The Analog Kid’s iTunes music folder contains over 93,000 songs, so you may think that I own everything by everybody. Not so fast, my friends– even a collection that large is bound to have some true one-hit wonders and/or obscurities mixed in with the 1,207 R.E.M. songs. In this continuing series, I will feature an artist that has exactly one song in my entire digital library.
Soul singer Frederick Knight recorded four albums during the ’70s, but only had one real hit to show for it. Knight’s 1972 single “I’ve Been Lonely For So Long” reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was also a Top 10 hit on the R&B chart. Good luck getting the song’s distinctive “Won’t somebody help me please” breakdown out of your brain at any point during the next few days!
After Knight’s follow-up singles failed to dent the charts, he turned his attention to writing and producing for his own Juana Records label. In 1979, Knight hit the jackpot as writer and producer of Anita Ward’s #1 smash “Ring My Bell.” Knight had originally written the song for Stacy Lattisaw in an attempt to woo her to his label, but eleven-year-old Stacy signed elsewhere and Ward recorded the song instead. The rest is disco history.
Frederick Knight is often described as a one-hit wonder thanks to “I’ve Been Lonely For So Long,” but that description really does require a very large asterisk…
Frederick Knight: “I’ve Been Lonely For So Long” (Knight/Weaver)
From the album I’ve Been Lonely For So Long
Stax Records, 1973
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
Anita Ward: “Ring My Bell” (Knight)
From the album Songs Of Love
Juana/TK Records, 1979
Stacy Lattisaw: “Love On A Two-Way Street” (Robinson/Keyes)
From the album With You
Cotillion Records, 1981
Mick Jagger: “I’ve Been Lonely For So Long” (Knight/Weaver)
From the album Wandering Spirit
Atlantic Records, 1993
The Analog Kid 