I do know one thing. If you guys would of heard that live album where My Ding A Ling came from. You would like it a lot more. The concert was great. Wish I was there. *BONUS:* After Chuck Berry played & left. The crowd wanted more. The PA guy was asking the people to leave. Since the next band that was playing at the venue had their own crowd waiting to get in. The band was Pink Floyd (pre-Dark Side).
The '90s were much worse for #1s than the '70s. Ice Ice Baby, I'm Too Sexy, Jump (Kriss Kross), Everything I Do, In The Closet, Macarena, that awful remake of Candle In The Wind...God, the list goes on and on.
@@EmoBearRights RSF had some deep cuts that were actually pretty decent...sadly, I'm Too Sexy is the only song of theirs that anyone knows, at least in the U.S.
Consent is not possible for a 16 year old. Therefore any sexual contact is molestation. And Ringo wasn’t singing about her because he wanted a “friend.” ❤️👍👍👍
@@thekivster int eh 1970's there was a big hit in Mexico called Morena de 15 Años (15 year old brown girl) by Los Felinos and another on called Quinceñera (15 year old) by Los Tigres del Norte which are much more suggestive than you're 16 and you're wonderful
Awesome show! Yes, let's have a sequel!! Muskrat Love (Captain & Tenille version), Pina Colada Song & Loving You by Minnie Riperton are also turd biscuits in my book.
Hey Scot, you forgot "Fly Robin Fly" by Silver Convention. The whole lyrics are "fly robin fly" and "fly up to the sky." That's it! And yes it was number one.
There were three great songs *THAT TOTALLY SUCKS AS A 45 RPM* single. Rare Earth - Get Ready ELO - Roll Over Beethoven Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
You're nuts my friend. I agree with You Light Up My Life (haven't heard that song since the 1980's) & Kung Fu Fighting. But The Streak, Convoy & Disco Duck on your list. Those were fun songs. Guess you're just a fuddy duddy.
I went to a Catholic Grammer School, and we had church singing twice a week and we always sang "You light up my life". I even liked Macho Man and YMCA. Hey I 6-7-8 years old I didn't discover Hard rock until 9 in '79-first hard rock cassette's-Caress of Steele-Sin After Sin-Montrose-Highway to Hell.
The funniest video I've seen in a while--I was laughing through much of it. But I thought we were supposed to "drink some poison" before dancing with them snakes. Please do a ranking of the Kurt Vonnegut books--least to most favorite. You mentioned that you were a fan, and it would be a great video.
I don't know. Kung Fu Fighting is a fun song; no lyrical depth but fun nonetheless. I also like the Honey Cone song; a bit of a throwback to Motown. As for Ben and Afternoon Delight, I like both songs straight up. I agree with you that the Paul Anka song is vomit inducing along with the Debbie Boone tune. I like the Ringo Starr song, a snappy little tune but, yes, the lyrics are cringeworthy. Another great video, though. Looking forward to the 90s and on.
Hey Scott, I will maintain until the day I die that the 70's (particularly the early 70's) was the worst period for pop music in history. And like you, I survived it. Fun Fact: The Starland Vocal Band was able to ride the success of "Afternoon Delight" into a TV comedy variety series that introduced a young David Letterman to the American masses. Skyrockets in flight...
I disagree with both of you. For me, the worst era for pop music was the early '90s. It seemed like every song you heard on the radio back then recycled about the same four or five drum machine patterns, and the rest of the backing track consisted of one sampled riff repeated ad infinitum. The early '70s wasn't bad at all. I won't argue with Scot's choices, but that was also when the singer/songwriter genre started taking off, with artists like James Taylor, Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, Carly Simon, Carole King, etc...and they gave us a lot of great hits. '80s pop was cheesy for sure, but it has a certain character that appeals to me for some reason...plus I dig the sound of some of those '80s synths.
1. You Light Up My Life -Debbie Boone 2. Muskrat Love -Captain & Tenniele 3.Hummingbird - Seals & Croft 4. Disco Duck-Rick Dees 5. Everything is Beautiful-Ray Stevens 6.Saturday in the Park -Chicago 7.Julie Do You Love Me -Bobbie Sherman 8. Drift Away -Dobie. Gray 9.SilverBird -Mark Lindsay 10.Popcorn -Hot Butter 11 Playground in my mind- Clint Holmes 12. Anything from Helen Reddy 13. Dont Go Breaking My -Elton John & Kiki Dee 14. Anything from The Village People 15 . Alone Again Naturally- Gilbert O'Sullivan 16. Rock On - David Essex 17.Right Back Where We Started From - Maxine Nightingale 18. Video Killed The Radio Star -The Buggles 19. Id Like To Teach The World To Sing in Perfect Harmony - The New Seekers 20. Pop Muzik -M 3:04
My dad was a fan of Dean Martin and my mom loved Sinatra. And the whole Rat Pack. I heard that Candy Man song more than I ever should have. Kung Fu Fighting is awful but yet its tackiness makes it laughable to listen to
I LOVE Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas...but other than that glorious exception, I agree totally with every one of your selections. By the way, a Chinese pop group called The Wynners recorded a version of Kung Fu Fighting in 1975. Two of their members later went on to become highly successful actors (Tam Wing Lun and Chong...something...known in the west as Kenny Bee).
