S. music charts, but their following hit, "January", only made it big in the UK. Funnily enough, "Magic" made a big comeback more than 30 years later, in 2007, as the theme song for a Pillsbury commercial.
"Pop Muzik" by M
If you ever want a perfect example of what new wave music sounds like, listen to "Pop Muzik", by M. It may be incredibly bizarre and catchy at the same time, but this 1979 hit by English group M was certainly a success.
The band was a collaborative project that centered around Robin Scott, a known English musician of the time. "Pop Muzik" had synthesizers that made it a perfect mix of disco and electronic pop, a style that would define the '80s. The famous '90s band U2 has remixed and performed the song many times.