WFMU Worst Song Contest!

[Endorsed by Mr. Yuck]

Vote for the worst pop song of the post-war era!


We promise not to put the winning song in a time capsule for future generations.

Our criteria for the nominees: the song can't just be bad, because bad songs can be mighty entertaining. It should have received a lot of radio airplay in its day, and it must have no redeeming value whatsoever. Bad, hackneyed melodies, insipid or dopey lyrics, overblown production or horrifying keyboard solos are all assets here. Novelty songs don't count, as they constitute a different, distinct brand of putridness.

A helpful hint for people casting votes: If simply reading a song title elicits a retching sound or a spasmodic clutching of the gut, then search no more. This is the tune to vote for. Vote for as many songs in each category as you want. We're breaking it up into a series of several contests, one for each wretched time period, to drag this out as long as possible.

The Fifties

An era of prosperity, paramoia and pap.

Whatever Will Be, Will Be
Doris Day
The Ho Ho Song
Red Buttons
The Yellow Rose of Texas
Mitch Miller
Rock Around The Clock
Bill Haley & The Comets
Doggie In The Window
Patti Page
Aba Dabba Honeymoon
Debbie Reynolds & Carleton Carpenter
Goodnight Irene
Gordon Jenkins & The Weavers
On Top Of Old Smokey
The Weavers
Tutti Frutti
Pat Boone
The Ballad of Davey Crockett
Bill Hayes
The Shifting, Whispering Sands
Billy Vaughn Orchestra
Mr. Wonderful
Olga James

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The Sixties

Not quite the musical utopia your parents remember...

Puff The Magic Dragon
Peter Paul & Mary
There, I've Said It Again
Bobby Vinton
Dominique
The Singing Nun
In The Year 2525
Zager & Evans
In The Ghetto
Elvis Presley
Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
What The World Needs Now Is Love
Jackie DeShannon
This Guy's In Love With You
Herb Alpert
The Men In My Little Girl's Life
Mike Douglas
The Ballad of The Green Berets
Sgt. Barry Sadler
Mr. Moonlight
The Beatles
Guantanamera
The Sandpipers
Honey
Bobby Goldsboro
Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In
The Fifth Dimension
The Name Game
Shirley Ellis
Valleri
The Monkees

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The Seventies

A dumping ground of musical memories so atrocious that it requires three separate subcategories.

The Early Seventies (1970-1973)

Before the decade found its real purpose, some promising anti-talents were already testing the waters on a new American artform - the bad song.

Half Breed
Cher
25 or 6 to 4
Chicago
Puppy Love
Donny Osmond
A Horse With No Name
America
Back Off Boogaloo
Ringo
Song Sung Blue
Neil Diamond
The Candy Man
Sammy Davis Jr.
Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast
Wayne Newton
My Ding-A-Ling
Chuck Berry
Ben
Michael Jackson
Your Mama Don't Dance
Kenny Loggins
Oh Babe What Would You Say?
Hurricane Smith
Tie A Yellow Ribbon
Tony Orlando & Dawn
You're So Vain
Carly Simon

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1974

The year that was a musical equivalent of a sewer trap.

Mandy
Barry Manilow
Cat's in the Cradle
Harry Chapin
(You're) Having My Baby
Paul Anka
Sunshine On My Shoulder
John Denver
The Night Chicago Died
Paper Lace
The Way We Were
Barbara Streisand
Billy Don't Be A Hero
Bo Donaldson & The Haywoods
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
Charlie Rich
Americans
Byron Macgregor
Seasons In The Sun
Terry Jacks
Please Come to Boston
Dave Loggins
Life Is A Rock But The Radio Rolled Me
Reunion
You're Sixteen
Ringo
Time In A Bottle
Jim Croce
Leave Me Alone
Helen Reddy
I Have To Say I Love You In A Song
Jim Croce

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The Late Seventies

Proof that the decade didn't shoot its wad in 1974.

Wildfire
Michael Murphy
Sometimes When We Touch
Dan Hill
You Light Up My Life
Debby Boone
More Than A feeling
Boston
Muskrat Love
The Captain & Tennille
Come Sail Away
Styx
I Just Wanna Stop
Gino Vanelli
Our House
Crosby, Stills and Nash
Two Out Of Three Aint Bad
Meat Loaf
That's Rock & Roll
Shaun Cassidy
Summer Breeze
Seals and Crofts
A Fifth Of Beethoven
Walter Murphy
Tonight's the Night
Rod Stewart
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
Paul Simon

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The Eighties

A few unfortunate musical moments that punk somehow overlooked...

Rosanna
Toto
Eye Of The Tiger
Survivor
All Out Of Love
Air Supply
We Built This City
Starship
We Are The World
USA For Africa
Ride Like The Wind
Christopher Cross
Another One Bites The Dust
Queen
Woman
John Lennon
Keep On Loving You
REO Speedwagon
Who Can It Be Now
Men at Work
Maniac
Michael Sembello
Uptown Girl
Billy Joel
We Didn't Start The Fire
Billy Joel

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The Nineties

Evidence that those who forget the musical past are condemned to repeat it.

Another Day In Paradise
Phil Collins
I Will Always Love You
Whitney Houston
A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)
Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle
I'm Too Sexy
Right Said Fred
Achy Breaky Heart
Billy Ray Cyrus
Streets Of Philadelphia
Bruce Springsteen
When a Man Loves A Woman
Michael Bolton
I'm Every Woman
Whitney Houston
November Rain
Guns and Roses
Black or White
Michael Jackson
Ice Ice Baby
Vanilla Ice
Cat's in the Cradle
Ugly Kid Joe
You Oughta Know
Alanis Morrisette
Peaches
The Presidents of the United States of America
(What if God was) One of Us
Joan Osborne
Let Her Cry
Hootie and The Blowfish
Stay
Lisa Loeb

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Nominees chosen by Irwin Chusid, Ken Freedman, Meredith Ochs & a few dozen FMU listeners.


Copyright 1995 WFMU-FM