What are your choices for the worst “one hit wonders”? What artists and their “hits” do you think should have stayed unknown?
Here are a few of my nominees:
Kung Fu Fighting (Carl Douglas '74)
Harper Valley PTA (Jeannie C. Riley '68)
Don’t Give Up On Us Baby (David Soul '77)
Its Raining Men (Weather Girls '82)
Afternoon Delight (Starland Vocal Band '76)
Mambo #5 - Lou Bega
The Macarena - Los del Rio
If I were a moderator, I’d close this thread right now, simply because its purpose has been fulfilled.
In the Year 2525 by Zager & Evans, 1969.
Now you may close this thread! 
I have Harper Valley PTA, It’s Raining Men, and Afternoon Delight on my mp3 player. 
I nominate Eddie Murphy “Party All The Time”. I loathed that song. Richard Harris, “MacArthur Park”?
ah, but these had a purpose, Penelope Cruz does a hot dance number to KFF in Don’t Temp Me, and Owen Wilson mines comedic gold in Starsky and Hutch with DGUOUB.
It’s Raining Men is a fantastic number!
I nominate Shaddap You Face by Joe Dolce in my number two slot (madam!).
But “Crazy Frog” doing Axel F is without a doubt the worst song ever recorded.
Written by Paul Schaffer!
Aw come on, Kung Fu Fighting wasn’t that bad. I’d replace it on your list with Reach Out of the Darkness, a cringe-inducing piece of hippy-dippy pap by Friend and Lover.
Too Shy by Kaja GooGoo (sp?)
Take on Me by Ah Ha
Either one of those is like sandpaper to the teeth.
You betcha. “In the Year 2525” is the worst song ever, by any band, one hit wonder or no.
Hell, it’s not just the worst song ever, it’s the worst ANYTHING ever. Anyone who thinks any other song is worse surely hasn’t heard “In The Year 2525.” Oh, don’t go out and TRY to hear it. You don’t want to.
One Tin Soldier.
Tiny Tim and his tulips?
Backfield in Motion by Mel and Tim. Stupid on all levels.
Gallant Men by Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen. Yes, he was a real senator – the Senate majority leader, in fact. This was a single off his spoken word record in 1967.
Kung Fu Fighting is up there, but the revised version at the end of Shaolin Soccer was actually fairly good.
Muskrat Love
Insipid song but the Captain and Tennille were not one-hit wonders.
Re: In the Year 2525. The writing process:
Zager: What rhymes with “give”?
Evans: Nothing.
Zager: Perfect!
Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) by Looking Glass.
I believe they cracked the charts again with Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne. It went to # 33 in the US in September 1973.
Hey, you guys are naming most of my favourite songs. Should I make a mixed tape? Many of these songs are excellent to work out to, because they have a great beat, especially the dance mix versions. What’s wrong with Kung Fu fighting? Sure the lyrics are trivial and fun, but it has an infectious melody. I liked in the year 2525 when I heard it. It had kind of a sci-fi theme going, which was not heard in a lot of other songs.
I would nominate Terry Jack’s Seasons in the Sun. There was a slow maudlin song. I listened to the top 100 countdown on the radio in the 70’s. It took about 8 boring hours to count down to # 1, and this is the piece of crap they chose.