# Songs with a suprisingly long life **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087 "2016-01-03T20:25:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/21 "2016-01-04T17:33:42Z")
Oh, I have one: **The Romantics: (That’s) What I Like About You.** A toss-off song by the band, the only one sung by their drummer, it was a fun, new-wave hit in the 80’s. But it has stayed around, used as the name for a TV series with a watered-down cover for the theme, and popped up in commercials. It’s kind of like the Louie, Louie of the 80’s - simple three-chord song that a lot of folks still know. I love the song; can’t think of a band I haven’t played it in. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/22 "2016-01-04T17:46:32Z")
I would have expected “The Chipmunk Song” (1958) to be only a fond memory of baby boomers by this time. Boy did that song have legs. ---
**Author:** ![qubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f07891/32.png) [@qubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qubed)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/23 "2016-01-04T18:13:52Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Waitaminnit, you want to include **Satisfaction** , **Smells like Teen Spirit** AND **I Want to Hold Your Hand**?! > > Each of them was a transformative bombshell when they came out. They would be invoked regularly for historical reasons because they were essential parts of the soundtrack of the 60’s at the very least. > > This post does not fit the OP. Smells Like Teen Spirit peaked at #6 on the Billboard, and now it is the most played on Spotify song of the 90s by an **enormous** ~30% margin. No one could have predicted that. It may have been a transformative bombshell at the time, but there are countless such sitting in the dustbins of history. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/24 "2016-01-04T18:54:39Z")
Village People “YMCA” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/25 "2016-01-04T19:15:19Z")
> [@qubed](#): > > Smells Like Teen Spirit peaked at #6 on the Billboard, and now it is the most played on Spotify song of the 90s by an **enormous** ~30% margin. No one could have predicted that. I wholeheartedly disagree. I understood at the time it was a huge, huge deal, and had you asked me what songs then would last, I’d have picked “Smells Like Teen Spirit” without hesitation and I’m not a Nirvana fan. It was at about that time that the Billboard charts started getting split up into different charts - not as much then as now, but it was starting, so “alternative” rock was not really represented correctly by the Billboard Hot 100, and today the Hot 100 is entirely comprised of dance pop and soft hip hop. As it was the Hot 100 was already seriously flawed as a method of measuring popularity, largely because it doesn’t count album sales and is heavily affected by the way a record label will elect to maximize revenue. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/26 "2016-01-04T20:17:27Z")
Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer. I was 10 years-old when this song came out and even then I thought it was a dumb novelty song that would get a lot of air play that year and then hopefully die a quick death. But here it is 35 years later and it still makes it into the holiday stations rotation every year. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/27 "2016-01-04T20:23:55Z")
**Windy** , by The Association. Embraced by punk rockers, Drew Carey, South Park, and eventually, meth manufacturers. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/28 "2016-01-04T20:35:27Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > **Windy** , by The Association. Embraced by punk rockers, Drew Carey, South Park, and eventually, meth manufacturers. Great choice! Loved that song when it first came out and yeah, it shows up in surprising places. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/29 "2016-01-04T20:43:38Z")
Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas and Cherokee Nation by Paul Revere and the Raiders are both pretty un-PC if not downright racist but I still hear them on the radio from time to time, and, I’m sorry, they’re not even that catchy. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/30 "2016-01-04T22:31:44Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas and Cherokee Nation by Paul Revere and the Raiders are both pretty un-PC if not downright racist but I still hear them on the radio from time to time, and, I’m sorry, they’re not even that catchy. “Cherokee Nation” (or “Indian Reservation”) is un-PC, if not downright racist when it recounts the removal from native lands in the 19th century “Trail of Tears”? Trying to force them to speech English? > **[Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Reservation_(The_Lament_of_the_Cherokee_Reservation_Indian))** > > "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk. It was first recorded by Marvin Rainwater in 1959 and released on MGM as "The Pale Faced Indian", but that release went unnoticed. The first hit version was a 1968 recording by Don Fardon – a former member of the Sorrows – that reached number 20 on the Hot 100 in 1968 and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1970. > In 1971, the Raiders recorded "Indian Reservation" for Columbia Records... I swear there are large numbers of Dopers who yell “Racist!” (or fascist!, homophobe! or sexist!) if you say something like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/31 "2016-01-04T23:01:26Z")
