Baltimora, at least in the US, was definitely a one-hit wonder. Interestingly enough, though, its one hit, “Tarzan Boy”, made it to Billboard’s Hot 100 on two separate occasions. (Okay, yes, they made the Hot 100 with one other song, the title track to their first album, but they are known almost entirely in this country for “Tarzan Boy”.)
(Living In The Background, Baltimora’s first studio album, peaked at #49 on the Billboard 200. Album ℗1985 EMI Music. Photo courtesy Amazon.com.)
Though “Tarzan Boy” was the first single from Living In The Background, which was released in the summer of 1985, the single did not hit the charts in the US until late in the year, entering Billboard’s Hot 100 at #80 for the week ending October 19, 1985 (chart | magazine). It spent exactly half a year on Billboard’s Hot 100, peaking at #13 the week of March 1, 1986 (chart | magazine), and then falling out the week of April 19. As one might expect, 26 weeks on the Hot 100 was enough to get “Tarzan Boy” onto the year end Hot 100 for 1986, where the single ranked #73 (magazine).
While Baltimora did somewhat well in Italy, further singles, as well as a second album, did not exactly burn up the charts in most other countries. The band broke up after that, and that would normally be the end of the story.
In this case, however, “Tarzan Boy” found new popularity years later through a combination of circumstances. First, in 1992, Listerine released a new cool mint variety with a series of commercials made by Pixar (yes, that Pixar) which were set to “Tarzan Boy”, though not the Baltimora version.
(Pretty good for 1992 CGI, huh? Presented per Fair Use clause.)
Then, in early 1993, the rather forgettable film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III was released, and, for some unknown reason, “Tarzan Boy” was featured. The original version, as well as a remix, appeared on the soundtrack, and the song once again appeared in the Hot 100*, peaking at #51 the week of April 24 (chart). Amazingly enough, given its low peak, the single lasted 12 weeks in the Hot 100 this time around.
From what I have heard, this song still occasionally gets airplay on satellite radio, but I’m pretty sure terrestrial radio has just about forgotten about it.
* Sources seem to disagree as to whether the song that charted in 1993 was the original or the remix, but Billboard definitely treated it as if it were the original.
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