# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/121 "2021-11-08T23:58:17Z")
1974 brought a bounty of wretched songs capitalizing on the streaking craze.\* Even before Ray Stevens had his hit with “The Streak” (fairly loathsome, but mainly just annoying), there was possibly the worst song ever to ever get airplay, “Streakin’ Part Two” by The Streakers, which featured genius lyrics like _It won’t do no harm_ _if you do a little streakin’ in the dorm_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ehyxQMCYheg/maxresdefault.jpg "The Streakers - Streakin'") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehyxQMCYheg) Many others tried to cash in during this sorry period, including Rick Springfield, Randy Newman and Flesh Gordon & The Nude Hollywood Argyles, who gave us “Superstreaker” (the B side of their single was “Naked”). You can listen to more of such dreck here: [http://musicweird.blogspot.com/2014/10/1974s-hot-streak-of-streaking-songs.html?m=1](http://musicweird.blogspot.com/2014/10/1974s-hot-streak-of-streaking-songs.html?m=1) \*I don’t care if these are considered “novelty” songs. Their godawfulness should be remembered so it never happens again. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/122 "2021-11-09T00:18:19Z")
OK, correction: > [@nelliebly](#): > > beg to differ. There were a lot of crap songs, true, as there are in every decade, but the 70s also brought us > > … > Get Back (Beatles) Released April 1969, sorry (and even the 1970-release Beatles singles were actually recorded in '69, 1970 just brought in the Spectorization) Speaking of which, > [@Skywatcher](#): > > Released 24 September 1978: > [link to Donna Summer, MacArthur Park] Cover of a 1968 release (Richard Harris) previously covered by Waylon &^%$#@ Jenkins (!!!) and the Four Tops AND Tony Bennet and Andy Williams and a bunch of others. [This thing got covered up the wazoo](https://360degreesound.com/10-great-versions-of-the-pop-classic-macarthur-park/). … My speculation on WTF went wrong with the 70s is that people coming down from whatever they were on in the 60s tried to ease the crash with Quaalude. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/123 "2021-11-09T00:25:06Z")
I always thought it was Cassius, not cactus. Like a constellation, or a star, pointing out the way. Jeez, cactus. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@bmoak1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak1)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/124 "2021-11-09T00:31:16Z")
I was going to post the immortal I heard my maahhhhmmmaaaa cry… I hear her pray the night Chiccaaaaahgo died." But someone beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@bmoak1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak1)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/125 "2021-11-09T00:34:09Z")
How about this one? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9ym3RlvVR9M/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGGUgWyhYMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDmd_7cnVN37IKwjfRGvkjMOOP3VA "Andy Kim - Rock Me Gently") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ym3RlvVR9M) ---
**Author:** ![bmoak1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@bmoak1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak1)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/126 "2021-11-09T00:35:54Z")
Here’s some more 70s cheese. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ASGgn8bNQuA/maxresdefault.jpg "Pilot - It's Magic • TopPop") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASGgn8bNQuA) ---
**Author:** ![bmoak1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@bmoak1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak1)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/127 "2021-11-09T00:38:48Z")
And another one… [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QjtD8A-MWBc/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-B4AC0AWKAgwIABABGH8gHigTMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBzaWYtF1nkE8KeG6dUjK7taXWeKQ "Jigsaw - Sky High [HQ]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjtD8A-MWBc) ---
**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:** [November 9, 2021, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/128 "2021-11-09T00:57:35Z")
I don’t think this Blue Swede masterpiece has been mentioned yet. Opening lyrics: _Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga_ _Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga_ _Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga_ _Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga_ [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w5jkAkm4JmM/hqdefault.jpg "Blue Swede - Hooked On A Feeling (1974 - HQ - Live)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5jkAkm4JmM) ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/129 "2021-11-09T01:18:26Z")
If it’s good enough for Starlord, it’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@bmoak1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak1)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/130 "2021-11-09T01:33:01Z")
For your listening pleasure…it’s The George Baker Selection! (No, it’s not “Little Green Bag”.) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R36CixkIaIc/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-AoACoAKKAgwIABABGEwgZSg3MA8=&rs=AOn4CLCeKmkLrnpaCTtiwVPvhW2iUWkxWg "George Baker Selection Una Paloma Blanca") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R36CixkIaIc) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/131 "2021-11-09T01:35:21Z")
Also from the 70s, vigilante justice rock [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fZL_tZxyBDo/hqdefault.jpg "R Dean Taylor - Indiana Wants Me 1970") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZL_tZxyBDo) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/K-qK7oVXVRQ/maxresdefault.jpg "The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-qK7oVXVRQ) And, or course, Bloodrock [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QzY5i8zHWdw/maxresdefault.jpg "Bloodrock - D. O. A. (1971) HQ") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzY5i8zHWdw) ---
