Music acts where their best-known song is among their worst?

Cafe Society
1

Or, “In which I become flame bait”.

What I’m looking for are musical artists where their best-known song is, in your opinion, just about their worst release.

Where I make myself open for flaming is my second example. My first example is John (Cougar) Mellencamp’s Jack And Diane which, for me, never had anything going for it lyrically or musically. i just consider it a blah song.

My second, and more controversial, pick is Yesterday by the Beatles. Trite lyrics (and the original lyrics were far worse!), a stupid rhyme scheme (ABBB???), and overuse of a minor key make this song one of the most overrated in rock history. I’m not much of a fan of Michelle, either, for basically the same reasons.

Okay, tell me why I’m wrong. Also, let’s hear any of your choices for “worst, yet best known”. But, no We Built This City - too easy!

2

The Pixies, Here Comes Your Man and Radiohead Creep.

Ok, neither of these songs is really all that bad, but they are certainly these bands best known songs, and neither one is all that good either.

3

Extreme - More than Words. I’m not a big Extreme fan, but I liked all of Pornograffitti and III Sides to Every Story a lot more than Generic Rock Ballad.

4

I thought Hey Jude was the best known and also the worst Beatles song.

My nomination is Elvis Costello with Veronica. Although nearly every album he puts out has the “single” be among the weakest on its individual album (the once exception I can think of is My Aim is True, in which Watching the Detectives and Alison are not bad compared to the rest of the album, I’m just tired of hearing them, which is slightly different :))

(Yes, Pump it Up is the worst song on TYM. It isn’t bad, it’s actually a good song, but everything else on that album is so great it pales in comparison.)

Speaking of which, that reminds me of Panic! at the Disco. I Write Sins, Not Tragedies is among their worst songs, but like Pump It Up, only because the rest of their stuff is so good.

5

You’re wrong about the rhyme scheme: it’s AAAA in the verses and AABAAB in the bridge. What does “overuse of a minor key” even mean? The song itself is not in a minor key; it’s in F major.

6

This really isn’t their best-known song. It’s been recorded more than others, but the Beatles are better known for “She Loves You,” “All You Need is Love,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand” “Yellow Submarine” or “Something,” among others.

Loudon Wainwright’s “Dead Skunk,” while a decent song, it not among his best.

Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” is a leading candidate for this title, though. It is nowhere representative of his work.

7

Oh God, I’ve been waiting so long for an OP like this because I have the perfect answer: Steely Dan. The only song by Steely Dan that I EVER hear on the radio is Do It Again and, Jesus Christ, that is easily the single most monotonous, musically uninteresting song in all of their vast discography of work.

8

Well if “We Built This City” is out…how about another longtime SF band’s late-career top ten hit - “Touch of Grey” by the Grateful Dead.

It’s certainly the most well-known because it is the ONLY top 40 hit of their career. But at least IMO, it is a lightweight, unimpressive ditty. It’s not even the best song from the album it was released on (liked “West L.A. Fadeaway” much more than this one.)

9

I logged in to say Radiohead’s Karma Police, but Creep’s a good choice too.

10

How about The End of the World as We Know it by REM? That song is terrible.

11

Disagree with Yesterday, Karma Police and Creep.

Yellow Submarine is not the most well-known Beatles song, but I think it is up there, and it is among their worst.

12

I am with you on Yesterday, and maybe Karma Police (I think it’s just overplayed), but I stand by Creep. It’s a fine song, but name me another song in their catalogue that is as well known that is also so bland and derivative .

13

“A Horse with No Name” - America

“Walk on the Wild Side” - Lou Reed. Okay, maybe not worst, but I’m sick of hearing it, and there’s so many albums of great work to listen to instead.

“My Ding-a-Ling” - Chuck Berry. Well, not best known today, but it was his only number one hit.

14

I don’t know if Don’t Worry, Be Happy is the WORST from Bobby McFerrin, but it is certainly the most boring and formulaic song he ever did. He’s amazingly versatile, and DWBH showed none of it.

15

I don’t think this is REM’s most well-known song. I figure it would be something like “Losing My Religion” or “The One I Love”.

16

It’s listed first on I-tunes (which seems to be filtered in order of popularity), Losing My Religion is # 2, and The One I Love is # 6.

17

The Grateful Dead’s “Touch Of Grey” was what jumped out to me as well; While I wouldnt consider it among thier worst (there are at least a dozen “worse” to my ears than TOG) it is certainly not representative of thier unique sound, and was kind of a throw-away that somehow caught the general listening audiences’ ears.

When it was performed live it could sprout wings on occasion, but it never seemed to be a true favorite of most serious Deadheads, or seemingly of the band themselves…

18

Definitely. McFerrin is a superb artist, but you wouldn’t know it from his one hit.

19

Cum On Feel the Noize by Quiet Riot. What a shame.

20

I’m guessing a lot of people were exposed to Sonic Youth for the first time by way of Kool Thing being on Guitar Hero 3, which is a shame because that song is terrible. But then they put Teen Age Riot on Rock Band 2 which is good because that song is better than all the other songs in that game combined.