The Kalin Twins

The Kalin Twins remain the archetypal one-hit wonders. Their only Top 10 chart hit - "When" - may have cruelly prophesied the question as to further success. Originally discovered by Clint Ballard, Jr., the writer of many hit records such as "Good Timin'" for Jimmy Jones, and "I'm Alive" for The Hollies, the sibling duo had a couple of early recording flops.[1] However, in 1958, after searching through piles of writers' demo tapes, their management discovered the song called "When", written by Paul Evans and Jack Reardon.[2] It topped the UK Singles Chart, got to Number 5 in their U.S. homeland, and sold over two million copies in the process. The track remained in the UK listings for eighteen weeks, five of which were at Number One.[3] They had no further UK chart entries. Harold (Hal) and Herbert (Herbie) were the first set of twins to reach number one in the UK as a duo,[2] followed years later by The Proclaimers. They were supported by Cliff Richard on their only UK tour. Their second single, "Forget Me Not," reached Number 12 in the US Billboard chart later in 1958. After two further low-ranking entries in 1959, they never reached the charts again.