# Weirdest songs to ever hit the Top 40 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927 "2006-10-10T14:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![tsar4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@tsar4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsar4)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/201 "2013-07-16T23:37:52Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > The first reggae song to crack the top 40, Double Barrel: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO8ia38wpBE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO8ia38wpBE) > ETA: Oops, just noticed this is 3 pages long, sorry if this is a re-post. Not so sure that’s the first one. It came out in '71, while [Desmond Dekker & the Aces - Israelites](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Y2hv-3UCM) came out in '68. Wiki says that Israelites was the second reggae song to hit the Top 40 in the US. For weirdness there’s also [Shango - Day After Day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKrQ24QVVLI) And [Helen Reddy - Angie Baby](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQKyGt_I5L4), [Pipkins - Gimmie Dat Ding](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEEy615Jzg4) and [Hotlegs - Neanderthal Man](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo-JcZPZroI) But what really surprised me was no mention of [Bobby Gentry - Ode to Billy Joe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHpkYI5_FY) Oh and “Brand New Key” was by Melanie. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/202 "2013-07-16T23:58:25Z")
> [@tsar4](#): > > Wiki says that Israelites was the second reggae song to hit the Top 40 in the US. The first would be “Hold Me Tight” by Johnny Nash. A case could be made for “My Boy Lollipop” by Millie Small, but that predates true reggae and is usually classified as ska. ---
**Author:** ![tsar4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@tsar4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsar4)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/203 "2013-07-17T00:01:50Z")
_headslap_ And I recently rediscovered “Hold Me Tight” too, can’t believe I forgot it just as quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Ksnook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce7236/32.png) [@Ksnook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ksnook)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/204 "2013-07-20T00:59:45Z")
Weirdest? How about the worst song to ever break the top 40? I refer to tom Jones singing “Delilah”, which is not a love song, but rather a paean to stalking and killing an unfaithful ex-lover. SHIT SHIT SHIT. and I loved his voice . . . [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBD-thfgX8o) ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/205 "2013-07-20T01:18:01Z")
> [@Ksnook](#): > > Weirdest? How about the worst song to ever break the top 40? > > I refer to tom Jones singing “Delilah”, which is not a love song, but rather a paean to stalking and killing an unfaithful ex-lover. > > SHIT SHIT SHIT. and I loved his voice . . . > > [http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VBD-thfgX8o](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VBD-thfgX8o) I don’t think she was his ex until she saw the knife in his hand - IOW she was cheating on him. Pure speculation, of course. ---
**Author:** ![tsar4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@tsar4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsar4)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/206 "2013-07-20T01:32:27Z")
“Delilah” doesn’t even come close to being as horrible as Terry Jacks’ “Season in the Sun” or Capt & Tennille’s “Muskrat Love” or Minnie Ripperton’s fingernails on a blackboard “Pillow Talk”. ---
**Author:** ![Ksnook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce7236/32.png) [@Ksnook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ksnook)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/207 "2013-07-20T01:52:44Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > I don’t think she was his ex until she saw the knife in his hand - IOW she was cheating on him. Pure speculation, of course. Oh. Well. As long as he had a good excuse for spying on her and killing her, all is well. Right! [sarcasm]. :smack::smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/208 "2013-07-20T18:30:45Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > “Percolator” in the very early '60s. It had been a commercial for some coffee with the percolating coffee beat put to music. It broke into the top 40 briefly. Along the same lines, “No Matter What Shape Your Stomach’s In,” an instrumental of music from an Alka-Seltzer commercial, was a Top Ten hit in early 1966. > [@Ksnook](#): > > Oh. Well. As long as he had a good excuse for spying on her and killing her, all is well. > > Right! [sarcasm]. :smack::smack::smack: I’m not sure how you read that into **OO** ’s comment. Tom Jones’ vocal stylings in this song were far too over the top for my 14 year self, which is saying a lot, considering that Gary Puckett and the Union Gap was one of my favorite bands that year. So I never noticed the (rather appalling) lyrics beyond “My, my, Delilah, why, why, Delilah?” That was enough to get me to change the station, all by itself. ---
**Author:** ![Ksnook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce7236/32.png) [@Ksnook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ksnook)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/209 "2013-07-21T01:22:08Z")
Gary Puckett?? Of Young Girl fame? Young girl, get out of my mind My love for you is way out of line Better run girl, You’re much too young girl Yeah, you probably never noticed outrageous lyrics. :dubious:☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/210 "2013-07-21T05:31:34Z")
