One-Hit Wonders: Jean Knight and Shocking Blue

One-Hit Wonders come from near and far.

Jean Caliste was born in 1943 in New Orleans. She changed her last name to Knight because it was easier to pronounce. Jean Knight did have some local success as a singer. She worked in a bakery at Loyola University. In 1970, on break went to a recording studio and "Mr. Big Stuff" was recorded. It was put on the shelf until a year later when Stax Records released it and spent five weeks on top of the charts. According to staxrecords.com, Knight received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance.

That success was not repeated with her releases that followed - "You Think You're Hot Stuff" and "Carry On." Knight did return with some success off and on in the 80s and 90s, according to allmusic.com.

Members of Shocking Blue were from the Netherlands: Songwriter Robbie van Leeuwen on guitar, Vocalist Fred DeWilde, on bass Klaasje Van Der Wal and drummer Cornelius Van der Beek. They did have some local success, according to allmusic.com

When DeWilde was replaced by Mariska Veres, Shocking Blue had an international hit with "Venus" in 1970. They continued to have success at home releasing a number of albums in the 70s.

Veres left the group and eventually the group disband. Shocking Blue did have some reunion tours. Veres died at age 59 in 2006 of cancer.