A bit of trivia about Seasons in the Sun that you probably know is that Terry Jacks produced a Beach Boy cut of it in '69 or '70 but they didn't use it. He liked the song so much that he cut it and released it himself, the rest is history. The beach Boy version sounds a lot like his own version.
The Stylistics' Can't Give You Anything (But My Love), a real stinker, reached number one in the UK. When he sings 'I'm an ordinary guy,' in the voice of a castrato, he shows that he is clearly not an ordinary guy.
I only heard You're Sixteen (only Ringo's version) and Kung Fu Fighting as the songs on the list. When I listen to Ringo's self titled solo album from 1973, I am probably going to skip You're Sixteen anytime it plays there. Is that a good idea? And I'm hoping to not hear any other songs on this list. Also, I heard that you brought up the rattlesnakes again, hopefully you'll let me know when you'll do a video about dancing with rattlesnakes.
@@TheProgCorner Yes, and have some songs about rattlesnakes, including Rattlesnake by King Gizzard. I need to go listen to other songs about snakes as well, then I'll tell you what other background music will work well for that video.
@@TheProgCorner I now got three perfect songs for that video: Rattlesnake Shale by Motley Crue, a song by Skid Row with the same title, and Rattlesnake by King Gizzard. Hopefully all three of those will work.
😆 before you even mentioned it, that miserable Paul Anka song came to mind. But Scot, I knew I could count on you to list that one. I despised of it back then and I always will. It’s just nauseating. And yes, Afternoon Delight is one I wish I could forget. The seventies were loaded with intolerable love ballads and disco related garbage, but every decade has its share of cringing, lame music. The eighties certainly had it as well.
The ironic thing is there was a lot of great music in the 1970s. I discovered FM radio in the late 1960s and never listened to AM again but , you couldnt drown out other peoples radios. God ! the one song I remember (dont know if it made #1) from the 60s was My Name is Sue by Johnny Cash. I hated that song (by J C no less!?!?)
"Billy Don't Be A Hero and "The Night Chicago Died" got on MY nerves, anyway. The Osmonds together, with Merrill singing lead, were genuinely good, but Donny solo was another story. "Go Away Little Girl, "Puppy Love", and all the others were annoying and grating while " One Bad Apple", "Down By The Lazy River", and "Crazy Horses' were some of my favorites. Dawn were a guilty pleasure for me also, especially early on, so my tastes were really strange. Conversely, I didn't think "Afternoon Delight" was all that bad. It wasn't good but I can think of at least twenty that were worse.
I’m guilty of playing in a heavy rock band in the 80’s where we took the piss out of terrible songs and made them heavy.Among them was’How Deep is Your Love’’In the Navy’ and yes ‘Disco Duck’ where the other guitarist used the Peter Frampton talk box and we did it as a medley with Show Me the Way. We did Mouldy Old Dough in the style of Status Quo.We were very popular for five minutes.Then somebody stole our van with our gear.We thought it was setup by the headlining band🤬
Okay, "Want Ads" is a dopey novelty song but it's got a good groove. The rest I agree with though "Having My Baby" needs to be in a category by itself.
Here's one for you! The song Lovin' You by Minnie Ripperton. It hit #1 on the Billboard charts in April 1975. Actually most of the song isn't that bad, but when she hits those scat singing high notes at the end of all but the last verse; make sure your finger is handy to quickly put in your ear, or it might pop. Minnie Ripperton was the mother of former SNL cast member Maya Rudolph. One of the last funny skit members they had. It's pretty much a waste of your hour and a half on Saturday nights now. Going in to the early Sunday hours, it gets everyone's new week off to a very mediocre start. The show takes about 3 minutes to picture all it's cast members, after the 1st skit of the show. Over 20 cast members and they use this Asian guy with glasses as the lead in around 85% of the sketches. They have lost all good judgement including comedy judgement, since the 1970s, when it was probably the funniest show on TV. In the last part of Lovin' You, Minnie Ripperton sings Maya Maya Maya, referring to Maya Rudolph. The song Houston....Houston, Houston, Houston by Dean Martin was an awful song. Not sure if it made it to #1 or what decade. But a kindergarten student could have written the melody. Melody?
