'60s One-Hit Wonders

Power up our '60s One-Hit Wonders and get a sonic snapshot of one of music's most revolutionary decades. Bands like the Contours ("Do You Love Me") and the Bobby Fuller Four ("I Fought the Law") eased listeners into the transition from the well-mannered '50s, but looking straight into the future were outfits like ? & The Mysterians with the garage pop of "96 Tears," and Iron Butterfly with their acid-rock extravaganza "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." Even the tried-and-true tradition of country music was getting an update, with tunes like Jeannie C. Riley's saucy crossover story-song, "Harper Valley P.T.A."

Fast-forward into Next Steps for more '60s One-Hit Wonders.

Our '60s One-Hit Wonders may have had but one brief taste of glory, but at least they did it in style. Blue Cheer ignited a heavy-metal trailblazer by sinking the '50s teen-pop tune "Summertime Blues" into a thundering rhythm-section rumble, then torching it with a searing guitar flambé; while, on the other end of the spectrum, Harpers Bizarre polished up the musical equivalent of the smiley face with a cover of Paul Simon's "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)." And from sunny Jamaica, Desmond Dekker introduced the U.S. to the island sounds of reggae with his hook-heavy instant classic "Israelites."

More '60s One-Hit Wonders live on in Deep Cuts.

Hey, who else is gonna dig through an entire decade to unearth long-buried one-hit wonders? Where else will you find Jon & Robin's folk-pop love call "Do It Again a Little Bit Slower" on the same great playlist as David Rose's rowdy burlesque anthem "The Stripper" and the caveman novelty song "Ally Oop" by the Hollywood Argyles? But, after all, that's our job, so download Deep Cuts and enjoy the fruits of our labor, from soaring instrumental standards ("Classical Gas" by Mason Williams) to growling grunge forerunners ("Hot Smoke and Sasafrass" by The Bubble Puppy) to goofball country ditties ("Little" Jimmy Dickens and "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose").

Ten years is a long time, and when the decade in question is the '60s — when rock and pop grew up and really came into its own — the range of sounds and styles is simply staggering. Scoring even one hit in the '60s really meant something, which is why our '60s One-Hit Wonders is packed with once-in-a-lifetime classics that run the gamut from glossy pop singles like the Spiral Starecase's "More Today Than Yesterday," to the bubblegum sounds of the Lemon Pipers's "Green Tambourine," to the mind-blowing shuffle of the Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction." These are truly the Essentials, with Shirley Bassey's brassy Bond theme "Goldfinger" standing the test of time alongside the hallucinatory wah-wah of Status Quo's "Pictures of Matchstick Men" — all packed into one easy download for your instant time-traveling pleasure.