# 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:** 8
**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:** [June 28, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/141 "2013-06-28T20:03:09Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > _Miami Herald_ humor columist Dave Barry once polled his readers on what the worst pop song of all time was. _MacArthur Park_ won by a long shot. I believe his responses were the basis for his book _Dave Barry’s Book of Bad Songs_. That was going to be my nomination. Goddamn thing makes zero sense, even to the guy who wrote it. **Surfin’ Bird** would be my next choice. ---
**Author:** ![Among\_Liberals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Among\_Liberals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Among_Liberals)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/142 "2013-06-28T20:09:44Z")
Ctrl + F “I Touch Myself”. No hits. How many songs on the radio are about female masturbation? ---
**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:** [June 28, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/143 "2013-06-28T20:45:52Z")
> [@Among\_Liberals](#): > > Ctrl + F “I Touch Myself”. No hits. > > How many songs on the radio are about female masturbation? Cyndi Lauper’s _She Bop_ is another one. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/144 "2013-06-28T21:05:43Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Cyndi Lauper’s _She Bop_ is another one. And Sheila E’s _Toy Box_. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/145 "2013-06-28T22:26:15Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That was going to be my nomination. Goddamn thing makes zero sense, even to the guy who wrote it. MacArthur Park? Oh come now, **Chefguy**. These are \Timeless Lyrics\! > [@](#): > > MacArthur’s Park is melting in the dark > All the sweet, green icing flowing down > Someone left the cake out in the rain > > I don’t think that I can take it > 'Cause it took so long to bake it > And I’ll never have that recipe again, oh no ---
**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:** [June 29, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/146 "2013-06-29T05:21:16Z")
For the rare triple crown of odd song, odd title, and odd group name, I give you: [“Zabadak” by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEBFH9R3cg4) This hit #3 on the British charts! And this “song” just misses the criteria, but [“We Love You, Call Collect”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALwETfzXiDQ) by Art and Diane Linkletter hit #42 on the US charts, and also won a Grammy! Finally, this Shatner-esque cover of [“If”, by Telly Savalas](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J94-_w9ARX0), actually made it to #12 on the Adult Contemporary charts. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/147 "2013-06-29T07:18:59Z")
> [@Among\_Liberals](#): > > Ctrl + F “I Touch Myself”. No hits. > > How many songs on the radio are about female masturbation? Do you mean “I Touch Myself” by Divinyls? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wv-34w8kGPM/maxresdefault.jpg "Divinyls - I Touch Myself (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv-34w8kGPM) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/148 "2013-06-29T07:47:16Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > How about the Renex version of [Cottoneye Joe.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcDy8HEg1QY) It is folk country song as performed by the Swedish techno/bluegrass band Rednex and reached #25 on the American pop charts in 1995 but was #1 for many weeks in England, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Sweden. It gets even weirder when you consider the existence of [this mashup.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Q9sFsa8cQ) As one commenter said; “I hope this video is the last thing that survives from our civilization, so that future humans will pull their fucking hair out trying to figure out what kind of people we were.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/149 "2013-06-29T16:52:07Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > That really depends how you define ‘hit’ - the highest they charted on the US general charts prior to Get Lucky is 61, so on that chart, it’s perfectly reasonable to say they haven’t _ever_ had a hit single. I should have assumed the song was a hit because the only time I’ve heard it was on a show that usually only plays songs that are not indie or Americana if they are huge hits. But I guessed it was DP before the DJ told me, and thought that while it was probably a newish release, they would probably not get number ones these days. Even though the techno sound has resurfaced in pop music in the past couple years (after having disappeared for over a decade.) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/150 "2013-06-29T17:55:54Z")
