# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/21 "2014-12-10T22:01:21Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > 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. There was a commercial not long ago that used “O Superman” as the music. My personal favorite from the album, which I do have, is “Example #22.” How about Elton John’s ode to Princess Diana, his remake of “Candle In The Wind”? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/22 "2014-12-10T22:11:44Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Well then, I’ll submit _MacArthur Park_, which was definitely an incomprehensible hit. Well, if incomprehensible is the key, let’s stay in the 1960’s. [Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MlChHlxcQM) reached #12. Supposedly it was a satircal answer to Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues, but actually charted much higher. [Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WUTlCTi7fg)made it into the top ten. Up to that point, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition was a county-folk group. The Doors’ [The End](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSUIQgEVDM4) starts with pretty straightforward lyrics about Jim Morrison’s breakup with his girlfriend. Then it gets to the second verse. . . Finally, in 1971 controversial talk show host Les Crane recorded an obscure poem called [Desiderata](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdNwa-g_Uu8), which became an international hit. ---
**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, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/23 "2014-12-10T22:14:59Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > The Lords Prayer? Cliff Richard had a hit in the UK (in 1999!) with a version of the Lord’s Prayer, sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. I won’t provide a link, because it’s horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/24 "2014-12-10T22:17:55Z")
1963 gave us the Singing Nun with [Dominique](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO7cD6qmydo). It was so popular it “inspired” TV producers to come up with _The Flying Nun_. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/25 "2014-12-10T22:18:51Z")
Paul Hardcastle’s anti-war song “[19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3LdMAqUMnM)”, the lyrics of which were largely audio samples from a documentary on the Vietnam War and PTSD. It was #1 in the UK for five weeks in 1985; in the US, it hit #15 on the main chart, and #1 on the dance chart. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/26 "2014-12-10T22:27:13Z")
I’ll have to give a listen to some of those already posted, when I get home, but the song that I’ve always found to be curious as existing in the Pop Hits genre is: Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/27 "2014-12-11T01:21:14Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > 1963 gave us the Singing Nun with [Dominique](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO7cD6qmydo). It was so popular it “inspired” TV producers to come up with _The Flying Nun_. Do you have a cite for that? _The Flying Nun_ was based on a novel called\*\*\* The Fifteenth Pelican\*\*\*. I suppose somebody could have decided “let’s do a nun show because this Dominique is so big!” and they went and found the novel, but I’ve never heard that. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/28 "2014-12-11T01:44:42Z")
Baz Luhrmann- "Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) Is that disqualified under some criteria? Heck, I can think of a lot of songs from around '96-99 (for some reason) that were on top 40 radio that I thought were pretty odd or at least quirky, though I’m not sure they fully fit. A lot of random weirdness, odd and pretentious titles,etc. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/29 "2014-12-11T01:59:04Z")
**Timothy** , about mine cave-ins and underground cannibalism topped out at #17 in 1971. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/30 "2014-12-11T02:30:39Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > The Lords Prayer? The Cliff Richards Millenial version or the 70’s Pop version by a Sister Janet Mead? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/31 "2014-12-11T03:23:07Z")
They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They're\_Coming\_to\_Take\_Me\_Away,\_Ha-Haaa! ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/32 "2014-12-11T03:28:54Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Do you have a cite for that? _The Flying Nun_ was based on a novel called\*\*\* The Fifteenth Pelican\*\*\*. > > I suppose somebody could have decided “let’s do a nun show because this Dominique is so big!” and they went and found the novel, but I’ve never heard that. Nope, I was just remembering how it seemed from my youth. Since there was a four year period between the song and the show, I appear to have erred. Sorry 'bout that. It’s still an odd song to chart, though. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/33 "2014-12-11T04:10:14Z")
Here’s another candidate (it hit #23 in the US in 1972!) [“Once You Understand” by Think](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haCqD9Ps0co) Edited to add: Here’s a good way to locate lots of weird songs - [U.S. One-hit wonders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_one-hit_wonders_in_the_United_States) ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/34 "2014-12-11T04:33:47Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Here’s another candidate (it hit #23 in the US in 1972!) > > [“Once You Understand” by Think](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haCqD9Ps0co) Yes, that one is quite an experience to listen to. It came to mind immediately but I couldn’t recall the title. To continue the torture: How about “[An Open Letter to My Teenage Son](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8B631OrVSQ)” by Victor Lundberg, which reached _number 10_ in 1967? (Wikipedia points out that “There were also at least seven “response” records: Keith Gordon’s “A Teenager’s Answer”, “A Teenager’s Open Letter To His Father” by Robert Tamlin, “Letter From A Teenage Son” by Brandon Wade, “A Letter To Dad” by Every Father’s Teenage Son”, “Hi, Dad (An Open Letter To Dad)” by Dick Clair and “An Open Letter To My Dad” by Marceline." Coincidentally, I just heard the Brandon Wade one for the first time ever this evening.) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/35 "2014-12-11T04:41:47Z")
Here’s a venerable thread on the subject: [Weirdest songs to ever hit the Top 40](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=391575) ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/36 "2014-12-11T05:02:12Z")
I always thought Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” was a weird hit (#6 UK, #8 US). I’m not a fan of their work, but “Tusk” is pretty awesome (and awesomely bizarre). ---
**Author:** ![Enlightening\_Meditation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@Enlightening\_Meditation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enlightening_Meditation)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/37 "2014-12-18T13:38:49Z")
“Mmm mmm mmm mmm” by Crash Test Dummies is among the weirdest hit songs that I recall. Apparently the song hit #1 on several charts among multiple countries, #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #2 in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/38 "2014-12-18T15:45:22Z")
[Ben](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb7FmEboVms), Michael Jackson’s 1972 love ode to a rat. #1, US (1 week) #7, UK (Because they’re more rational) #1, Australia (8 weeks… WTF, Australia???) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/39 "2014-12-18T16:14:47Z")
“Angie Baby” by Helen Reddy, number 1 on Billboard in 1974. Here are the [lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/angie-baby-lyrics-helen-reddy.html). And here’s the [wikipedia synopsis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Baby#Lyrical_story): > [@](#): > > The song tells the story of Angie, a young “crazy” girl who “lives [her] life in the songs” she hears on “rock and roll radio;” her mental disturbances led to her being removed from school and having no friends, leaving her to spend most of her time listening to the radio. One day, a young man “with evil on his mind” arrives at Angie’s house, but once he enters Angie’s room he is disoriented by the loud music. The song then takes a decidedly surrealistic turn as when Angie turns the volume down, the boy is said to be sucked into the radio and disappears. The closing verse describes the boy as Angie’s “secret lover” and that nobody bothers to get an explanation from Angie in regard to the boy’s whereabouts because of her insanity. ---
**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 18, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863/40 "2014-12-18T16:38:34Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > The Cliff Richards Millenial version or the 70’s Pop version by a Sister Janet Mead? Sister Janet [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-chart-hits/706863.md?page=3)