Is it possible that someone was thinking of “Indian Outlaw,” by Tim McGraw, which interpolates “Indian Reservation”? ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/32 "2016-01-05T00:59:23Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > “Cherokee Nation” (or “Indian Reservation”) is un-PC, if not downright racist when it recounts the removal from native lands in the 19th century “Trail of Tears”? Trying to force them to speech English? > [Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Reservation_(The_Lament_of_the_Cherokee_Reservation_Indian)) > I swear there are large numbers of Dopers who yell “Racist!” (or fascist!, homophobe! or sexist!) if you say something like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Such assumptions you make about me, sir. How dare you! I don’t even self-identify as a Doper. Today nobody would have a hit song containing fake Native American music, the term “red men” or, for that matter “Indian”. It is not part of today’s sensibility and would be considered just as racist as the the line in the other song I mentioned that refers to a “Funky Chinaman in Funky Chinatown”. The assumption I make about you is that you already knew that. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/33 "2016-01-05T01:08:35Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Is it possible that someone was thinking of “Indian Outlaw,” by Tim McGraw, which interpolates “Indian Reservation”? No, I’m thinking of the one from the early 70’s which has a fine message but is full of what some people would call micro-aggressions, such as the terms “Indian” and “red men” and fake Native American music such as one might find in a Western movie from the late 50’s that’s almost as bad as chanting “hi, how are ya”. It’s the one that goes “Cherokee pee-po-ohl! Cherokee Tri-ibe! So proud to li-ih-iv! So proud to die!” ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/34 "2016-01-05T01:52:05Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > What other songs have stuck around for a surprising amount of time. I was thinking of the oldest songs that most Americans have heard. Some Christian hyms go way back. The Star-Spangled Banner, sure, but that’s cheating. Yankee Doodle - Colonial era Auld Lang Syne - 1788 Twinkle Little Star - 1806 Oh Susanna - 1848 Camptown Races - 1850 I Wish I Was in Dixie - 1850s The Battle Hymn of the Republic - 1861 When Johnny Comes Marching Home - 1863 [Nursery rhymes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nursery_rhymes) tend to be pretty old. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/35 "2016-01-05T03:21:51Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > No, I’m thinking of the one from the early 70’s which has a fine message but is full of what some people would call micro-aggressions, such as the terms “Indian” and “red men” and fake Native American music such as one might find in a Western movie from the late 50’s that’s almost as bad as chanting “hi, how are ya”. Right, the one written by a guy, John Loudermilk, who was later given a medal for it by a group of Oklahoma Cherokee. (Both he and Mark Lindsay of the Raiders claimed Native ancestry.) Also, the same song that was covered again by Billy Thunderkloud and the Chieftones. > [@Caricci](#): > > It’s the one that goes “Cherokee pee-po-ohl! Cherokee Tri-ibe! So proud to li-ih-iv! So proud to die!” Yes, and _that_ is exactly the part swiped by Tim McGraw for his far more offensive creation. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/36 "2016-01-05T03:31:29Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I think I’ve heard Venus by Shocking Blue, (from 1970?) recently and don’t think that will change soon. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard the Shocking Blue version except when I’ve actively looked for it. However, the 80’s cover of the song by Bananarama I do still hear on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/37 "2016-01-05T03:49:36Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Right, the one written by a guy, John Loudermilk, who was later given a medal for it by a group of Oklahoma Cherokee. (Both he and Mark Lindsay of the Raiders claimed Native ancestry.) > > Also, the same song that was covered again by Billy Thunderkloud and the Chieftones. > > Yes, and _that_ is exactly the part swiped by Tim McGraw for his far more offensive creation. I have never heard a song by Tim McGraw. And I don’t just mean this one. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/38 "2016-01-05T04:00:32Z")
Booker T and the MG’s - [Green Onions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bpS-cOBK6Q) Glenn Miller - [In the Mood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CI-0E_jses) Jimi Hendrix cover - [All Along the Watchtower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV4_xaYynY) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/39 "2016-01-05T04:47:54Z")
The Eagles, “Hotel California.” Until very recently, it was almost unheard of to walk into a bar in Thailand without hearing that played at some point. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087/40 "2016-01-05T04:58:55Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > I was thinking of the oldest songs that most Americans have heard. Some Christian hyms go way back. The Star-Spangled Banner, sure, but that’s cheating. > > Yankee Doodle - Colonial era > Auld Lang Syne - 1788 > Twinkle Little Star - 1806 > Oh Susanna - 1848 > Camptown Races - 1850 > I Wish I Was in Dixie - 1850s > The Battle Hymn of the Republic - 1861 > When Johnny Comes Marching Home - 1863 > > [Nursery rhymes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nursery_rhymes) tend to be pretty old. J.S. Bach’s [Toccata and Fugue in D Minor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnuq9PXbywA) is familiar to just about everyone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-suprisingly-long-life/742087.md?page=3)