# What's the worst song ever that reached #1? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170 "2020-04-06T04:28:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/141 "2020-04-07T18:47:44Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > All these songs reached #1, so obvious many people like them. But why would you think there is a correlation between popularity and quality? We Built This City was listed by _Rolling Stone_ as one of the worst songs of the 1980s, and GQ as one of the worst songs of all time. > > I think to some extent its reputation is made worse because of the link to Jefferson Airplane, in the sense of “how the mighty have fallen.” It’s as if Jimi Hendrix had turned into Donny Osmond, or Paul McCartney had turned into Paul McCartney.😉 Grace Slick did not like that one herself. In her autobiography, she says that she sang a lot of songs she did not like after her sober return to Starship because she felt like she owed it to her bandmates to be a good trooper after her previous years of bad conduct. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/142 "2020-04-07T18:48:50Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I made no correlation. I noted that I don’t recall a common consensus that the song was terrible the year it was released and I’m wondering when that changed. Was Rolling Stone writing about how terrible it was in 1986 or did they come to that conclusion later? I was a big fan of Jefferson Airplane, and listened to Jefferson Starship although they were getting quite pretentious. I recall thinking the _We Built This City_ was horrible schlock at the time. But then the 80s were a decade of unmitigated schlock. 😉 [This article](https://www.gq.com/story/oral-history-we-built-this-city-worst-song-of-all-time) says it was first dubbed “Worst of All Time” by Blender magazine in 2004. However, the album it was one received criticism at the time, for example: > [@](#): > > Stephen Holden (critic; ‘The New York Times,’ 1985): A compendium of strutting pop-rock clichés, Knee Deep in the Hoopla represents the '80s equivalent of almost everything the original Jefferson Airplane stood against—conformity, conservatism, and a slavish adherence to formula. Also: > [@](#): > > Thomas: The stakes were higher because of the band’s past. People said, “You have to carry the mantle of the '60s.” C’mon. It’s 1985. > > Chaquico: The song says we built this city on live music, let’s bring it back—but the music is computerized. It complains about techno pop, but it’s a techno-pop song. It exemplifies the problem it’s protesting. > [@](#): > > Today, its creators are ambivalent about what they’ve wrought. It has made them wealthy, but years of ridicule have taken a toll. Among the people who now say they hate it are two band members and the guy who wrote the lyrics. “I don’t think anybody can take all the credit,” says Starship guitarist Craig Chaquico, “or all the blame.” Grace Slick claimed she liked it at the time, but later recanted: > [@](#): > > Grace Slick (Starship vocalist; ‘Vanity Fair,’ June 2012): I was such an asshole for a while, I was trying to make up for it by being sober, which I was all during the '80s, which is a bizarre decade to be sober in. So I was trying to make it up to the band by being a good girl. Here, we’re going to sing this song, “We Built This City on Rock & Roll.” Oh, you’re shitting me, that’s the worst song ever. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/143 "2020-04-07T18:53:16Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ll admit to liking it, partly out of nostalgia for my high school years when it was a hit. I don’t think it’s any worse than Simon’s _59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)_. (Of course, you may think that’s too treacly itself.) S&G wrote the song, but the hit was by Harper’s Bizarre. [The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_59th_Street_Bridge_Song_(Feelin%27_Groovy))) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/144 "2020-04-07T18:53:17Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > I was going to suggest “Silent Running” by Mike + The Mechanics - a weird juxtaposition of lyrics describing some kind of armed rebellion against tyranny set against the most banal, syrupy pop arrangement you can imagine. But it was only #1 on the rock charts (#6 overall). > > Also styling your band as “Mike + the Mechanics” is pretentious. I remember asking my ex-wife, about a decade ago, ‘remember that crazy music video where the kid found out his father was some sort of alien rebel and he recieved a final message from his dad via some glowing hologram?’ She didn’t believe me until I found the video on [YouTube](https://youtu.be/i17mgRK3GX8). ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/145 "2020-04-07T19:02:22Z")
My addition to the list of awful number ones is “Lets Hear it For The Boy”, by Denise Williams. I hate it so much I’ve written my own verse: My baby, he don’t wipe clean. He got skid marks in his drawers. But you know he’s very handy. He helps me out with house-hold chores. And, maybe he got bad breath. Ya know, he don’t brush or floss. But his cock is 10 full inches And that is what makes him my boss. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/146 "2020-04-07T19:43:51Z")
