Inspired by – and as a kind of antidote to – RickJay’s thread on awful number one hit singles - how about a list of pleasant surprises? Once in a while a song you thought was going to be terrible turns out much better than you feared. There could be many different reasons why you were dreading listening to it – the track record of the band, pre-release publicity, artists from the same stable, whatever. In the example that came to me as I was trawling for awful UK number one hits, this record starts with a minute long spoken section, delivered in Estuary English. If that doesn’t fill you with dread for what comes next, I don’t know what will. Plus it’s by a Girl Group. Oh Lordy. But here we have Never Ever by All Saints. Now that was a pleasant surprise. (UK Number 1, US Number 4, hit all over the world).
The only limit on this – let’s keep it to big hits, rather than delving into the obscure (with the obvious qualification that something which was a huge hit in country A may have sunk without trace in country B). Plus it would be nice to know what filled you with apprehension about the record; and let’s have a link so we can all enjoy.
Oh, I know where they’re from, but the resultant effect is not one of Estuary English. It’s that ‘covering it up because British voices in R&B/hip-hop weren’t considered cool, so flatten out the vowels and use a rhotic R’ voice. Whether an affectation or otherwise, she doesn’t sound like Ben Elton!
Anyway, very interesting idea for a thread. I like that it’s not just “What’s bad/good?” Still got nothing, but I’ll have a good think!
As soon as I was reading the first sentence of the OP, before I read **Treppenwitz’s **example, I had the All Saints’ “Never Ever” in mind. You know, I should have hated it, a pop song by a casted girl group, but damned, after I heard it the second time on the radio, I noticed I liked the song very much. Just a super sexy soul number, sung perfectly. I still enjoy it every time it comes on the radio.
I’d like to submit Train’s “Hey Soul Sister.” I despised their first hit single, “Meet Virginia.” Their subsequent singles were inoffensive, but I still tended to switch the station if one of their song’s came on the radio because I held a grudge about their first single. And then “Hey Soul Sister” came out, and it is such a fun song to sing along to when the top is down on my Jeep and the sky is blue and the sun is shining that I no longer hold a grudge against the band.
Thought of another example: I never cared very much for (or rather, actively avoided their music) Britney Spears, Pink, Christina Aguilera and similar singers that followed, but I was blown away by Aguilera’s Beautiful. That’s a mighty ballad, sung, well, beautifully.
Here’s another example, with a lag time of decades. The Jacksons.
Thing is, at the time there were the Jacksons and the Osmonds, and they were both smiley American boy bands (correct) and they were both awful (not correct - I just lumped the Jacksons in with the Osmonds at the time and dismissed them. Never gave them a second listen. And to be honest, there was nothing much that Michael did on his own that changed my opinion).
A decade and a half later, watching a comedy show, I happened upon The Amazing Christopher performing this. (It’s very clever, but he really only has the one joke). But most of all I found myself thinking: *what IS that record? It’s great. *
Here it is without Christopher - The Love You Save by The Jackson Five. And so I went back over all the early singles I had shunned, and they’re pretty much all great pop music. There’s always a place in the world for a great pop song.
Hey, EinsteinsHund, nice story about Never Ever: Bonus question just for you, about The Love You Save: what’s the really neat joke in the lyric?
Isaac [Newton] said he kissed you Beneath the apple tree
When Benji [Benjamin Franklin] held your hand he felt Electricity
When Alexander [Graham Bell]called you He said he rang your chimes. Christopher [Columbus]discovered [America] You’re way ahead of your times!
Cool Huh? I never thought for a moment I would teach you anything about music. I almost feel proud.
“Sylvia’s Mother” by Dr. Hook. When it was on the charts, it was derided as maudlin garbage. When I heard it, I knew at once it was a parody and didn’t have a serious line in it (really, how could anyone think " And the operator said 40 cents more for the next. Three. Minutes. Pleeeease." was anything but a joke.
I said wait for their next single. It was “On the Cover of the Rolling Stone.”
(No one noticed the songs were by Shel Silverstone at the time.)
I don’t think there’s anything to suggest it’s not sincere, other than the listener’s hope that it must be upon hearing such a sickly song. Some may hear pathos, some maudlin garbage, but surely it’s far more of a stretch to hear parody than it is to hear either of them?
As I understood it, Shel Silverstein genuinely was pining for a lost love named Silvia, and her mother told him it was over. That may be apocryphal of course, but it’s not unrealistic.
It’s sung in such an over-the-top manner with such ridiculous lyrics (Silverstein knew what he was doing as a lyricist) that it’s impossible to take seriously.
Considering the consistent silliness in the work of Silverstein and Dr. Hook, it’s hard to imagine they were any more serious about this than they were with “On the Cover of the Rolling Stone” or “Freaking at the Freakers Ball” or “Roland the Roadie and Gertrude the Groupie.” The group got more serious for a couple of songs later.
Even if this were from Silverstein’s experience, an artist can turn even the most depressing experience into humor.
Why then would anybody have derided it as maudlin garbage? I suspect the majority of listeners think it’s played straight, whether they greet the result with derision or otherwise.
Being a hopelessly uncool, middle-aged white guy, I had heard of Pink, but was unfamiliar with her work. Figured from her picture and name that she’d be just another cookie-cutter pop singer. So I was surprised when I found out that “Just Give Me A Reason” was her song. It’s not the best song I’ve ever heard, but it’s not the worst, either. Pretty solid effort, and I like her vocals.
The first time I saw Billie Eilish, I thought she was just another in the endless series of crappy teenage singers. But then I heard “Bad Guy,” and instantly liked it. Now I like a lot of her stuff.
I have almost a physical aversion to any pop song. But as I’ve gotten older I have grown to appreciate that it takes talent to make a finely crafted pop song. Although I hated it at the time I now recognized that Staying Alive is a well done song. I despised Michael Jackson at the time but now I don’t deny he did some really good work. I hate rap but Lose Yourself is quite good and Eminem’s talent with lyrics is clear.
I was aware, from various teenage or even preteen nieces, that this song existed and that it was performed and written by a boy band who were held to be the cutest beings in existence. And so I was predisposed to dislike it before I ever heard it.
It’s actually a well-constructed pop song, performed quite competently.
Side note: Back when they were famous, I have a vague memory of Helen Hunt hosting SNL. Hanson must have been the musical guests. At one point, she said something like “yes, I am the fourth Hanson.” And you know, she could be.