# Songs that you were surprised became hits **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 18, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822 "2005-04-18T01:37:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/21 "2005-04-19T22:41:28Z")
Damn my rushing fingers. I was going to nominate “Still, You Turn Me On” from Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Probably closer to what was going on musically at the time, but still creepy enough to set it apart. ---
**Author:** ![gommsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/22 "2005-04-19T23:51:12Z")
Who would have picked **Bohemian Rhapsody** By **Queen**? And it turns out to be one of the most recognizable rock songs of all time. I hated eighties music! Drove me to country just as they were starting to rock that up. But I do have my selective favorites and **Queen** is certainly one of them. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/23 "2005-04-19T23:53:15Z")
Does anyone remember “Winchester Cathedral?” That was certainly off the beaten path for its time. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/24 "2005-04-20T00:19:16Z")
I wasn’t around when it happened, but _Sukiyaki_ by Kyu Sakamoto went to number 1 on the (American) charts in 1963, and it is sung in Japanese. Damn, I love that song. Just listened to it again. ---
**Author:** ![gommsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/25 "2005-04-20T00:29:22Z")
**Hooked on a Feelin’** by **Blue Seude**. Listening to it now. Not quite the **B.J.Thomas** Version. Actually I like it better. It really rocks! ---
**Author:** ![gommsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/26 "2005-04-20T00:34:54Z")
Was anyone else surprised when **David Lee Roth** made a reasonable and well accepted version of **Just a Gigilo** , a standard of **Louis Prima**? This is a great thread. I think I’m on a roll! ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/27 "2005-04-20T01:10:41Z")
One that I wish never had was “I’ve Never Been to Me”…“I’ve been to Greece and the Isle of Nice where I drank champagne off a yacht; I cruised like Harlow in Monte Carlo and showed them what I got…blah blah blah”. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/28 "2005-04-20T01:17:57Z")
Not an individual song, but I was certainly surprised when that Gregorian Chant album hit #3 in the mid 90s. ---
**Author:** ![stanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@stanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stanger)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/29 "2005-04-20T12:37:29Z")
Never could understand the popularity of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin. It seemed so goofy and repetitious - never did understand the appeal. But is _was_ different. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/30 "2005-04-20T13:31:50Z")
“Hocus Pocus” by Focus Who knew flute solos and yodelling would make for a Top 10 hit? “Neanderthal Man” Hotlegs The same four lines (“I’m a Neanderthal man/You’re a Neanderthal girl/Let’s make Neanderthal love/In our Neanderthal world”) repeated over and over and over… “Hard Knock Life” Jay-Z Because the one thing rap had been missing was Broadway show tune samples. “Last Kiss” Pearl Jam Granted, Pearl Jam had been a major album chart success and had had some singles sucess. And “Last Kiss” had been a Top 40 hit in two previous versions. But this hardly seemed like a musical pairing destined for the Top 5. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/31 "2005-04-20T13:39:52Z")
**The Candy Man** as recordede by Sammy Davis, Jr. Who would’ve thought this piece of Anthony Newly fluff from a kid’s movie would hit it so big? Davis reportedly did it as a lark, and nobody knew it would be a hit. And how the hell did a song about TG behavior like **Lola** become a mainstream hit so many years ago? I strongly believe that no one pays much attention to lyrics, and this is a prize example. ---
**Author:** ![DrMemory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DrMemory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrMemory)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/32 "2005-04-20T13:58:52Z")
Popcorn by Hot Butter Convoy by CW McCall Muskrat Love by The Captain and Tenille :eek: Don’t give up (on us Babe) by David Soul :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/33 "2005-04-20T14:10:39Z")
How about that steaming pile of crap that was _Butterfly Kisses_. Way out of line with the modern tastes that dominated, yet it pretty much wormed its way onto every Top 40 and alternative station. Still gives me the willies. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/34 "2005-04-20T22:16:55Z")
“Oh Happy Day” by the Edwin Hawkins Singers. Some lyrics by a nobody from the early 1700s, some more stuff added in the 1800s, and gospelized in 1969, hits #1. The 60s were a weird time. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/35 "2005-04-20T22:31:48Z")
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” - Gordon Lightfoot Nothing like death in icy water to get the kids dancing. BTW, I like the song. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/36 "2005-04-21T05:32:27Z")
Tuesday night’s American Idol reminded me of the oddity of “MacArthur Park” being a hit. As Carrie said when Ryan Seacrest asked her what the song was about: “I don’t know, a cake in the rain and icing and an old man playing chess? I have NO idea!” ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/37 "2005-04-21T05:48:03Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > … > Switch Into Glide - This Beat Goes On by The Kings [/INDENT]Are the 1st two that come to mind. Wierd, just as I read this post, this song began on my MP3 player. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/38 "2005-04-23T03:58:29Z")
“Ring My Bell” by Anita Ward 🙂 “Seasons in the Sun” by Terry Jacks ☹ “My Dingaling” by Chuck Berry :eek: ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822/39 "2005-04-23T04:43:49Z")
Chuck Mangione, _Feels So Good_. Disco was the 500-pound gorilla of the moment, Top 40 pop was, as ever, a mainstay, and punk and new wave were growing. So where did this come from? Great music from a great performer, to be sure, but **huh**? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-you-were-surprised-became-hits/299822.md?page=1)