You’re the Most intense Progger I’ve ever seen! Kasey Kasem, unchained. But I do learn a lot from you. So Ray Stevens is a Trumper now ? “Guitarzan” was the first 45RPM record I ever bought. The ‘Flip Flop’. Was ‘Ahab the A-Arab’ ’. Pew. I hadn’t found my way, musically, yet. I was still learning how to even own records.(in other words, PAY for them) my two favorite record shops in Pasadena were Record.Alley and Poo-Bah records (the latter of which also carried Zap comix) Van der Graaf Generator and a new Zap! Hog Heaven
My girlfriend and I had this game of singing the worst/most-traumatic-association songs of the seventies; the winner was conceded by the other yelling "Stop! Please stop!" I remember the winner which provoked the most violent reaction/surrender was 'A Little Bit More' by Dr Hook.
There are quite a few lousy 70's singles that made it to number 1. One for me is “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry. The white singer is trying to sound black but fails badly. His delivery is annoying. When this song comes on the radio, I have to leave the room. Cheers.
I'm surprised You're Having My Baby and You're Sixteen were both ranked well behind Kung Fu Fighting. Also on the subject of pedophilia I think Rod Stewart's Tonight's the Night should have also been mentioned particularly for the lyric "Don't say a word my virgin child."
One song I'm glad you didn't include is A Horse With No Name, which I've seen on a lot of these "worst ever" lists. Yeah, the lyrics are pretty much meaningless and it is kind of a CSNY rip-off, but I dig it anyway.
Aw Gosh! I just watched the Top of the Pops video for Disco Duck. It is even worse than I remember. It fully deserves the title of Worst Number One in the Seventies!
That was their weakest song IMO, but in general I really liked ABBA. They and the Carpenters were the main reasons I didn't completely hate pop. Told you all I'm all over the road. Had a preference for FM rock but there were always exceptions.
Awww man, I actually look back at a lot of the songs on your list and have fond memories of the novelties, although I'm not saying I liked them beyond the fact they were amusing. I even like "Convoy" just because of the equally bad Peckinpah film by the same name. I'm surprised there wasn't a lot more disco on the list because they were mostly terrible from a musical perspective. Looking forward to further instalments, but I would caution you about judging them by present day standards. Doing so is called presentism fallacy, among other things, and adds little to any valid criticism. Just remember that one day, we will be judged as well by standards we haven't even considered by people who have the benefit of hindsight. Carry on, peace love and don't give up trying to save that king!
Although I came of age in the 80s, I could never understand why people said the worst music was recorded in the 70s. I always felt the albums by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, etc. in the 70s were some of the best albums of all time. However, your playlist changes my perspective about 70s music.
I thought I was rid of "Afternoon Delight" after the 70s, until I heard it again in the movie _Good Will Hunting!_ This is a pretty good list, Scot. I was a kid growing up in the 70s and sadly remember most of these stinkers. It's hard to imagine that the same decade that produced _Close to the Edge_ and _Relayer_ also contained these abominations! 😜
Don McClain-American Pie This is the song that never ends, it keeps going on and on my friends, somebody started singing it not knowing what it was and it will keep on going on forever just because.
Some other godawful #1 songs from the 1970s (IMO) would include: "A Fifth Of Beethoven" - Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band "Love Theme from 'A Star Is Born' (Evergreen)" - Barbra Streisand "Star Wars Theme" - Meco "Miss You" - The Rolling Stones (worst RS song ever) "My Sharona" - The Knack (I would put this one as my top worst #1 song) "Pop Muzik" - M
@@TheProgCorner Renaissance has their final tour this fall , you should get Annie on a livestream to promote it. She's been on a few livestreams that I've seen. Ask her about Scott Muni.
A good list. 10 of those 12 songs are trash. But Afternoon Delight is a cherished childhood favorite. Really catchy, fun bits of innuendo. And I could listen to you Light Up My Life a hundred times in a row. Love it.