The first reggae song to crack the top 40, Double Barrel: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WO8ia38wpBE/hqdefault.jpg "Dave & Ansel Collins - Double barrel") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO8ia38wpBE) ETA: Oops, just noticed this is 3 pages long, sorry if this is a re-post. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/151 "2013-06-29T19:55:21Z")
Its seems like there are these unsettled transition periods when odd things tend to slip into the charts, such as all the novelty songs of the period right before the Beatles (Sukiyaki, Singing Nun, etc. were huge at the end of 1963) andthe period when Disco, New Wave, Punk, and Easy Listening were jostling for airplay around 1979-1980 (The Pina Colada Song, Christopher Cross, Devo, etc. were briefly the biggest things in music). When I was in high school around 1992-1993 I recall a run of really silly or odd songs being hits on MTV right at that time like Snow “Informer” back to back with Green Jelly (written with an umlaut) having “Three Little Pigs” (#17 on the chart!), along with The Proclaimers “500 Miles” song, actually from 1988, which also hit the U.S. chart during that weird time. I think at that moment… 1. Pop metal had completely collapsed 2. There was a backlash against the promotion of grunge on MTV/pop radio. 3. Gangsta Rap was selling like crazy, but encountered strong resistance on pop radio 4. 80’s Dance Pop (Madonna, Paula Abdul, WHitney Houston) was really wearing thin ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/152 "2013-07-04T03:20:42Z")
“Gloria” by Laura Brannigan " I Could Never Be Your Woman" by White Town ---
**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:** [July 4, 2013, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/153 "2013-07-04T04:11:50Z")
> [@67java89](#): > > “Gloria” by Laura Brannigan Is this a whoosh? I’ve seen a lot of pretty questionable songs called “weird” on this list, but I’d have a REALLY tough time finding anything weird about “Gloria”. It’s about as average a song as you can find. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/154 "2013-07-04T05:01:19Z")
The absolute highest strangeness-times-popularity score has to belong to **Bohemian Rhapsody**. mmm ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/155 "2013-07-04T05:26:31Z")
In 2010 John Cage’s 4’33" reached number 21. > **[4′33″](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3#2010_Christmas_Number_One_campaign)** > > 4′33″ (pronounced "four minutes, thirty-three seconds" or just "four thirty-three") is a three-movement composition by American experimental composer John Cage. It was composed in 1952, for any instrument or combination of instruments, and the score instructs performers not to play their instruments during the entire duration of the piece throughout the three movements. The piece consists of the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed, although it is co Conceive... ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/156 "2013-07-04T06:01:11Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > For the rare triple crown of odd song, odd title, and odd group name, I give you: > > [“Zabadak” by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEBFH9R3cg4) > This hit #3 on the British charts! [“Hold Tight”](http://youtu.be/Ug_HoUfXc4w) was their Top 10 song in America. They were referenced in Quentin Tarantino’s **Death Proof** and I nearly whooped out loud. I had that single! I don’t know if Imogen Heap’s song [“Hide and Seek”](http://youtu.be/BnE14nUEx5E) was a hit as such, but it got a lot of attention for awhile there. Most Americans would have never heard of this song, but Kate Bush’s deeply weird and (to me) deeply wonderful [“Wuthering Heights”](http://youtu.be/-1pMMIe4hb4) was #1 in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Italy, Ireland and New Zealand. It was Top 10 in The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Finland. It was Top 20 in Austria and Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/157 "2013-07-04T16:53:04Z")
“[Pac Man Fever](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man_Fever)” by Buckner and Garcia Can’t believe this one wasn’t mentioned (I _must_ have missed it when skimming the thread) but “Convoy” by C. W. McCall. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/158 "2013-07-04T17:05:52Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Most Americans would have never heard of this song, but Kate Bush’s deeply weird and (to me) deeply wonderful [“Wuthering Heights”](http://youtu.be/-1pMMIe4hb4) was #1 in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Italy, Ireland and New Zealand. It was Top 10 in The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Finland. It was Top 20 in Austria and Germany. That’s a great song. Wasn’t she the youngest person to have a #1 song in the UK at that point? It’s too bad she’s never been as popular here in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/159 "2013-07-06T01:24:56Z")
Joe Dolce - Shaddap You Face was #1 in several countries. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-songs-to-ever-hit-the-top-40/375927/160 "2013-07-07T22:09:20Z")
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