> [@TimfromNapa](#): > > My addition to the list of awful number ones is “Lets Hear it For The Boy”, by Denise Williams. I hate it so much I’ve written my own verse: > > My baby, he don’t wipe clean. > He got skid marks in his drawers. > But you know he’s very handy. > He helps me out with house-hold chores. > And, maybe he got bad breath. > Ya know, he don’t brush or floss. > But his cock is 10 full inches > And that is what makes him my boss. Written by a man, of course. Nitpick: her name is spelled Deniece. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/147 "2020-04-07T20:24:41Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > With all due respect, we had this on number 7, and it was what came to mind when I read the title. I challenge anyone to listen to this entire song. > > Completely and totally mind numbing. And it led to a major film with real movie stars which makes me wonder how we survived the 70s. Challenge accepted. And completed. And repeated. Many times, for decades, because I love it. Its inclusion here is a genuine shock. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/148 "2020-04-07T20:28:47Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > When did the general consensus come to be that these were bad songs? We Built This City was nominated for a grammy, it received a lot of airplay in 1985 and 1986, and I don’t recall a backlash against the song at that time. I’m sure some people hated it but when did we all agree it was terrible? This. This AF. It’s like the word “moist” being that word that people hate, on lists of worst words, so now people who would never even have had a word they hate will list it as “OMG worst thing ever I just can’t…” because everyone knows that’s the word to hate. Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd… ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/149 "2020-04-07T20:33:50Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I like…fruitcake Hating fruitcake is a thing? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/150 "2020-04-07T20:38:36Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Hating fruitcake is a thing? [I hate fruitcake](https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk03fdE9VuXMM00_MWpHJ9NPxSl_vZw%3A1586288477473&ei=XdeMXq6xHPeD9PwPj6yQsAs&q=i+hate+fruitcake&oq=i+hate+fruitcake&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzICCAAyBggAEBYQHjoECAAQRzoICAAQgwEQkQI6BQgAEJECOgUIABCDAToECCMQJzoECAAQQzoGCAAQChBDOgUIABDNAkouCBcSKjBnOTZnMTAzZzExMmc5Mmc5MmcxMThnODBnMjg2ZzEwNGc5NWc4NGcxMEodCBgSGTBnMWcxZzFnMWcxZzFnMWcxZzFnNWcyZzJQi_3LAViJm8wBYNadzAFoAHACeACAAZQCiAHlDJIBBjEyLjMuMZgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwju09eJidfoAhX3AZ0JHQ8WBLYQ4dUDCAs&uact=5) 986,000 results ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/151 "2020-04-07T20:38:38Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > S&G wrote the song, but the hit was by Harper’s Bizarre. > > [The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_59th_Street_Bridge_Song_(Feelin%27_Groovy))) Yeah, and [they totally schlocked it up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz4mgJRB4yY). (Has there ever been a [dorkier looking group](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61YXzphFaJL.jpg)?) I like S&G’s version, even if its a little twee, but that one would send a sugarplum fairly into a diabetic coma.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/152 "2020-04-07T20:50:29Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > [I hate fruitcake](https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk03fdE9VuXMM00_MWpHJ9NPxSl_vZw%3A1586288477473&ei=XdeMXq6xHPeD9PwPj6yQsAs&q=i+hate+fruitcake&oq=i+hate+fruitcake&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzICCAAyBggAEBYQHjoECAAQRzoICAAQgwEQkQI6BQgAEJECOgUIABCDAToECCMQJzoECAAQQzoGCAAQChBDOgUIABDNAkouCBcSKjBnOTZnMTAzZzExMmc5Mmc5MmcxMThnODBnMjg2ZzEwNGc5NWc4NGcxMEodCBgSGTBnMWcxZzFnMWcxZzFnMWcxZzFnNWcyZzJQi_3LAViJm8wBYNadzAFoAHACeACAAZQCiAHlDJIBBjEyLjMuMZgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwju09eJidfoAhX3AZ0JHQ8WBLYQ4dUDCAs&uact=5) > > 986,000 results Oh! No, I was thinking of rich, moist, English fruitcake. People may hate that too, but to do so is not A Thing. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/153 "2020-04-07T21:02:40Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Oh! > > No, I was thinking of rich, moist, English fruitcake. People may hate that too, but to do so is not A Thing. [I hate Yorkshire Pudding](https://www.google.com/search?ei=IuqMXujIGMKl_Qas8pfgCg&q=I+hate+yorkshire+pudding&oq=I+hate+yorkshire+pudding&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQDDIECAAQHjoECAAQR0oJCBcSBTEyLTc2SggIGBIEMTItNFCZQFjxRWDMeGgAcAJ4AIABlQGIAaYCkgEDMC4ymAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjo4e38mtfoAhXCUt8KHSz5BawQ4dUDCAw) gets 1.5 million results. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/154 "2020-04-07T21:31:02Z")