Hey Scot! When i was still living in Chicago we took matters into our own hands regarding disco. Ever hear of a little thing called disco demolition! Chicago southside at Comisky Park, home of the White Sox. I was there with about 15 of my friends. What a great night until it wasn't! Steve Daul and Teenage Radiation from The Loop FM 98 were the masters of ceremony. A packed house and another 25,000 that couldn't get in were outside partying! Cost .98 to get in that night for a doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers. Everyone brought disco records to the game which were eventually blown up in center field after the first game. It was a blast until things turned ugly. Centerfield was on fire and fans stormed the field. Over 10,000 rioting on the field. My buddy slid into 2nd base. Fires also erupted in the stands. That's when it went from cool to being scary. People didn't know what to do. We got the hell out of there!! Disco died that night in Chicago. It had to happen!! Disco Duck sucked too!!! Game 2 was canceled due to the field being destroyed. For those who don't remember disco demolition look it up. The story and videos are out there. What a night i will never forget!!!👍🦆🚫😎
I belong to the ‘if you don’t like a certain genre of music then just don’t listen to it’ brigade. The burning, or blowing up, of disco records was just gross ignorance on display, reminiscent of burning books in nazi Germany and more recently in certain parts of the USA. I don’t believe anyone has ever been forced to listen to disco music.
I have been silenced before commenting haha ... sorry Scott, peace and love but but in 1970 I had the most passionate hatred for Tie a Yellow Ribbon, and I was just as dirty about Jud Strunk's(?) Daisy a Day at #2. I was as passionate in my dislike of that song as I was passionate about how great Sasha was, another #1 from around that time. Weird how that goes. I loved Half Breed and Ben. I dug Cher's vocals and, as an animal lover, I was deeply touched by Ben.
Ben used to make me mist up. Then again, I thought Steely's Dan's Rose Darling was a touching love song until I later learned that it was actually a *touching* love song ...
Unlike the Eighties show, there's a load of Billboard Seventies #1s that I haven't heard but of the ones I do know, these are the ones that scrape the bottom of my particular barrel: (chronological order): 1. Paul & Linda McCartney - Uncle Albert 2. Al Green - Let's Spend The Night Together 3. Sammy Davis jr - The Candy Man 4. Michael Jackson - Ben 5. Billy Paul - Me & Mrs Jones 6. Edgar Winter Band - Frankenstein 7. Barbara Streisand - Love Theme from A Star Is Born 8. Abba - Dancing Queen 9. Shaun Cassidy - Da Doo Ron Ron 10. Herb Alpert - Rise
OK Scott, I'm not going to say much but regarding your favorite and your least favorite #1 hits, I'm not a fan of the majority of these tunes. Most definitely not what I think of when I think of the 70's. I'm just not a fan of pop music. I probably only like about 5% of all the pop music ever recorded.
I'll nominate "My Ding-A-Ling" by Chuck Berry. Always hated that song.
A good call. Terrible song.
Beat me to it…
Oh, I'd forgotten that one. My best friend at the time loved that song, but I hated it.
I do know one thing. If you guys would of heard that live album where My Ding A Ling came from. You would like it a lot more. The concert was great. Wish I was there.
*BONUS:* After Chuck Berry played & left. The crowd wanted more. The PA guy was asking the people to leave. Since the next band that was playing at the venue had their own crowd waiting to get in. The band was Pink Floyd (pre-Dark Side).
Terrible song but I loved it!
We had joy, we had fun, we had shitty #1 songs in the '70s.
We had joy we had fun
We had crappy number ones
But the stars we could reach
Were like sorry Robin Leach
@@TheProgCorner😂😂
@@TheProgCornerHa Ha Haaa...brilliant !
@@TheProgCorner Pure poetry...not quite Paul Simon but near enough.
@@TheProgCornerLuv it.
If "You're having my baby" isn't on the list I am breaking out the torches and pitchforks.😊
The '90s were much worse for #1s than the '70s. Ice Ice Baby, I'm Too Sexy, Jump (Kriss Kross), Everything I Do, In The Closet, Macarena, that awful remake of Candle In The Wind...God, the list goes on and on.
It’s gonna be a fun episode!!!!
jhiilst Good call about awful 90's number 1s. (And 2, 3. etc). I agree with you!!
@@jhillst I have a soft spot for Right Said Fred but the rest? Yup!
@@EmoBearRights RSF had some deep cuts that were actually pretty decent...sadly, I'm Too Sexy is the only song of theirs that anyone knows, at least in the U.S.
Commenting before watching. If "Disco Duck" isn't #1, I demand a recount.
ESP?
Psychic, or psycho…
It's easier if you demand a refund instead😉
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John "You're the One That I Want"
I don’t believe in censorship but this song should be banned!
“You’re sixteen” isn’t a great song or anything but it’s not pedophilia or child molestation lol
Consent is not possible for a 16 year old. Therefore any sexual contact is molestation. And Ringo wasn’t singing about her because he wanted a “friend.” ❤️👍👍👍
@@TheProgCorner Pretty sure the age of consent is 16 in most places. Also, it’s not an autobiographical song or anything. He just wanted to sing that.
