Worst Songs of All Time

[dubhlinn]

I think 'Little Drummer Boy' by David Bowie and Bing Crosby deserves to be more despised than it is.

Another ghastly singer who produced two shockers at least is Peter Sarstedt, pseudo sophisticate beloved of MOR deejays. On 'Where Do You Go To My Lovely' I could grudgingly give him the benefit of the doubt—perhaps he was taking the mickey—but with 'Frozen Orange Juice' all doubt had gone. I got some satisfaction recently when I discovered that those songs were hits because of saturation airplay and not sales.

I would have to agree with Wombats comments on Peter Sarstedts dodgy songs but I am now wondering if a song was recorded and copies distributed to only major Radio stations can it still be classed as a Hit even though there have been no sales?

Slan,
D.

[missy]

ok - while there are many songs I can't stand, there IS one song that will make me either leave the room, leave the venue, or at the very least, cover my ears tightly.

YMCA by the Village People.

I hate weddings because of this song. I hate anything with a "DJ" because of this song. I hate sporting events because of this song. I even hate driving past the Y up the street because it triggers this song in my head.

I honestly have to say I HATE THIS SONG!

Missy

[Wombat]

I would have to agree with Wombats comments on Peter Sarstedts dodgy songs but I am now wondering if a song was recorded and copies distributed to only major Radio stations can it still be classed as a Hit even though there have been no sales?

Slan,
D.

The habit of basing rankings on airplay as well as sales was a (subtle?) way of making it look as though African/American artists weren't dominating American sales in the 60s. They were. I don't think the punters were ever told until the news seeped out fairly recently.

I'm guessing that these records sold well, but not nearly well enough to be the hits they were officially. I don't know anybody who likes them or who bought them. But you still hear them on golden oldies stations. That I don't know anyone who likes them isn't evidence of all that much; I only know one person who likes and buys easy listening music but cleary there is a market for it. But these had to have sold a lot more than any easy listening record to hit as big as they did—unless sales don't matter very much.

[dubhlinn]

I know how you feel Missy..

Some years back,my son was watching T.V. and on came the Village People and Y.M.C.A....my son got closer to the T.V. and said "Dad..if he is a Cowboy,and he's a policeman,and that one is an Indian and that one there is a Builder, then what does that one there do...?"
Needless to say he was pointing at Leatherman at the time. After thinking about it for a moment I replied "I guess he's unemployed and has no money to buy nice clothes."

I got away with it and all...


Slan,
D.

[dubhlinn]

The habit of basing rankings on airplay as well as sales was a (subtle?) way of making it look as though African/American artists weren't dominating American sales in the 60s. They were. I don't think the punters were ever told until the news seeped out fairly recently.

Interesting point and sadly makes sense.

I recall reading somewhere that a very big name band...might have been Genesis, though I am not sure but they released a single for airplay only on the grounds that their last album did not sell well enough and their fans were "undeserving" of the opportunity to buy the new single!!

It just ain't Rock'n'Roll....

Slan,
D.

[Wombat]

Needless to say he was pointing at Leatherman at the time. After thinking about it for a moment I replied "I guess he's unemployed and has no money to buy nice clothes."

I got away with it and all...


Slan,
D.

You could have told him he'd just left the Navy. Alternatively, perhaps you could have told him he'd been taught by the Christian Brothers and wanted to continue the experience.

[emmline]

No, no, no Wombat. You've got it all wrong. There's something so undeniably weird* about the juxtaposition of David Bowie and Bing Crosby that I find that song highly listenable. It's better if it's not taken out of context, and shown or heard in its full version which includes a little skit sort of set up where David and Bing meet up in a Bing Crosby Christmas special. It's silly, no question, but still interesting.

*especially if you saw Bing's daughter Mary talking about it on a recent hokey-Christmas-Special retrospective. Apparently Bowie and his wife were in their Ziggy Stardust mode, and showed up on the set looking so otherworldly that the highly conservative Catholic Bing didn't know what to make of them, and the piece was taped shortly thereafter. Bing, incidentally, died with a month or two of that taping.

[Wombat]

No, no, no Wombat. You've got it all wrong. There's something undeniably weird about the juxtaposition of David Bowie and Bing Crosby that I find that song highly listenable. It's better if it's not taken out of context, and shown or heard in its full version which includes a little skit sort of set up where David and Bing meet up in a Bing Crosby Christmas special. It's silly, no question, but still interesting.

Oh all right. I wasn't being completely serious about that one. I guess it was cute.

But I certainly didn't get Peter Sarstedt wrong, nor the Christian Brothers.

[dubhlinn]

Bowie and Bings duet is like a car crash you pass on the motorway..you know its wrong but you just can't help slowing down to get a look..

Some years ago I was doing a gig in Nottingham ,about eighty miles from here, and it was in a big Irish place where Rebel songs were essential. No rebel songs ,no gig.
The place filled up early except for one table right in front of the stage.Just after we struck up, four of the biggest ,toughest looking guys I ever saw in my life walked in nodding to all and shaking hands here and there before sitting down at the empty table. Jamaicans all and pretty well stoned by the look of it.
As the gig progressed I noticed that these guys knew all the words to all the songs and were particularly impressed with the rebel stuff,even sending up requests for songs that I never thought any Jamaican folk would have ever heard of.
After the gig was done we were invited to stay back for a late night drink with a few of the regulars and as soon as the pub was cleared I noticed that the Jamaican boys were staying back as well.
One of them asked me if I could read music and on hearing that I could he went out to his car and brought in a load of Songbooks with all the usual stuff in them.
They then proceeded to go into an incredible version of Kevin Barry which they sang in a Caribbean/Calypso style which was amazing.When it came to the line about "British soldiers murdered Barry..." one of them was in tears.
I could not take any more of this mystery so I politely asked - remember ,these guys were huge - where they had learned all these songs.It turned out that they had all been brought up in a Boys Home in Jamaica which was run by the Christian Brothers.All they ever learnt in the scholl there was the Catechism,Irish rebel songs and Irish History,although all the history bits seemed to be about how brutal and oppressive the English were.

Only the good Christian Brothers could go into another country and pull a stunt like that.Taking the hearts and minds of innocent children and fill them full of hate and bigotry.
Thinking back on the size of these guys though I would be sorry for any racists who dared abuse the Irish within earshot of these fellas..

Slan,
D.

[Wombat]

Bowie and Bings duet is like a car crash you pass on the motorway..you know its wrong but you just can't help slowing down to get a look..

Exactly right.

Only the good Christian Brothers could go into another country and pull a stunt like that.Taking the hearts and minds of innocent children and fill them full of hate and bigotry.

Well to hear some of my cousins tell it, the Marists would give them a run for their money. It was a running joke in my family as to which schooling was more ..er .. abusive. Those of us who weren't Catholic were Presbyterian and had our hellfire and brimstone preachers just off the plane from Glasgow to contend with. No matter what brand, religious Gaels were very scarey.

[mukade]

I don't think the human race can get any lower than this:

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/video/cheekysong.php

Mukade

[Joseph E. Smith]

I don't think the human race can get any lower than this:

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/video/cheekysong.php

Mukade

.....my butt hurts.