**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 9, 2021, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/132 "2021-11-09T01:40:36Z")
Torn Between Two Lovers, anyone? It sounds like most of us tend toward pop or rock music. If we were to look at some country/western titles… [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Psm96Dn9KII/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGFIgSyhlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCifQRIYbxNVJLWw_HVjMoKbSp4GQ "Stand By Your Man -Blues Brothers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psm96Dn9KII) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/133 "2021-11-09T01:47:22Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I wonder how many songs are hated due to overplay. I grew to loathe “The Things We Do for Love” by 10cc for that reason. Another song by 10cc that never got played enough: I’m Not in Love. My experience was quite the opposite. I have a mild distaste The Things We Do for Love, but I truly loath I’m Not in Love. It seems like I heard that damn song constantly in the late 1970’s-early 80’s. I didn’t care much for it the first time - I despised it at after unavoidable listen #51. Not a big 10cc fan. Dreadlock Holiday is okay. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/134 "2021-11-09T02:07:23Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I don’t think this Blue Swede masterpiece has been mentioned yet. That’s because this is a thread of BAD songs. > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Also from the 70s, vigilante justice rock Indiana Wants Me? It’s the police dishing justice. The state wants him, not Dr Jones. Now The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, yeah I’m with you there. the song makes NO DAMN SENSE! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/135 "2021-11-09T02:25:58Z")
The twin forces working towards destruction of rock n’ roll in the 1970s were the grotesquely sappy pop hits previously mentioned, and disco/funkaholism, as exemplified by the pride of Steubenville, Ohio - Wild Cherry. _Play that funky music, white boy_ _Play that funky music right_ _Play that funky music, white boy_ _Lay down the boogie and play that funky music 'til you die_\*, _heh heh_ _'Til you die, yeah (What?)_ _Hear, hear, heh_ \*but nowhere near soon enough. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > I truly loath I’m Not in Love. It seems like I heard that damn song constantly in the late 1970’s-early 80’s. I didn’t care much for it the first time - I despised it at after unavoidable listen #51. “Big boys don’t cry…big boys don’t cry…big boys don’t cry…” ---
**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 9, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/136 "2021-11-09T02:27:32Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Released April 1969, sorry (and even the 1970-release Beatles singles were actually recorded in '69, 1970 just brought in the Spectorization) OK, then, “Let It Be” from the same album. And the _release date_ is what matters. It’s not like at 12:01 New Year’s Day, 1970, the music and culture of the Sixties stopped. The very early Seventies were a continuation of the late Sixties by many measures: still anti-war protests, still long hair and bell-bottoms, still same musical trends. For that matter, the very early Sixties were much more like the Fifties than the late Sixties, musically and by every other measure. There was a lot of crappy music in the Seventies, the decade that saw, Og help us, disco. But there was a lot of dreck in the Sixties (“Honey,” “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy,” “Puppy Love”), the Eighties (“Mickey,” “We Built This City,” anything by Boy George but especially the rhetorical “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”), and the Nineties (“Barbie Girl,” “MMMBop,” “I Knew I Loved You”), not to mention the crappy songs from the last 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/137 "2021-11-09T02:30:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > “Big boys don’t cry…big boys don’t cry…big boys don’t cry…” The worst fucking part 😁. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/138 "2021-11-09T02:41:26Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > “Big boys don’t cry…big boys don’t cry…big boys don’t cry…” “Requesting quiet…requesting quiet…” ---
**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 9, 2021, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/139 "2021-11-09T02:51:10Z")
“Once You Understand” by Think. [Think - Once You Understand - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haCqD9Ps0co) This “song” did hit the lower rungs of the Top 40, so it meets the OP’s criteria. It’s a spoken word recording with a constant background chant that goes “things get a little easier once you understand.” The dialogue consists of various teenagers arguing with their parents. Near the end of the record, the singing stops abruptly. A police officer informs a teenager’s father that the teenager has died of an overdose. The father immediately starts sobbing. The message behind the song is completely incoherent. Is it trying to tell us that teens should listen to their parents? Or is it telling us that parents should go easy on their teens? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924/140 "2021-11-09T02:53:31Z")
Hey, “It’s Magic” and “Sky High” are two of the greatest songs of their time. And yes, I’ve heard of young children hearing “It’s Magic” on an oldies station and saying, “That’s the Ozempic song.” I’ve also heard of more than one person who thought the title line was “Whoa, ho, ho, it’s my dick, you know, never believe it’s not so.” I’m not one of them, but it does kinda sorta sound like it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-songs-of-the-70s/953924.md?page=8)