@@thekivster int eh 1970's there was a big hit in Mexico called Morena de 15 Años (15 year old brown girl) by Los Felinos and another on called Quinceñera (15 year old) by Los Tigres del Norte which are much more suggestive than you're 16 and you're wonderful
The song's protagonist could be 16 as well though.
@@TheProgCorner Pedophilia is attraction to prepubescent children. People don't usually correct that since it comes off as creepy.
Awww, I like "Afternoon Delight". 😁
Awesome show! Yes, let's have a sequel!! Muskrat Love (Captain & Tenille version), Pina Colada Song & Loving You by Minnie Riperton are also turd biscuits in my book.
Loving You was #13. Just awful. Just because you have access to whisper register doesn’t mean you have to use it…
Muskrat Love - definitely a contender for worst song of all time!
Maybe Muskrat Love inspired Graham Parker to have a career.
Muskrat Love wasn't number one.
Pina Colada Song for sure. I'd put in in my top five worst. I think that one was still the 70s.
You Light Up My Life----wish I could forget that song existed(insert vomit emoji here)...Disco Duck has to be the worst though
Absolutely!!!!
Great song for interrogating prisoners.
It reminds me of The Rose from Bette Midler. Maybe because it sucks on the same level.
that song and It's a Heartache by Bonnie Tyler, hated both of them
You Light Up My Life wasn't horrible. It was just wayyyyyy overplayed for the middle of road fluff that it was.
Wow! Had no idea about the Convoy/Chip Davis connection.
So weird!!!!
Same Chip Douglas who worked with the Monkees?
Chip Davis. Chip Douglas was awesome though!!!
Scott is #1 when it comes to watching someone complain about the worst songs ever for 15 mins.!
You bring up an interesting conundrum!!!!
@@TheProgCorner You take the negativity out of it. More people should master that art as you have.
Some real stinkers in this list haha.. I love Kung Fu Fighting tho haha.. Awesome video Scot! Like button smashed! :)
Thank you!!!!
Kung Fu Fighting is well sung and well recorded novelty record. Around then Kung Fu was massive. Magazines, films, books, they all were big sellers.
2 most hated songs are:
Lulu...shout
Rick Astley....never gonna give you up!
Argggghhhhh
I will be doing the 60s and the 80s. Wonder if either of those will make the list…
Hey Scot, you forgot "Fly Robin Fly" by Silver Convention. The whole lyrics are "fly robin fly" and "fly up to the sky." That's it! And yes it was number one.
Terrible song. Just awful.
@@TheProgCorner The only redeeming quality is the orchestra and even that doesn't really save it. Lol.
That song was so mechanical and repetitions Casey Kasem didn't even play it all the way through.
There were three great songs *THAT TOTALLY SUCKS AS A 45 RPM* single.
Rare Earth - Get Ready
ELO - Roll Over Beethoven
Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
👍👍👍
I didn't like all those perfectly good album songs that were cut up for singles either.
I guess “Muskrat Love” by the Captain and Tennille didn’t make it to #1 in the US. It did in Canada though unfortunately so it is my #1 pick.
What an awful song.
I don’t know what is worse about Captain and Tennille. Their songs or their album covers.
Epic artwork!!!
I kinda like that one, actually. Yeah, it's corny as hell, but it has some nice vocal harmonies and keyboard work.
Anybody here ever hear America's version of Muskrat Love? haha
I would love a Part 2 to this! How one of the best decades for music could have so many duds float to the top of the charts is a head scratcher.
Incredible!!!!
Ringo just celebrated his 84th Birthday!
He did!!!! Happy Birthday, Ringo.
"You Light up My Life" rules!!!!!!! Only song that comes close is "I Write the Songs" by Barry Manilow
You are a one of a kind.
You're nuts my friend. I agree with You Light Up My Life (haven't heard that song since the 1980's) & Kung Fu Fighting. But The Streak, Convoy & Disco Duck on your list. Those were fun songs.
Guess you're just a fuddy duddy.
I am old and angry!!!!
If you do an 80s edition, I'm for putting "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout" on it.
I went to a Catholic Grammer School, and we had church singing twice a week and we always sang "You light up my life". I even liked Macho Man and YMCA. Hey I 6-7-8 years old I didn't discover Hard rock until 9 in '79-first hard rock cassette's-Caress of Steele-Sin After Sin-Montrose-Highway to Hell.
We were all young once!!!!
Hi Scott. Pretty funny. “My Ding-a-Ling” has to be there…
Should have made the list. What was I thinking?
