# Weirdest Top 10 Singles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190 "2008-10-09T17:25:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/81 "2008-10-12T05:04:03Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Strangely enough, _Surfin’ Bird_ is actually going through a bit of a renaissance (at least iTunes sales are going up), thanks to a bizarre running gag on a recent episode of _Family Guy_. Indeed, everybody’s heard about the bird. If Family Guy _really_ wants to get subversive, they need to work in a reference to the movie Pink Flamingos with that joke. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/82 "2008-10-12T15:08:32Z")
Joe Dolce, the guy responsible for [Shaddap You Face](http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=379&cfgn=Singles&cfn=The+Billboard+Hot+100&ci=3071160&cdi=8898382&cid=08%2F01%2F1981), turns 61 tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/83 "2008-10-12T17:10:05Z")
I can think of several. **Disco Duck** by _Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots_. Must I say anything else? **Dust in the Wind** by _Kansas_. Most depressing song ever written. **Johnny Get Angry** by _Shelly Faberes_ (1962). “Why aren’t you acting like a typical man and lecturing me and coming this close to beating me? You’re not a real man!” **Seasons In The Sun** by _Terry Jacks_. Aren’t songs about death fun? _ETA: Sorry, **Lute** , missed your post about Disco Duck._ ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/84 "2008-10-12T23:07:29Z")
> [@MoodIndigo1](#): > > “Shut uppa your face” a bit of a fad song, but very popular at one time. Does anybody else even remember it? You’re kidding me, that actually charted in Canda & The States? - I thought that was an Australian moment of madness that it was popular. Speaking of weird chart topping music in Australia, you can’t go past the original german version of [99 Luftballons](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN3itLN57R4) Not sure how well this went anywhere else but it was at the top of Australia’s charts for 5 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/85 "2008-10-13T01:01:04Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > Speaking of weird chart topping music in Australia, you can’t go past the original german version of [99 Luftballons](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN3itLN57R4) > > Not sure how well this went anywhere else but it was at the top of Australia’s charts for 5 weeks. [Peaked at #2 in the US](http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=379&cfgn=Singles&cfn=The+Billboard+Hot+100&ci=3003636&cdi=6147632&cid=05%2F12%2F1984). ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/86 "2008-10-13T02:12:15Z")
you know, just because it’s nearly a clasic now doesn’t mean “American Pie” is any less weird. Don McLean’s “Vincent” isn’t your everyday love song either. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/87 "2008-10-13T04:21:21Z")
My Sharona ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/88 "2008-10-13T04:28:01Z")
Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus” was a pretty weird #1 hit. ---
**Author:** ![laughingboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@laughingboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laughingboy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/89 "2008-10-13T04:46:12Z")
> [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](#): > > I’d have to nominate Blue Swede’s cover of Hooked on a Feeling, just because of that stupid HOOOGA CHAKKA thing they did. Blue Swede’s is the best version of that song precisely because of the stupid HOOOGA CHAKKA thing. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/90 "2008-10-13T05:02:04Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > The Jaynetts’ [Sally Go 'Round the Roses](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Go_'Round_the_Roses), a #2 hit from 1963. Damn it! That was going to be my post. It’s a really odd song. I love it, though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/91 "2008-10-13T05:33:31Z")
> [@Rico](#): > > **Dust in the Wind** by _Kansas_. Most depressing song ever written. > > - Not hardly. My vote for most depressing song ever written is Wharf Rat by the Grateful Dead. Other notables include Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding, Cat’s In the Cradle by Harry Chapin and Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot, which I don’t find weird. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/92 "2008-10-13T12:39:45Z")
_Every Breath You Take_–The music is creapy, the lyrics are limited, and the subject matter is creapier than the music. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/93 "2008-10-13T14:37:52Z")
I don’t know how it did in the charts, but [I’m gonna spend my Christmas with a Dalek](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD449FP-v-g) is pretty strange. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/94 "2008-10-13T14:55:36Z")
**Peter Morris** , you are my hero! I never heard of this song before, but its existence brings me unabashed joy. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/95 "2008-10-13T15:27:53Z")
Well, I don’t know how we got this far without somebody mentioning it, but “Amazing Grace,” by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards made it to [number 11](http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/searchResult.jsp?keyword=royal+scots+dragoon+guards&exposeNavigation=true&applicationName=bbcom&matchType=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&rangePropertyName=FORMATTED_DATE&rangeFilterType=BTWN&x=10&y=11) on the Billboard charts back in 1972. Those of you who are familiar with “Amazing Grace” but who have have never heard this version must be asking “How weird was it?” Well, it was probably the only time a military bagpipe band ever charted. At number 11, maybe it wasn’t Top Ten, but given its subject matter (a hymn) and the instruments (bagpipes), I’d say it was close enough. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/96 "2008-10-13T16:14:32Z")
Wasn’t there also a Japanese song, possibly titled “Sakura”, that charted in the US? Only time a song entirely in Japanese charted I’m sure, but I’m not sure of the name. Oh, and is “La Bamba” the only song entirely in Spanish to chart top 10 in the US? (We’ve already mentioned a French song) “Feliz Navidad” was only partly in Spanish. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/97 "2008-10-13T18:13:41Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > Wasn’t there also a Japanese song, possibly titled “Sakura”, that charted in the US? … [Sukiyaki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki_(song)). CMC +fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/98 "2008-10-15T17:36:33Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > The Jaynetts’ [Sally Go 'Round the Roses](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Go_'Round_the_Roses), a #2 hit from 1963. > > Teenage lesbian affair gone horribly wrong? Mind shattered by a powerful religious vision? You make the call! > > Spooky fuckin’ song. Ok, maybe I’m weird. I just listened to [that song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGuLxijDrOw), twice, and the weirdest thing I can hear is that the roses won’t tell. I don’t get why it’s weird or spooky, and I think it’s actually a really pretty song. Ok, maybe it’s because my favorite group has always been Blue Oyster Cult. When you’re used to songs about Godzilla, UFOs, vampires, subway shootings, x-ray eyes, Frankenstein, a possessed sword, and other sci-fi and occult themes, maybe “the roses won’t tell” just can’t seem weird. ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/99 "2008-10-15T23:29:54Z")
> [@well he's back](#): > > Oh, and is “La Bamba” the only song entirely in Spanish to chart top 10 in the US? I don’t know how many more there are, but I thought of one off the top of my head: Daddy Yankee’s [Gasolina](http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=351&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+100+Recurrent+Airplay&ci=3058055&cdi=8308144&cid=04%2F23%2F2005) peaked at #3. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190/100 "2008-10-16T00:57:31Z")
I still can’t believe the Rolling Stones’ song _Brown Sugar_ gets radio play, much less have gone up the charts back in the day (to #1 in the US and #2 in the UK). A song about raping an underage slave girl? Wheee. (It does totally rock, though…) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-top-10-singles/467190.md?page=6)