The period known as the 1960s is regularly invoked as one in which pop music reached its highest peak. A look at the sales charts from that period will show that a lot of great and timeless music was made then, and much of the reverence is justified.
Still, like any other period in human history, a lot of garbage was produced alongside the golden nuggets. A lot of this garbage was created by blink-and-you-missed-them artists who were never heard from again, while other subpar music was produced by artists who should have known better. Here are 10 examples of some of the most offensive musical bilge from the 1960s, whether from respected songsmiths or people just trying to make a quick buck.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
1. ‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’ by Ohio Express (1968)
If you enjoy trite and sugary bubblegum pop, “Yummy Yummy Yummy” may be right up your alley, and indeed, it was a top 10 hit when it was released. For the rest of us, it’s pure torture, and its excess corniness makes it a challenge to sit through its entire 150-second running time.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
2. ‘Sugar, Sugar’ by The Archies (1969)
As unbearably treacly as this song is, that didn’t stop it from topping the charts in the United States, and even the highly respected R&B artist Wilson Pickett took a crack at it in 1970. Does this mean the song’s reputation as complete idiocy is unfair, and the tune deserves a second look? Absolutely not!
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3. ‘Simon Says’ by 1910 Fruitgum Company (1967)
1910 Fruitgum Company was an unabashedly bubblegum pop group who never pretended to be anything else, so they deserve credit for their honesty. Unfortunately, their highest-charting song, “Simon Says,” is as simpleminded as the children’s game it’s named for, and you will feel dumber after listening to all two and a half minutes of it.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
4. ‘Dominique’ by The Singing Nun (1963)
Sometimes, it’s easy to see why a song becomes a hit, and at other times, it’s baffling. We’re filing this one under “baffling,” notably because it topped the charts in the United States for reasons modern science cannot explain. Seriously, listen to it, and if you can explain why even one person liked it, we’re all ears.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
5. ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ by Roy Orbison (1964)
Yes, we’re going there. Roy Orbison spent the first half of the 1960s crafting operatic romantic epics without peer. He also spent that period crafting more upbeat songs, like ‘Oh, Pretty Woman,’ none of which held a candle to the syrupy stuff. It was his last song to hit number one, but compared to his tearful ballads, it’s worthless.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
6. ‘MacArthur Park’ by Richard Harris (1968)
Fresh off of his portrayal of King Arthur in the 1967 musical ‘Camelot,’ actor Richard Harris decided to make an album, ‘A Tramp Shining,’ which featured the single “MacArthur Park.'”The song became a massive hit despite its seven-minute running time and also despite the moronic lyrics about cakes being left out in the rain. If you feel you must listen to this song, please, we beg of you, listen to Donna Summer’s version instead.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
7. ‘Touch Me’ by The Doors (1969)
The Doors have always been a polarizing group that people either love or hate, but even fans will agree that despite its hit status, “Touch Me” did not play to the band’s strengths. Even if it did, it suffocates under a heavy-handed string and horn arrangement, obscuring any good points the song might have.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
8. ‘I Got You Babe’ by Sonny & Cher (1965)
“I Got You Babe” was the first single released by Sonny & Cher, and it topped the charts in the United States for weeks. If you can’t name another Sonny & Cher song besides that one, it’s a good bet that it’s because they never had another song chart that high again. The song itself is repetitive and annoying, and its use in the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ as the song Bill Murray’s character must wake up to every day would seem to bear that out.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
9. ‘Winchester Cathedral’ by The New Vaudeville Band (1966)
“Winchester Cathedral” is another one of those songs whose chart-topping popularity may have made sense in the 1960s but is a complete mystery today. Listening to it to understand why it became so beloved will yield no answers, and it may be best to chalk it up to the fact that in the 1960s, people were doing lots of acid, thereby impairing their judgment.
Image Credit: YouTube/ Polydor 1000.
10. ‘Honey’ by Bobby Goldsboro (1968)
“Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro is a song in which a man sings to his wife about their shared memories, only to reveal at the end that she’s dead. This song spent five weeks at the top of the charts in the United States for reasons that are a complete mystery, but the passage of time did its magic, and in 2006, writer Todd Leopold called it the worst song of all time.
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.
Image Credit: youTube/copilunio.
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