The funniest video I've seen in a while--I was laughing through much of it. But I thought we were supposed to "drink some poison" before dancing with them snakes.
Please do a ranking of the Kurt Vonnegut books--least to most favorite. You mentioned that you were a fan, and it would be a great video.
A Vonnegut ranking!!!! What a great idea!!!!!!
Love your facial expressions when ripping on Paul Anka. Oh yeah Kool-aid.
I get a little carried away sometimes…
That was my best laugh of the day.
"When I saw ya coming outta school that day, I knew I had to have you!"
Exactly.
I’m a bit younger than you are, so I only know the song “Convoy” from when Homer sang it on an episode of The Simpsons.
Homer Simpson: the keeper of all American culture….
I think I had all these on KTEL at one time or another :)
I think we all did!!!!!
Great show Scot.You should consider this for a Sunday show the worst songs of all era.A worst song in my opinion is "Fellings" by Morris Albert.
That’s a bad song!!!
@@TheProgCorner 👍
I don't know. Kung Fu Fighting is a fun song; no lyrical depth but fun nonetheless. I also like the Honey Cone song; a bit of a throwback to Motown. As for Ben and Afternoon Delight, I like both songs straight up.
I agree with you that the Paul Anka song is vomit inducing along with the Debbie Boone tune. I like the Ringo Starr song, a snappy little tune but, yes, the lyrics are cringeworthy.
Another great video, though. Looking forward to the 90s and on.
Oh yeah!!! This is a fun series.
Ben....It take me a while to realize Michael was singing to a rat.
Me and You and a Dog Named Boo. Scooby Doo should sue. They totally stole that one!
Hey Scott,
I will maintain until the day I die that the 70's (particularly the early 70's) was the worst period for pop music in history. And like you, I survived it. Fun Fact: The Starland Vocal Band was able to ride the success of "Afternoon Delight" into a TV comedy variety series that introduced a young David Letterman to the American masses. Skyrockets in flight...
I don’t remember their Variety Show. (Thankfully. But I do love me some David Letterman!!!)
@@stuartfishman1044 no, '80s pop is pure trash. Try listening to any American Top 40 episode from the decade, it will give you a headache.
@@TheProgCorner Got some more info on that show. It ran as a summer replacement for six weeks in '77 and Letterman was both a writer and regular.
I disagree with both of you. For me, the worst era for pop music was the early '90s. It seemed like every song you heard on the radio back then recycled about the same four or five drum machine patterns, and the rest of the backing track consisted of one sampled riff repeated ad infinitum.
The early '70s wasn't bad at all. I won't argue with Scot's choices, but that was also when the singer/songwriter genre started taking off, with artists like James Taylor, Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, Carly Simon, Carole King, etc...and they gave us a lot of great hits.
'80s pop was cheesy for sure, but it has a certain character that appeals to me for some reason...plus I dig the sound of some of those '80s synths.
Good thing the 70s were a great period for rock music. The FM side ruled!
"Kung Fu Fighting" and George McRae's "Rock Your Baby" : the beginning of the end of music.
Rock Your Baby. Yuck!!!
Will be there for the ELO show
Should be a good one!!!!
1. You Light Up My Life -Debbie Boone 2. Muskrat Love -Captain & Tenniele 3.Hummingbird - Seals & Croft 4. Disco Duck-Rick Dees 5. Everything is Beautiful-Ray Stevens 6.Saturday in the Park -Chicago 7.Julie Do You Love Me -Bobbie Sherman 8. Drift Away -Dobie. Gray 9.SilverBird -Mark Lindsay 10.Popcorn -Hot Butter 11 Playground in my mind- Clint Holmes 12. Anything from Helen Reddy 13. Dont Go Breaking My -Elton John & Kiki Dee 14. Anything from The Village People 15 . Alone Again Naturally- Gilbert O'Sullivan 16. Rock On - David Essex 17.Right Back Where We Started From - Maxine Nightingale 18. Video Killed The Radio Star -The Buggles 19. Id Like To Teach The World To Sing in Perfect Harmony - The New Seekers 20. Pop Muzik -M 3:04
Yeah Seasons in the Sun, a jangly pop song about a dying man. So great 😳
@@RicoCosta317 I liked that when it first came out. I was 13. It didn't wear well, though.
My dad was a fan of Dean Martin and my mom loved Sinatra. And the whole Rat Pack. I heard that Candy Man song more than I ever should have. Kung Fu Fighting is awful but yet its tackiness makes it laughable to listen to
👍👍👍
Sammy Davis Jr. had other songs that were good though. "I've Gotta Be Me" comes to mind.
