# Worst songs of the 70s **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 7, 2021, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924 "2021-11-07T04:58:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/261 "2021-11-19T15:43:19Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Yeah, I’ll go with you about Chicago, but “Ariel” is a pretty interesting musically. I really enjoy playing the bass line. And it’s meant to be corny/punny/over the top. I played (guitar) on it once for a choral group in high school the 1970s. I’d thought it was by Frankie Valli (thanks for fighting my ignorance) because of the falsetto part. The choir director changed the words, “she was a Jewish girl” to, “her name was Ariel”. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/262 "2021-11-19T18:48:30Z")
That’s a bummer. I like the lyrics quite a bit and wouldn’t change a thing. In fact, the only thing I think I might change would be removing the fireworks overdubs. That’s a step too far even for me. But I’ve warmed up by playing the bass part fairly frequently and people always ask me what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/263 "2021-11-19T21:02:57Z")
My experience isn’t anything like yours. Like you, I was too young to be aware of “You Light Up My Life” during its chart popularity. However, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it on the radio more than a handful of times. I really only know about it from reading various “worst songs of the 70s” or “worst songs ever” or “most-forgotten hits” lists. I know it so poorly, I don’t think I can hum the tune or even recognize it if I heard the first few notes of it. I have listened to lots of oldies stations over time, but it very rarely gets played. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/264 "2021-11-20T02:06:52Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I know it so poorly, I don’t think I can hum the tune or even recognize it if I heard the first few notes of it. How I envy you… ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/265 "2021-11-20T03:05:49Z")
Put the Bone In got some memorable airplay on the Dr. Demento Show, most appropriately. Terry Jacks probably put that on the B side of Seasons in the Sun so that disc jockeys would have no confusion over which side to play. In the days of the 45, it was very risky to put two strong, hit-contender songs on one single. One side could, potentially, dilute the chart position of the other. Now, if both sides became big hits in their own rights, as happened with Penny Lane b/w Strawberry Fields Forever, then, fine. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/266 "2021-11-20T03:52:23Z")
Oh this Prism monster I created!!! So no anti-love for “You’ve Blown it All Sky High” by some bloody band back then. It’s possible Pauline Kael was on to something with the descriptor “mushy-minded lyrics” IRT Cat Stevens’s “If You Want to Sign Out, Sing Out”. To put this whole Joe Brooks thing to rest (and let his grossness sink in and marinate a little more) he wrote and acted in a sort of auto-biographical 1979 shmaltz-out called “If Ever I See You Again” about a (who knew?) humble composer genius trying to woo the stunning Love Interest (in this case Shelly Hack). See this without requiring a shower afterwards _if you dare_. Only a ten-minute tease - imagine sitting through the _entire_ thing. My god - poor Shelly… [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8DDSs_rW8LA/hqdefault.jpg ""If Ever I See You Again" ~ A 10 Minute Tribute To The 1978 film ~ Starring Shelley Hack") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DDSs_rW8LA) > [@TimfromNapa](#): > > Put the Bone In got some memorable airplay on the Dr. Demento Show, most appropriately. Reminding me of a cool university radio station dj many moons ago who got pissed off that no one was calling in with donations to their “Groovy CFUV Fundrive”, so, in retaliation, he played over, and over, and over, and over, _just_ this “Put the Bone In” line: [_Cuz my doggie’s, been hit, by a car-r-r-r-r-r…_](https://youtu.be/80E_vNcG4gc?t=7) I can only imagine Rick just sitting there, hunched over the bloody turntables, his arm frozen over the record so he can steady the tonearm to constantly return the needle back to the beginning of that line. Or he just lucked out by the gods and it was an actual skip in the album. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/267 "2021-11-20T04:28:05Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > See this without requiring a shower afterwards _if you dare_ . Only a ten-minute tease - imagine sitting through the _entire_ thing. Wow, that’s some porno level dialogue and acting, there. I do wish more pornos had at least that level of cinematography, though. I’m not asking for Barry Sonnenfeld, but would it kill them to set up a dolly shot? Jeebus, it was a Christmas movie, too? The horror. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2021, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/268 "2021-11-20T05:19:23Z")
> I beg to differ. There were a lot of crap songs, true, as there are in every decade, but the 70s also brought us > > Layla (Clapton–original and best version) > **Ramblin’ Man (Allman Brothers)** “Ramblin Man” is worse than stepping in poop. It’s BY FAR the worst Allman Bros. song. It should be in a thread of “Terrible songs by good bands” alongside (the even worse) “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2021, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/269 "2021-11-20T05:35:35Z")
