The 1970s gave American listeners disco, arena rock, singer-songwriters, punk, and an astonishing collection of records that sound as if they slipped past the gatekeepers when nobody was looking. For this list, “one-hit wonder” refers to acts remembered in the United States for one major Top 40 breakthrough, even when they enjoyed longer careers or greater success overseas. Once you revisit what some of these songs were actually about, the decade starts looking considerably stranger than the soft-focus nostalgia suggests.

Mention 1978 and younger listeners may immediately reach for the Bee Gees, Queen, or the soundtrack to Grease. The actual radio landscape was much bigger, with soft rock, disco, soul, country-pop, and arena rock all fighting for space while Saturday Night Fever turned disco into a full-blown cultural phenomenon. Plenty of songs that dominated American radio that year have since slipped out of everyday pop culture, even though one chorus can still transport a whole generation straight back to the car radio.

Discover how Bernie Kopell went from TV oddballs and Get Smart’s Siegfried to The Love Boat’s charming Dr. Adam Bricker—and built a career lasting decades.

Discover how Billy Crystal broke television barriers as Jodie Dallas on Soap, showcasing the comic timing and dramatic talent that later made him a beloved Hollywood movie star and icon.

Richard Kline made Larry Dallas into one of the classic sitcom supporting characters, and went on to accomplish far more than that.

To the music-loving audience, Glen Campbell was the golden boy of country music. But behind the scenes was a completely different matter. Failed marriages, turbulent romances, and a collection of vices kept this guitar-playing crooner from finding the happiness he craved so much. He finally found his peace on a golf course with a surprising and unlikely companion. Too bad it came just a little too late.