Sgt. Cyrus' Achy Breaky Lonely Hearts Club - Disbanded

One has to wonder about one hit wonders. As a waller, the idea of not being able to consistently repeat what you do successfully and to the same high standard as you achieved on previous walls is unacceptable. Not just the walls themselves, but each stone has to be skillfully fitted and placed with the full knowledge that you will be needing to place each consecutive stone next to or on top of the one beside it, over and over again, correctly and efficiently. You are always planning ahead. It would be wrong to describe any aspect of it as being a one shot deal. The entire process is about continuity.

The idea of people getting together to build a really cool dry stone wall is not that different from what's involved in being in a rock group. A wall, like a song, is both the final product and process. It is an event which a number of people can choose to be involved in ( making it and/or being present when it is created ) and then afterward it 'exists' in its completed form, for people to repeatedly appreciate after the fact. What makes a song a hit or a success should have a lot to do with talent and artistic content. A wall is no different. It may not be judged or appreciated on the massive scale that a rock tune might be, but there is just as much need for it to be good and be able to stand the test of time. And you should be able to do it again.

When a performer or a waller can not be consistent in their quality or their output, it may be convenient for them to say that it's just part of the ups and downs of the 'rock' industry. Maybe their agents didn't 'handle' them right. Maybe their apparent success happened too soon and they were expected to produce new 'rock compositions' too fast. Maybe they tried to force or 'concrete' the elements of their style rather than let their structure develop and fit in with the musical landscape around them. Maybe they were looking to be making more and more 'hits' when they should have let the love of rock lead them to see where they naturally fit in.

Today's one hit wonder is 'Achy Breaky Heart'. It was a 'smash' hit. It got people excited, and it was fun to think it was building up to something, but it was a bust. Nothing really came of it, or rather 'after' it. Billy Ray Cirus must have 'hit a wall', so to speak. Sure, he had a few creative spurts before and afterwards but ultimately he seemed to have put himself between a rock and a hard place. I saw him perform this song at a concert a long time ago with what seemed like a million other people. It took place at the Sky Dome in Toronto which was never really a successful music venue to begin with. The acoustics were terrible, and I remember the giant roof started to roll back as he tried very hard to keep going and give it his best. Many of us were 'waiting' for him to perform this his number one country rock piece. He served it up (for all us waiters ) on a tray. But the crowd called out for more, as the ceiling flew away.... No no, wait a minute, that's a whole different 'one hit wonder' !

If at first you succeed, why not 'keep on rockin'?

When Joe and I are working building walls we often listen to music. The music alternates from jazz to classical to rock. We like to keep it a musical democracy. Sometimes we throw in some reggae if the sun is bright and we are getting hot. The number of 'classic rock' songs Joe knows amazes me. He can tell me the names of groups from the 60's that I cant even remember, and I was there. Accompanied by the constant sound of the radio and surrounded by an endless pile of stones that need to be shaped, it's just like the DJ says in his excitedly contrived voice,"The hits keep on coming! "

As far as one hit wonders go, there are a two crossover beauties worth commenting on. 'Classical Gas' is a unique non-vocal piece that is cleverly arranged and does sound vaguely classical . Too bad Mason Williams didn't give it another go. Maybe he changed careers and became a real mason, installing classic style gas fireplaces instead. Anyway Joe likes this tune and I like to think if Mason had produced more orchestrated pieces like this one, Joe might have cultivated a bit more tolerence for music like Pachelbel's canon, and then who knows, after that maybe even developed a taste for Copland or Joaquín Rodrigo.

The other not-so-classical 'one hit wonder' with a classical reference is the well known classic 'Rock Me Amedeus'. This song too presents a kind of 'blog-bridge' from walling to music, which means 'thinking with my hands' isn't wandering off topic too much. I am at least choosing singers or song titles which have some 'rock' or 'hand' connotations, even if the associations are oblique ones.

Here is a song that was done by a group called Falco who were never heard from again! Sort of like trying to find that phone number you wrote down of the landscapers who did your neighbours backyard retaining wall last fall. You cant even find them in the phone book. These guys must have been wanted by the authorities for tax evasion. Again if Falco knew enough to produce one smash hit why didn't they stick around and find a way to repeat their success? And what was that song about anyway?

Unlike Mason Williams, Falco made no attempt to sound classical. They were into purely eine kleine 'felsmusik'. Their musical premise, if they had one, was that Mozart was a 'rock star' of his day, and presumably they were all as licentious back then as everyone in the rock scene is today. (Not the dry stone 'rock' scene, of course!) As I review the video version of this song I can't help but think that everyone was too exhausted and dissipated to try to attempt to repeat their success or do any other variations on this theme. The world has thus been spared from hits like 'Shake Your Booty Bartok'.

Step Right Up. Swing the Hammer. Ring the Bell.

It's generally not a good thing to be recognized as a one hit wonder, unless of course you build dry stone walls and split stones for a living. Then if you can split them single handedly and often enough with just one blow, people may be impressed and not only consider you to be a one hit 'wonder' but think of you also as a bit of a 'rock star'. The unfortunate people in history on the other hand, who for one reason or another, got only one kick at the can musically (or is that one swing of the cat, or one recipe for that cake they left in the rain ?) probably wouldn't enjoy the notoriety associated with being on the many one-hit-wonder lists so feverishly documented and posted on all those heartless websites one finds on the internet.

Never mind rock stars, even classical composers are not exempt from this indignity. The name Pachelbel comes to mind. Poor old Johann (did you even know his first name?) His 'Canon' written in 1680 scored a big hit in the music world for him back then, and still does even today, but relatively speaking the common consensus amidst the general public is that he never fired another shot. Maybe he did write an 'artillery suite' perhaps or a 'musical musket' but alas his only well-known piece was a bit of a loose canon that sunk any aspirations of staying afloat musically.

It is probably not a good thing ( if you want to go the distance or develop an extensive repertoire) musically speaking, to start with a hit that has a title analogous to hitting the mark, ( ie. taking aim at something for first time) or anything generally having to do with 'big bangs'. Handel may have been pushing his luck with his Royal Fireworks Suite especially if they/it had fizzled, but then he already had a few 'hits' under his belt.

This week I will be taking a whimsical 'waller's swing' at 'one hit wonders' of the rock world . There are several that I can't wait to get my 'hands' on.

Please feel free to make suggestions (in the comments box) of any of your favorite 'single hits' too, for us to go ahead and 'knock'