Songs
The following songs have appeared in media polls and critical lists as the "worst ever". Examples of such sources include VH1's "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever" and Blender Magazine's "Run for Your Life! It’s the 50 Worst Songs Ever!".
Because of the nature of the pop single that developed in the 20th century, most of these entries are five minutes long or less.
A consensus of critics and music fans is needed before a song qualifies for this list.
- "I Want My Baby Back", Jimmy Cross (1965)
- In 1977, British DJ Kenny Everett named it no. 1 in the Bottom 30 after a public vote.
- "MacArthur Park", Richard Harris (1968)
- Dubbed "the worst song in modern history" in Dave Barry's "Bad Song Survey", and popculturemadness.com's "List of the Worst Songs of All Time". This song was also a substantial hit however, topping at #2 in the United States on Billboard's Hot 100 and #10 on Billboard's Easy Listening Chart, and charting out at #1 in Europe and Australia.
- "(You're) Having My Baby", Paul Anka (1974)
- No. 1 worst song as voted on by CNN.com users.
- "Dance with Me", Reginald Bosanquet (1980)
- A disco song with lyrics narrated in the style of a British newscast (Bosanquet was a news anchor for Independent Television News at the time), was voted number one 1 in the Bottom 30 by listeners of British DJ Kenny Everett in 1980.
- "We Built This City", Starship (1985)
- Ranked #1 in "Run for Your Life! It's the 50 Worst Songs Ever!" list in Blender Magazine, and "The 10 Worst Songs of the 1980s", Rolling Stone
- "Heartbeat", Don Johnson (1986)
- Boston.com's Arts & Entertainment staff ranked this as No. 1 on their "Top Ten Worst Songs of All Time".
- "The Millennium Prayer", Cliff Richard (1999)
- VH1 labeled this the worst number one record of all time after a poll.
- "Who Let the Dogs Out?", Baha Men (2000)
- Number one on Spinner's "Top 20 Worst Songs Ever".
- "The Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)", The Cheeky Girls (2002)
- Voted the no. 1 "worst pop record" by Channel 4 viewers in a poll broadcast in January 2004.
Songs that are immediately controversial or unpopular, such as "Baby" by Justin Bieber (2010), "Friday" by Rebecca Black (2011),or "Surrounded by Silence" by Design the Skyline (2011) would not qualify yet, but might appear on such lists in future, if they are deemed by a high number of notable music journalists, or notable all-time polls, to be the worst, compared with songs from previous decades.
Read more about this topic: List Of Music Considered The Worst
Famous quotes containing the word songs:
“In her days every man shall eat in safety
Under his own vine what he plants, and sing
The merry songs of peace to all his neighbors.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul”
—Unknown. “What Wondrous Love is this!” L. 3-5, Dupuy’s Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1811)
“And songs climb out of the flames of the near campfires,
Pale, pastel things exquisite in their frailness
With a note or two to indicate it isn’t lost,
On them at least. The songs decorate our notion of the world
And mark its limits, like a frieze of soap-bubbles.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)