And in the spring of 1973, that was such a case with the one-hit wonder "Daisy A Day" by a little-known comedian-musician named Jud Strunk.
On a Top 40 chart that included a variety of genres of music, from Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy," a Top 40 debut at No. 39, Dr. John's funky "Right Place, Wrong Time," a debut at No. 34, Lou Reed's seedy "Walk On The Wild Side" at No. 20, Sylvia's sultry "Pillow Talk" at No. 14 and Edgar Winter Group's epic "Frankenstein" at No. 7, came this corny, but beautiful song called "Daisy A Day."
The premise of "Daisy A Day" is of a couple who meet each other when they are very, very young, but grow to appreciate each other and then become one through time. And throughout their relationship, through all the nostalgic times and throughout the good and bad times, the male who is narrating the song always remembers to give his love a daisy a day. We find out, though, at the end of the song that she passes and even though she is gone, he continues to give her a daisy a day while visiting her grave site.
It is reminiscent of the story of Joe DiMaggio, while alive, delivering roses to late wife Marilyn Monroe's grave long after her sudden passing in 1962.
On May 12, 1973, "Daisy A Day" was at No. 15, one notch away from peaking at No. 14. It would also turn out to be Strunk's lone Top 40 country hit, peaking at No 33.
Strunk was a one-hit wonder on both the pop and country charts, but then again, his rise in the entertainment world to stardom was also of one-hit variety. Born Justin Strunk Jr. on June 11, 1936, in Jamestown, N.Y., he grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. entertaining the locals with comedy bits and playing his banjo. It wasn't until his mid-30s that Strunk broke out nationally when he was finally discovered and brought to NBC Studios to be a frequent guest on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson and joined the cast of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" in the show's final season in 1972-73.
Strunk's schtick was his comedy routines, telling the folks about the fictitious sports doings in the town of Farmington, Maine. And he and his banjo were a mainstay of the show's final season. He had two country chart songs that year, the other being "Next Door Neighbor's Kid."
But it was "Daisy A Day" that was most remembered on the show as Strunk sat on a stool with his banjo in hand playing the song -- on what was a lunar landscape set to signify that at one time, "Daisy A Day" was played on the moon during the final Apollo missions in December 1972. Bizarre, to say the least.
Strunk recorded four albums for Columbia, MGM and MCA Records, his last being 1977's "A Semi-Reformed Tequila Crazed Gypsy Looks Back." And like most of his material, Strunk kept it light-hearted and comical. He toured with Andy Williams' road show in the mid-1970s after "Laugh-In" came to an end.
By 1977, though, Strunk got out of the entertainment business at only 41 years old. He took up flying and became a private pilot, purchasing his own aircraft, a 1941 Fairchild M62-A, which he used to transport others in and out of the state of Maine, where he settled down to live.
On October 5, 1981, he was taking off from Carabassett Airport in Maine with local businessman Dick Ayotte aboard. As the plane took off, Strunk suffered a fatal heart attack and the plane crashed soon after, killing Ayotte as well. Strunk was only 45 years old.
Strunk's sons, though, continue to contribute to the local Sugarloaf Community and his grandson does Sunday shows at The Rack in Maine.
And like his one-hit wonder, "Daisy A Day," Jud Strunk came and went. But we sure appreciated both while they were both here.
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