@@scottmcneely1927 Yeah he did. Unfortunately he's more known for Candy Man
I LOVE Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas...but other than that glorious exception, I agree totally with every one of your selections. By the way, a Chinese pop group called The Wynners recorded a version of Kung Fu Fighting in 1975. Two of their members later went on to become highly successful actors (Tam Wing Lun and Chong...something...known in the west as Kenny Bee).
Absolutely fantastic have a wonderful day Scot ❤😊
Send In The Clowns - Judy Collins didnt maje the cut?
Oddly did not hit #1.
Exile-Kiss You All Over
Too much information
👍👍👍
Great picks Scott. One song I really hated was the Night Chicago Died. I might be alone but........
Love the Kool-Aid shirt Scot!
❤️❤️❤️
A bit of trivia about Seasons in the Sun that you probably know is that Terry Jacks produced a Beach Boy cut of it in '69 or '70 but they didn't use it. He liked the song so much that he cut it and released it himself, the rest is history. The beach Boy version sounds a lot like his own version.
I had not heard that before!!!
@@TheProgCorner ruclips.net/video/68gXohKpSHA/видео.html
Scott: Can't agree with Kung Fu Fighting. One of the great fun singles of the 70s. Never get tired of it.
That’s cool. I just never liked it!!!
What a 'great' list! Worst of the 70's Paul Anka - '(You're) Having My Baby', worst ever Crazy Frog - ‘Axel F’.
Insane.
Crazy Frog was the 90s.
@@EmoBearRights ?
Your opinions r so hilarious. Thought you might have more disco on the list such as Anita Ward ring my bell or Barbara n Donna with no more tears.
I always loved Ring My Bell. Something about Anita Ward’s voice.
@@TheProgCorner not saying I don't like it, but I know some people don't.
This party fears two fella
The Stylistics' Can't Give You Anything (But My Love), a real stinker, reached number one in the UK. When he sings 'I'm an ordinary guy,' in the voice of a castrato, he shows that he is clearly not an ordinary guy.
I need to do a UK version!!!
I only heard You're Sixteen (only Ringo's version) and Kung Fu Fighting as the songs on the list. When I listen to Ringo's self titled solo album from 1973, I am probably going to skip You're Sixteen anytime it plays there. Is that a good idea? And I'm hoping to not hear any other songs on this list.
Also, I heard that you brought up the rattlesnakes again, hopefully you'll let me know when you'll do a video about dancing with rattlesnakes.
That sounds like a great idea for an episode: WATCH SCOT DANCE WITH SNAKES FOR 15 MINUTES
@@TheProgCorner Yes, and have some songs about rattlesnakes, including Rattlesnake by King Gizzard. I need to go listen to other songs about snakes as well, then I'll tell you what other background music will work well for that video.
@@TheProgCorner I now got three perfect songs for that video: Rattlesnake Shale by Motley Crue, a song by Skid Row with the same title, and Rattlesnake by King Gizzard. Hopefully all three of those will work.
I think disco duck was the worst song ever in history, lol to hit the pop charts
We shall see what horrors the eighties bring us next week!!!!!!
😆 before you even mentioned it, that miserable Paul Anka song came to mind. But Scot, I knew I could count on you to list that one. I despised of it back then and I always will. It’s just nauseating. And yes, Afternoon Delight is one I wish I could forget. The seventies were loaded with intolerable love ballads and disco related garbage, but every decade has its share of cringing, lame music. The eighties certainly had it as well.
The ironic thing is there was a lot of great music in the 1970s. I discovered FM radio in the late 1960s and never listened to AM again but , you couldnt drown out other peoples radios. God ! the one song I remember (dont know if it made #1) from the 60s was My Name is Sue by Johnny Cash. I hated that song (by J C no less!?!?)
"Billy Don't Be A Hero and "The Night Chicago Died" got on MY nerves, anyway. The Osmonds together, with Merrill singing lead, were genuinely good, but Donny solo was another story. "Go Away Little Girl, "Puppy Love", and all the others were annoying and grating while " One Bad Apple", "Down By The Lazy River", and "Crazy Horses' were some of my favorites. Dawn were a guilty pleasure for me also, especially early on, so my tastes were really strange. Conversely, I didn't think "Afternoon Delight" was all that bad. It wasn't good but I can think of at least twenty that were worse.
I loved it as a little kid.
Had Honey Cone not done "Want Ads", two other songs they did may have been contenders: "Stick Up", and "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show".