I still love Red Rubber Ball! It’s a great little pop song. Being in elementary school at the time it came out probably helped. The lyrics seemed perfectly mixed-metaphorically logical: bouncing back from a rollercoaster ride of a rocky relationship like a red rubber ball sun of a new day because there’s more than one starfish in the sea. What’s not to love? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Brother\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_brother_1/32/3513_2.png) [@Little\_Brother\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Brother_1)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/155 "2020-04-07T21:45:38Z")
Per Wikipedia, > [@](#): > > “Lady Willpower” is a song written by Jerry Fuller and recorded by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap for their 1968 album Incredible. … The song hit No. 1 on the U.S. Cashbox Top 100 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968 (behind “Grazing in the Grass” by Hugh Masekela). Even if it wasn’t a #1 Billboard hit, I think that #2 Billboard plus #1 Cashbox makes inclusion permissible. I can’t believe that it came in just behind the delightful “Grazing…”, though; I’d have guessed there were at least a thousand songs between the two. Even when I was too young to realize that the song is essentially a male’s ultimatum to a woman to give it up or break up, the name or phrase “Lady Willpower” grated upon me. I say “name or phrase”, because it doesn’t even scan as a name-- I parsed it as “Lady, willpower” except that that doesn’t scan either. If it were “Lady Hesitation” it would still be atrocious, but “Lady Willpower” is nonsensical. Incidentally, although nothing comes to mind I’m sure that there’s an Internet “rule” or axiom to the effect that whenever commenters are asked to provide “worst” or “best” choices, someone will promptly show up to vehemently assert the opposite opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/156 "2020-04-07T22:22:11Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Oh! > > No, I was thinking of rich, moist, English fruitcake. People may hate that too, but to do so is not A Thing. Whereas on this side of the pond, admitting you like fruitcake (and for some, pineapple on pizza) is like saying you eat your own boogers; it engenders a mixture of horror, disgust and pity. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/157 "2020-04-07T22:23:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [I hate Yorkshire Pudding](https://www.google.com/search?ei=IuqMXujIGMKl_Qas8pfgCg&q=I+hate+yorkshire+pudding&oq=I+hate+yorkshire+pudding&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQDDIECAAQHjoECAAQR0oJCBcSBTEyLTc2SggIGBIEMTItNFCZQFjxRWDMeGgAcAJ4AIABlQGIAaYCkgEDMC4ymAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjo4e38mtfoAhXCUt8KHSz5BawQ4dUDCAw) gets 1.5 million results. 😃 I’m going to file them away with the 63 million who voted for Trump. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/158 "2020-04-07T23:11:50Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I still love Red Rubber Ball! It’s a great little pop song. Being in elementary school at the time it came out probably helped. The lyrics seemed perfectly mixed-metaphorically logical: bouncing back from a rollercoaster ride of a rocky relationship like a red rubber ball sun of a new day because there’s more than one starfish in the sea. What’s not to love? Yeah, “Red Rubber Ball” is another perfectly fine song I’m shocked to see here. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/159 "2020-04-07T23:35:27Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Whereas on this side of the pond, admitting you like fruitcake (and for some, pineapple on pizza) is like saying you eat your own boogers; it engenders a mixture of horror, disgust and pity. Pineapple on pizza is one of those divisive things over here (although I’m sure many of those who claim to despise it do so more because that’s a thing than because they genuinely find it that objectionable). Fruitcake though…no, it’s not in the same league at all. Generally the fruit in question is raisins, sultanas, currants and possibly glacé cherries, and the ratio of fruit to cake is very, very high. The idea of it going stale was a huge surprise to me - it’s essentially impossible with a decent fruitcake. I make mine in October, usually, so it’s had a chance to mature by Christmas. I’ve occasionally left it as late as November, but I get a bit twitchy if that happens. Tealoaf fruitcakes (not to be confused with teacakes, which are essentially sweetish white bread studded with currants) are a good non-special-occasion version: the fruit is soaked in tea first and often then boiled up with butter, sugar and spices before mixing with flour to create the batter - again, a moist, very fruit-laden affair. I should probably start talking about music again though, eh? ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/160 "2020-04-07T23:43:55Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, “Red Rubber Ball” is another perfectly fine song I’m shocked to see here. Paul Simon refers to it as his biggest embarrassment as a composer. Unless I missed it on scroll, I can’t believe 4 pages and no one mentioned something as pukeworthy as **Foreigner** ’s “_I Want to Know What Love Is_” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170.md?page=9)