# Oddest chart hits **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863 "2014-12-10T18:02:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/1 "2014-12-10T18:02:54Z")
What do you think are the oddest chart single hits. (By oddest, I’m not including novelty songs, but those with at least ostensibly serious intent.) My vote goes to the brilliant, mesmerising ‘O Superman’ by Laurie Anderson which got to number two in the UK charts in 1981. Basically it’s just Laurie Anderson going ‘ha ha ha ha’ for over eight minutes while intoning lyrics like these: \*'Cause when love is gone, there’s always justice. And when justice is gone, there’s always force. And when force is gone, there’s always Mom. Hi Mom! So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms. In your arms. So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. Your petrochemical arms. Your military arms. In your electronic arms.\* ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/2 "2014-12-10T18:16:00Z")
Done in one, I think. How on earth did that get to no 2 in the charts? Remember that UK charts, at least back then, are based purely on sales. It is a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/3 "2014-12-10T18:22:01Z")
It was a mystery then, and so it remains. But it did get in to the top twenty in a couple of European countries. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/4 "2014-12-10T18:29:46Z")
“An Open Letter to my Teenage Son” by [Victor Lundberg](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_lundberg). Top ten in 1967. Strange days! ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/5 "2014-12-10T18:29:59Z")
Let’s see: In the Year 2525 has got to be up there as one of the strangest hits. I think it went to #1 in the US in the 60’s. I’ve always thought that My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas was one of the strangest and most terrible hits ever. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/6 "2014-12-10T18:38:58Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Done in one, I think. How on earth did that get to no 2 in the charts? Remember that UK charts, at least back then, are based purely on sales. It is a mystery. > [@NineToTheSky](#): > > It was a mystery then, and so it remains. But it did get in to the top twenty in a couple of European countries. Reading up on the song I found out that it was initially “championed” by John Peel. I assume it must have then went onto the Radio1 daytime playlist, though I dont know this for sure. Getting onto the Radio1 playlist back then didn’t guarantee success but did vastly improve a records chances. Radio1 had a virtual monopoly on what became “hot”. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/7 "2014-12-10T18:41:13Z")
John Peel championed a lot of records and very few of them saw any chart action! ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/8 "2014-12-10T19:02:06Z")
Didn’t a senator or congressman have a record of some speech reach the top of the charts in the 1960s? “These Brave Men” or something like that? Goo-fu is failing me. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/9 "2014-12-10T19:08:50Z")
[“Gallant Men”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8gTV_CSNQLM) > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Didn’t a senator or congressman have a record of some speech reach the top of the charts in the 1960s? “These Brave Men” or something like that? Goo-fu is failing me. by Senator Everett Dirksen. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/10 "2014-12-10T19:09:15Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Didn’t a senator or congressman have a record of some speech reach the top of the charts in the 1960s? “These Brave Men” or something like that? Goo-fu is failing me. Popped out of the dust bins. [Everett Dirksen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everett_Dirksen), “These Gallant Men,” 1968. He apparently recorded four albums of spoken material and was for a time the oldest chartbuster on record. …aaaaaaaannnd ninja’ed. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/11 "2014-12-10T19:28:36Z")
**[Ballad of the Green Berets](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5WJJVSE_BE)** - Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler Not a bad tune, but 5 weeks at #1? During Viet Nam? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/12 "2014-12-10T19:40:00Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > What do you think are the oddest chart single hits. (By oddest, I’m not including novelty songs, but those with at least ostensibly serious intent.) > > My vote goes to the brilliant, mesmerising ‘O Superman’ by Laurie Anderson which got to number two in the UK charts in 1981. Basically it’s just Laurie Anderson going ‘ha ha ha ha’ for over eight minutes while intoning lyrics like these: > > \*'Cause when love is gone, there’s always justice. > And when justice is gone, there’s always force. > And when force is gone, there’s always Mom. Hi Mom! > > So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. So hold me, > Mom, in your long arms. > In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms. > In your arms. > So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. > Your petrochemical arms. Your military arms. > In your electronic arms.\* My first wife loved Laurie Anderson. “O Superman” is actually one of her more accessible pieces. For my part, I’ve heard enough of her work that I’m good from here. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/13 "2014-12-10T19:43:19Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > **[Ballad of the Green Berets](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5WJJVSE_BE)** - Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler > > Not a bad tune, but 5 weeks at #1? During Viet Nam? Not everyone was wearing love beads and protesting. A look at the chart will show that it was driven by those with money to buy, which was an older demographic than the teens of the era, and not as focused on rock and pop as you might think. It’s the mid-1970s before a lot of what’s regarded as the classic music of the era really dominated the list. The Perry Como crowd was still charting regularly into the early 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/14 "2014-12-10T20:05:45Z")
Can we count “[Some Velvet Morning](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x41a29_sinatra-nancy-some-velvet-morning_music)” (#26 on the US _Billboard_ Hot 100) by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/15 "2014-12-10T20:14:52Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Not everyone was wearing love beads and protesting. A look at the chart will show that it was driven by those with money to buy, which was an older demographic than the teens of the era, and not as focused on rock and pop as you might think. It’s the mid-1970s before a lot of what’s regarded as the classic music of the era really dominated the list. The Perry Como crowd was still charting regularly into the early 1970s. Song co-written by Robin Moore. The [book he wrote](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Berets_%28book%29) by the same title predated the song by a little bit and ended up on the best seller list, too A couple of years later, the book was adapted into [John Wayne’s movie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Berets_%28film%29) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/16 "2014-12-10T20:17:43Z")
_Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini_, Bryan Hyland And in the same year: _Alley Oop_, The Hollywood Argyles _Ahab The Arab_, Ray Stevens (#5) _Surfin’ Bird_, The Trashmen (#4) ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/17 "2014-12-10T20:47:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > _Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini_, Bryan Hyland > > And in the same year: _Alley Oop_, The Hollywood Argyles > > _Ahab The Arab_, Ray Stevens (#5) > > _Surfin’ Bird_, The Trashmen (#4) I think these all qualify as novelty songs. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/18 "2014-12-10T20:53:17Z")
[November, 1976: a dirge hit #1 in Canada and #2 in the US](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wreck_of_the_Edmund_Fitzgerald) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/19 "2014-12-10T21:18:08Z")
> [@missred](#): > > I think these all qualify as novelty songs. :smack: I know: next time I’ll read the OP. What a concept. :o Well then, I’ll submit _MacArthur Park_, which was definitely an incomprehensible hit. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/20 "2014-12-10T21:54:49Z")
The Lords Prayer? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863.md?page=2)