# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/161 "2020-04-07T23:46:39Z")
The only fruitcake I’ll eat is from the Collins Street Bakery in Texas. I get the blonde (?) version which is only pineapple, cherries and lots and LOTS of pecans. If it’s got that nasty candied citron crap I’ll never touch it. I’m not big on raisins in cake either. ---
**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, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/162 "2020-04-07T23:57:34Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > The only fruitcake I’ll eat is from the Collins Street Bakery in Texas. I get the blonde (?) version which is only pineapple, cherries and lots and LOTS of pecans. If it’s got that nasty candied citron crap I’ll never touch it. > > I’m not big on raisins in cake either. Ha - well, be warned then, lest you’re tempted: a proper traditional fruitcake east of the pond is essentially a load of raisins held together with a relatively minimal amount of cake. What you’ve just described would not be a fruitcake over here - sure, it’s a cake with fruit in it, but…well, that’s not the point. Fruitcake is a name, not just a description. ---
**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, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/163 "2020-04-07T23:59:22Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > Paul Simon refers to it as his biggest embarrassment as a composer. Maybe he forgot some: [Paul Simon: 10 Fascinating Pre–Simon and Garfunkel Songs](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/paul-simons-early-years-10-fascinating-pre-simon-and-garfunkel-songs-189901) ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/164 "2020-04-08T00:23:41Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I think the OP should have qualified their understanding of the word “worst”. Did they mean lyrically? Plenty of those have been mentioned already. Or musically? Because, hell, these are pop songs on pop charts, I would expect #1s to have schmaltzy pop melodies, that’s not fair to vote any of those as worst. You’d need to find something really unconventional or non-melodic to pick a “winner” in that category. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > I like all three of these. (All Star has been played to death, but even very good songs get overplayed.) There should be s distinction between truly bad and played to death. > [@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? There have been numerous songs listed here that I (and Mr. Celtic Knot) really like. _We Built This City,_ _Silly Love Songs_, and _Hold On_ are just a few. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/165 "2020-04-08T02:40:29Z")
_Sometimes When We Touch_, by Dan Hill. This is the worst song ever written. And it did go to number 1, although not in the US, in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/166 "2020-04-08T03:10:54Z")
I don’t recall seeing “Black Water” by the Doobies in previous posts. I have heard it reviled and if Billboard Top 100 is the yardstick it fits the OP. I don’t rank it among the best of the Doobies’ work but I don’t get the hate. [Black Water - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SaRf86eyVY) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/167 "2020-04-08T03:15:09Z")
> [@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? I hated that song in 1985. I have utterly detested it from the moment I first heard it. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/168 "2020-04-08T03:18:34Z")
_Please release me, let me go._ The nauseating and sad feelings coming out are better represented in a scene from the Claymation Easter (1992) [Shark-Swallowed Bunnies - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8REbuwty0XY) (skip to 1:11 for the song) ---
**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 8, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/169 "2020-04-08T03:21:58Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Ha - well, be warned then, lest you’re tempted: a proper traditional fruitcake east of the pond is essentially a load of raisins held together with a relatively minimal amount of cake. What you’ve just described would not be a fruitcake over here - sure, it’s a cake with fruit in it, but…well, that’s not the point. Fruitcake is a name, not just a description. Sounds wonderful to me. There are good, similar fruitcakes available over here, but most people think of something like [this](https://www.claxtonfruitcake.com/Fruitcake-750.jpg). Which I love, but many people find repellent. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/170 "2020-04-08T03:44:37Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > There have been numerous songs listed here that I (and Mr. Celtic Knot) really like. _We Built This City,_ _Silly Love Songs_, and _Hold On_ are just a few. I can’t profess to have any love for “We Built this City,” but I don’t hate it either. I was in 4th grade when it was released and it reminds me of then. But to my ears it doesn’t sound any worse than a lot of other popular songs from the era. On the other hand I don’t get the hate for Nickleback either. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/171 "2020-04-08T04:04:10Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I don’t recall seeing “Black Water” by the Doobies in previous posts. I have heard it reviled and if Billboard Top 100 is the yardstick it fits the OP. I don’t rank it among the best of the Doobies’ work but I don’t get the hate. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SaRf86eyVY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SaRf86eyVY) I’ve always loved that song. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/172 "2020-04-08T04:41:24Z")
My go-to choices _Seasons in the Sun_ and _Billy Don’t new Hero_ have already been mentioned. I can’t believe we’re over 170 posts in and no one’s mentioned my #3 choice,_Afternoon Delight_… ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/173 "2020-04-08T04:52:55Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I can’t believe we’re over 170 posts in and no one’s mentioned my #3 choice,_Afternoon Delight_… I think that one is slightly redeemed by its subversive sub-text. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/174 "2020-04-08T05:14:21Z")
_I’m Too Sexy_ by Right Said Fred at a single mention in 173 posts isn’t getting nearly as much hate as it deserves in this thread. ---
**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 8, 2020, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/175 "2020-04-08T05:37:48Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I think that one is slightly redeemed by its subversive sub-text. One of my favorite scenes in _Arrested Development_ is when [Michael and his niece Maeby do it as a karaoke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0socayvuiNE) and don’t realize what it’s actually about until it’s too late. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/176 "2020-04-08T06:40:21Z")
> [@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. 😃 Ointment! Someone please pass the ointment to Mr. Pud! 😃 > [@Little\_Brother\_1](#): > > . . . > 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. > . . . This belongs in a different class of awful. They are beautiful songs with absolutely horrific lyrics. Another is the haunting [Alison Krause tune “Now That I Found You.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5QLod7F0Yk) > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I don’t recall seeing “Black Water” by the Doobies in previous posts. I have heard it reviled and if Billboard Top 100 is the yardstick it fits the OP. I don’t rank it among the best of the Doobies’ work but I don’t get the hate. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SaRf86eyVY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SaRf86eyVY) This is the first one listed here that shocked me. The mere suggestion that it might be bad sent me reeling to youtube to listen again. Nope, still wonderful. LOL! I guess it falls in the category of great memories for me though. My high school friends and I used to harmonize to that and we would just repeat the last bit way too long because we didn’t want it to end. ---
**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 8, 2020, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/177 "2020-04-08T07:29:40Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Ointment! Someone please pass the ointment to Mr. Pud! 😃 I’d heard there were terrible misapprehensions in some quarters as to what should go on Yorkshire Puddings: sugar, syrup etc. And now ointment! It’s _gravy_ on Yorkshires. ---
**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 8, 2020, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/178 "2020-04-08T11:09:55Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > My go-to choices _Seasons in the Sun_ and _Billy Don’t new Hero_ have already been mentioned. > > I can’t believe we’re over 170 posts in and no one’s mentioned my #3 choice,_Afternoon Delight_… Post #139. I listed it among the 70s cheeze that is my guilty pleasure. It’s a great song. Jeeze, that’s the second time in this thread someone’s said “I can’t believe no one’s mentioned…” a song I already posted. It’s cuz of the fruitcake thing, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/179 "2020-04-08T14:19:38Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > A lot of good ones here. I’ll nominate **Okie From Muscogee** , by Merle Haggard for a country tune. And **Ballad Of The Green Berets** , by Barry Sadler for pop charts. “Fighting men, who jump and die” always sounded like a poor career choice. I’ve been pondering this thread for a while now and I have settled on the latter for topic winner. 5 weeks at number one. Used as the closing song in a terrible John Wayne film. ---
**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 8, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170/180 "2020-04-08T16:23:52Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Post #139. I listed it among the 70s cheeze that is my guilty pleasure. It’s a great song. It’s a great catchy pop song. What’s not to like? > [@](#): > > Jeeze, that’s the second time in this thread someone’s said “I can’t believe no one’s mentioned…” a song I already posted. It’s cuz of the fruitcake thing, isn’t it? I hate to tell ya, but it’s something else. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-song-ever-that-reached-1/851170.md?page=10)