1969: Shocking Blue, Venus

Shocking Blue was founded in 1967 by Robbie van Leeuwen. After Mariska Veres took over the vocals, the group charted a world-wide hit with the song "Venus", which reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970. Initially the record was a big hit in the Netherlands, where it reached #3 in the summer of 1969.

 
The song was based on “The Banjo Song” (1963) by The Big Three: