# Musicians Whose Weakest Works Get the Most Airplay **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777 "2010-08-19T19:23:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/21 "2010-08-19T20:11:14Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > How about Stevie Wonder? Some of the funkiest songs ever written were by him, but you hear “I Just Called to Say” or “Ebony and Ivory” or “Sunshine of My Eye”. Maybe you need to stay away from the Easy Listening stations? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/22 "2010-08-19T20:12:37Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > ETA: Have to agree with **Mixolydian** about Yes as well. Wasn’t mine…but on a side note, were my friends & I the only ones who called it “Owner Of A Lonely Fart”? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/23 "2010-08-19T20:23:01Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@RitterSport](#): > > > > How about Stevie Wonder? Some of the funkiest songs ever written were by him, but you hear “I Just Called to Say” or “Ebony and Ivory” or “Sunshine of My Eye”. > > Maybe you need to stay away from the Easy Listening stations? 🙂 Heh. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, when you’re waiting at the dentist or barber. I’d love to find any station that plays the good stuff from Stevie Wonder. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/24 "2010-08-19T20:25:29Z")
Billy Joel. I have a theory that so many people hate him because they think that “Honesty”, “Just the Way You Are” and “Piano Man” - songs he himself claims to hate - are representative of his work. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/25 "2010-08-19T20:29:47Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Billy Joel. > > I have a theory that so many people hate him because they think that “Honesty”, “Just the Way You Are” and “Piano Man” - songs he himself claims to hate - are representative of his work. You think those are the Billy Joel songs that are played the most? And, that Piano Man is one of his weakest works? I think Uptown Girl is one of the lamest songs ever, right up there with We Didn’t Start the Fire. I think those songs get a lot more airplay than Honesty and Just the Way you Are. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/26 "2010-08-19T20:34:36Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Ranting… I think my previous post was over the top and I apologize. I agree that Billy Joel can be part of this thread, although (obviously) I would have chosen different songs. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/27 "2010-08-19T20:38:18Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Stations tend to play “Jessica” by the Allman Brothers. You’re saying “Jessica” is AB’s worst song? Really? They certainly have better, but you can find much worse songs in their catalog. And I think “Jessica” is pretty good, but that’s me. > [@](#): > > Up until “Smooth,” Santana was only represented by “Evil Ways.” And “Oye Como Va”, “Black Magic Woman” (and very occasionally “Europa”). ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/28 "2010-08-19T20:40:04Z")
How about Starship’s _We Built This City_? According to a Blender poll back in 2004, this gem was ranked as the “single worst single ever constructed.” ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/29 "2010-08-19T20:44:23Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > How about Starship’s _We Built This City_? > According to a Blender poll back in 2004, this gem was ranked as the “single worst single ever constructed.” I almost used that song as part of my retracted rant above. Yes, that’s a terrible song, and Jefferson Airplane/Starship certainly had better. I don’t know that I hear it more than “Go Ask Alice”, or other Airplane/Starship songs, though. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/30 "2010-08-19T20:44:57Z")
_You Shook Me All Night Long_, AC/DC Loved the entire album, but hate this song with the power of a million suns. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/31 "2010-08-19T21:22:15Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Do you have a cite that it plays more often? I don’t recall hearing it in years. Maybe you have a local radio programmer who has a fetish over the song. > > I would guess that _Fortunate Son_ gets more play, though I don’t have any evidence. Of course I have a cite. The Evil Captor Research Corp. did an extensive survey of CCR songs heard by Evil Captor on the radio over a ten year period, and the results were that “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” was the one most often heard by an overwhelming margin. the numbers: Who’ll Stop the Rain – Lebenty Million Born on the Bayou – About a dozen Lookin Out My Back Door – 6.2 times Bad Moon Rising – 32.7 – Evil Captor Research Corp., a division of Evil Captor Stuff, Inc. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/32 "2010-08-19T21:26:44Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > I hope this thread isn’t going to be another celebration of how fashionable it is to slag off an artist’s biggest hit. Well if you think the song stinks on ice, why shouldn’t you be able to say so? I do think it would be nice to include samples of other songs by the same artist that are better, in your opinion. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard anythning but “Dont Worry be Happy” by Bobby McFarren, did anything else of his ever make the charts? I have heard other Todd Rundgren tunes than “Hello, It’s Me,” but I don’t remember any of them offhand. I wonder if Bobby Goldsboro every did anything good? I’m guessing not … ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/33 "2010-08-19T21:27:48Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > > [@joebuck20](#): > > > > I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. > > Feel free to close this thread now. > > That rests on the assumption that anything else Aerosmith did was any good. Walk this Way and Train Kept A Rolling and Baby Let Me Bang Your Box and … hell, they were GREAT! ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/34 "2010-08-19T21:31:07Z")
I’d like to nominate **Rush - Tom Sawyer**. God I hate that song. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/35 "2010-08-19T21:34:13Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > How about Starship’s _We Built This City_? > According to a Blender poll back in 2004, this gem was ranked as the “single worst single ever constructed.” That is an excellent example. God, I hated that song. I never could understand why Led Zeppelin’s D’yer Mak’er got so much airplay. Worst song on the album. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/36 "2010-08-19T21:35:22Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > > [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > > > That rests on the assumption that anything else Aerosmith did was any good. > > Walk this Way and Train Kept A Rolling and Baby Let Me Bang Your Box and … hell, they were GREAT! Sweet Emotion? Dream On? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/37 "2010-08-19T21:52:09Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > > > Walk this Way and Train Kept A Rolling and Baby Let Me Bang Your Box and … hell, they were GREAT! > > Sweet Emotion? Dream On? Point taken. They weren’t ALWAYS great. And of course I can never tell them from REO Speedwagon. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/38 "2010-08-19T22:26:25Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > > > Do you have a cite that it plays more often? I don’t recall hearing it in years. Maybe you have a local radio programmer who has a fetish over the song. > > > > I would guess that _Fortunate Son_ gets more play, though I don’t have any evidence. > > Of course I have a cite. The Evil Captor Research Corp. did an extensive survey of CCR songs heard by Evil Captor on the radio over a ten year period, and the results were that “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” was the one most often heard by an overwhelming margin. the numbers: > > Who’ll Stop the Rain – Lebenty Million > Born on the Bayou – About a dozen > Lookin Out My Back Door – 6.2 times > Bad Moon Rising – 32.7 > > – Evil Captor Research Corp., a division of Evil Captor Stuff, Inc. Oh yeah, I recognize the name. Fox News cites it a lot. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/39 "2010-08-19T22:52:02Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Jimi Hendrix > > The man did things with a guitar that nobody else even dreamed of, but the only thing you ever hear on the radio is _Hey Joe_ and _Fire_. Gotta disagree here, too. I hear\* All Along the Watchtower\*, _Purple Haze_, and _Voodoo Chile_ pretty regularly. Minor hijack—I have a buddy that lost his gig as weekend dj for signing off with the Hendrix version of the national anthem. Happened in either the late 70s, early 80s. As my nominee for the thread: Kiss—pretty much the only Kiss song I ever hear is _Rock and Roll All Night_. Once in a blue moon I’ll hear no-singing Peter Criss croaking out the gawd-awful _Beth_, but that’s it. No\* Hotter Than Hell\*, no\* Dr. Love\*, no _Cold Gin_. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777/40 "2010-08-19T23:16:48Z")
Warren Zevon. I believe **Werewolves of London** is the **only** song of his that ever gets played on the radio. You may not like his other songs, but they are at least more complex and well-crafted than WoL. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-whose-weakest-works-get-the-most-airplay/550777.md?page=3)