> [@tsar4](#): > > Minnie Ripperton’s fingernails on a blackboard “Pillow Talk”. That’s actually by Sylvia (Robinson), who later went on to found the record label Sugar Hill that released many early, classic hip hop records. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/211 "2013-07-21T11:27:52Z")
> [@Ksnook](#): > > Gary Puckett?? Of Young Girl fame? > > Young girl, get out of my mind > My love for you is way out of line > Better run girl, > You’re much too young girl > > Yeah, you probably never noticed outrageous lyrics. :dubious:☹ As they say, the past is a foreign country. If anyone regarded those lyrics as outrageous then, I sure missed it. And it’s hard to see why anyone would have: the guy gets it on with a girl who comes across as grown up, but is concealing the fact that she’s underage. He is upset when he finds out, and shows her the door at that point. What’s to be outraged about? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/212 "2013-07-21T17:32:22Z")
> [@tsar4](#): > > … Minnie Ripperton’s fingernails on a blackboard “Pillow Talk”. > > > [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > > > That’s actually by Sylvia (Robinson), who later went on to found the record label Sugar Hill that released many early, classic hip hop records. Also of Mickey & Sylvia fame, know for 57’s [_Love is Strange_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovin%27_You). Minnie Ripperton is _Lovin’ You_, a song sorta about [Maya Rudolph](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovin%27_You). CMC fnord! Ye gods, I’m old! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/213 "2013-07-21T20:14:00Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Put a gallon in me, Alan! > Slip the crimson to me, Jimson! Nervous Norvus followed up his big success with “Transfusion” by releasing “Ape Call”, which also made the top 40 (#28) in 1956. [It’s more awful than weird.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueMoGDqHchU) But “Transfusion” is a classic.\* And as stalking/murder songs go, so is “Delilah”.\*\* \*make that type O, Daddy-O. \*\*unlike “Hey Joe”, which has been covered by a zillion performers but still sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/214 "2013-07-21T20:26:36Z")
I am also forced to mention [“Beware of the Blob”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I3VHKO3qGM), the theme song for the 1958 movie “The Blob” (starring Steve McQueen), which was recorded by The Five Blobs and made the Top 40. It of course is on my Ipod, along with “Transfusion” and probably most of the other songs mentioned in this thread (with the exception of horrors like the ones recorded by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Minnie Ripperton etc.). ---
**Author:** ![tsar4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@tsar4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsar4)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/215 "2013-07-21T21:35:14Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Also of Mickey & Sylvia fame, know for 57’s [_Love is Strange_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovin%27_You). > > Minnie Ripperton is _Lovin’ You_, a song sorta about [Maya Rudolph](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovin%27_You). > > CMC fnord! > Ye gods, I’m old! Man, I can’t believe I got “Pillow Talk” crossed with “Lovin’ You”, the latter being the one that makes all the dogs in the area whine in pain. ---
**Author:** ![tsar4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@tsar4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsar4)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/216 "2013-07-21T21:39:33Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Nervous Norvus followed up his big success with “Transfusion” by releasing “Ape Call”, which also made the top 40 (#28) in 1956. > > [It’s more awful than weird.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueMoGDqHchU) But “Transfusion” is a classic.\* > > And as stalking/murder songs go, so is “Delilah”.\*\* > > \*make that type O, Daddy-O. > \*\*unlike “Hey Joe”, which has been covered by a zillion performers but still sucks. One of the jocks on WLS in it’s Musicradio days dropped Norvus’ ape call yell into the pause on “Good Lovin’” by The Rascals. Cracked me up. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/217 "2013-07-23T00:51:29Z")
> [@tsar4](#): > > One of the jocks on WLS in it’s Musicradio days dropped Norvus’ ape call yell into the pause on “Good Lovin’” by The Rascals. Cracked me up. Thanks for mentioning this. Worth a listen on [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdvM0DdRVMA). ---
**Author:** ![agnesnitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d78d45/32.png) [@agnesnitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agnesnitt)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/218 "2013-07-23T01:47:08Z")
What, no one mentioned Bohemian Rhapsody? I see a little silhouetto of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango? Thunderbolt and lightning, Very, very frightening me. (Galileo) Galileo. (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro Magnifico. Yes, greatest rock song ever. Still, very, very strange. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/219 "2013-07-23T02:57:37Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > In the Year 2525 - Zager and Evans Sure, but it gave us that awesome montage in Futurama a season or two ago. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/220 "2013-07-23T03:11:16Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > How about “Take Off” by Bob & Doug McKenzie, and a cameo appearance from Geddy Lee, who grew up with one of them? 🆒 “Hey, ten bucks is ten bucks.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927.md?page=12)