I have to admit, I love a lot of these horrible songs. What can I say? The Seventies were my formative years, and I like the music because it takes me to my happy place. That said, “Daddy, Don’t You Walk So Fast” by Wayne Newton is schmaltz of the highest order, and I would be happy if I never had to hear it again. “Watching Scotty Grow” isn’t much better. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/270 "2021-11-20T05:43:10Z")
That would be a good thread! It’s possible my liking for the song got mixed up with my liking of the guy I was dating at the time. But come on, you don’t even like the Betts and Dudek guitar part toward the end? 100% agree about “Black Water.” Plus it was overplayed.˜ ---
**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:** [November 20, 2021, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/271 "2021-11-20T11:49:16Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Cisyk’s husband later claimed that Joe Brooks both made sexual advances to Cisyk and tried to stiff her out of payment. So he tried to stiff her twice… > [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > So no anti-love for “You’ve Blown it All Sky High” by some bloody band back then. Jigsaw. Remember this one? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IFYOHrwi-W8/hqdefault.jpg "Hot Chocolate - Emma") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFYOHrwi-W8) Yeah, I’ll admit I like a lot the ones posted upthread…Ariel in particular. ---
**Author:** ![IvyOfPoison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivyofpoison/32/20489_2.png) [@IvyOfPoison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvyOfPoison)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/272 "2021-11-21T03:40:27Z")
Maybe I missed this one upthread, but dead beings songs seemed to be very popular in the mid-70s. “Shannon” by Henry Gross was about a dog. May it (the song, not the dog) rot in torment. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/R5Wpn3dFrEs/hqdefault.jpg "Shannon- Henry Gross") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5Wpn3dFrEs) ---
**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:** [November 21, 2021, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/273 "2021-11-21T03:54:34Z")
What percentage of the songs upthread do you actually enjoy? _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/273))_ ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/274 "2021-11-21T13:17:34Z")
How come so many people know Put the Bone In? I know it because I did buy the Seasons in the Sun single and always checked out the B side of the 45s that I bought. I did play it for friends to show them a bad song. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/275 "2021-11-21T14:20:02Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > How come so many people know Put the Bone In? I think Dr. Demento was mentioned above – I don’t actually know where I know the song from, but I did listen to the show regularly for a couple of years, so that’s the most likely source for me. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/276 "2021-11-21T16:39:52Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > How come so many people know Put the Bone In? I know it because I did buy the Seasons in the Sun single and always checked out the B side of the 45s that I bought. > I did play it for friends to show them a bad song. I know it and only ever heard it as the last song on Soul Asylum’s “Hang Time”. Never knew it was a cover (there are no credits on my CD copy) and assumed it was a drunken, silly studio improvisation. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lYOVcsNcmYs/maxresdefault.jpg "Put The Bone In") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYOVcsNcmYs) ---
**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:** [November 21, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/277 "2021-11-21T16:47:56Z")
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot… > **[Terry Jacks - Put The Bone In Lyrics | AZLyrics.com](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/terryjacks/putthebonein.html)** > > Terry Jacks "Put The Bone In": Put the bone in she asked him at the store Because my doggie's been hit by a car And I do want to br... ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/278 "2021-11-21T17:25:30Z")
Hehehe, I just went and double checked - it’s not on the vinyl. My ears were virgin to that one before this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/279 "2021-12-02T23:46:50Z")
No one has mentioned Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey? I always thought that even when they stopped writing together they still wrote for the other’s approval. It worked with John’s “Happiness is a Warm Gun” but Paul sure blew it with this one. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2021, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/280 "2021-12-03T06:01:14Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I have to admit, I love a lot of these horrible songs. What can I say? The Seventies were my formative years, and I like the music because it takes me to my happy place. Sometimes I think we enjoy songs because they take us back to a certain period in our lives reminding us of events, people we knew, or other pleasant or unpleasant memories and maybe making us feel a bit nostalgic. I won’t pretend like Vanilla Ice’s _Ice, Ice Baby_ is a great song, but I almost always enjoy hearing it as I associate it with my freshman year of high school. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924.md?page=15)