Did either of these make it to #1.. don't know
They did not…
I’m guilty of playing in a heavy rock band in the 80’s where we took the piss out of terrible songs and made them heavy.Among them was’How Deep is Your Love’’In the Navy’ and yes ‘Disco Duck’ where the other guitarist used the Peter Frampton talk box and we did it as a medley with Show Me the Way. We did Mouldy Old Dough in the style of Status Quo.We were very popular for five minutes.Then somebody stole our van with our gear.We thought it was setup by the headlining band🤬
Wow. It was the headliners!!!
Okay, "Want Ads" is a dopey novelty song but it's got a good groove. The rest I agree with though "Having My Baby" needs to be in a category by itself.
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Very entertaining Scott brought back a lot of memories. Don't know if it hit #1, but how about Bad Bad Leroy Brown. LOL
It hit #1 in July 1973.
I like Croce!!!
Kung Fu Fighting rocks.
Okay!!!👍
"Want Ads" was actually the first single I ever bought LOL.
No way!!!!! That’s awesome.
At least "The Candy Man" provided the early Simpsons writers with one of my all time favorite laughs of the series.
Yes!!!👍
Here's one for you! The song Lovin' You by Minnie Ripperton. It hit #1 on the Billboard charts in April 1975. Actually most of the song isn't that bad, but when she hits those scat singing high notes at the end of all but the last verse; make sure your finger is handy to quickly put in your ear, or it might pop. Minnie Ripperton was the mother of former SNL cast member Maya Rudolph. One of the last funny skit members they had. It's pretty much a waste of your hour and a half on Saturday nights now. Going in to the early Sunday hours, it gets everyone's new week off to a very mediocre start. The show takes about 3 minutes to picture all it's cast members, after the 1st skit of the show. Over 20 cast members and they use this Asian guy with glasses as the lead in around 85% of the sketches. They have lost all good judgement including comedy judgement, since the 1970s, when it was probably the funniest show on TV.
In the last part of Lovin' You, Minnie Ripperton sings Maya Maya Maya, referring to Maya Rudolph.
The song Houston....Houston, Houston, Houston by Dean Martin was an awful song. Not sure if it made it to #1 or what decade. But a kindergarten student could have written the melody. Melody?
I absolutely abhor that song!!!!! (It was at #13 for me, my last cut.)
Yep, that got pretty high in the UK charts too. It was everywhere, and I hated it.
I like it...minimalistic & the vocal gymnastics by Ms. Ripperton.
I loved Afternoon Delight!!! LMAO I remember 1976 very well, the bicentennial quarters, painting fire hydrants red, white and blue...
It was a great summer!!!
You’re the Most intense Progger I’ve ever seen! Kasey Kasem, unchained. But I do learn a lot from you. So Ray Stevens is a Trumper now ?
“Guitarzan” was the first 45RPM record I ever bought. The ‘Flip Flop’. Was ‘Ahab the A-Arab’ ’. Pew. I hadn’t found my way, musically, yet. I was still learning how to even own records.(in other words, PAY for them) my two favorite record shops in Pasadena were Record.Alley and Poo-Bah records (the latter of which also carried Zap comix) Van der Graaf Generator and a new Zap! Hog Heaven
I played that Gitarzan 45 so much I think I wore the grooves off of it…
My girlfriend and I had this game of singing the worst/most-traumatic-association songs of the seventies; the winner was conceded by the other yelling "Stop! Please stop!" I remember the winner which provoked the most violent reaction/surrender was 'A Little Bit More' by Dr Hook.
There are quite a few lousy 70's singles that made it to number 1. One for me is “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry. The white singer is trying to sound black but fails badly. His delivery is annoying. When this song comes on the radio, I have to leave the room. Cheers.
I’m ashamed to say that they were from Ohio.
Cool theme! I knew only one of those, the Kung Fu Fighting. And boy are you right on that one alone!!!
Just miserable.
I'm surprised You're Having My Baby and You're Sixteen were both ranked well behind Kung Fu Fighting. Also on the subject of pedophilia I think Rod Stewart's Tonight's the Night should have also been mentioned particularly for the lyric "Don't say a word my virgin child."
Oh boy!!! Not good.
Seasons in the Sun? Jacques Brel is #1 in any language!
One song I'm glad you didn't include is A Horse With No Name, which I've seen on a lot of these "worst ever" lists. Yeah, the lyrics are pretty much meaningless and it is kind of a CSNY rip-off, but I dig it anyway.
I love America!!!🇺🇸
GREAT list! All CRAP songs!!!
Thanks, Sal!!!!!
Interesting video. I heartily agree with #3 and #1
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My friend keeps rats - they're cute.
You’re having my baby has funny lyrics but the song is bad.
Terrible!!!!!
Aw Gosh! I just watched the Top of the Pops video for Disco Duck. It is even worse than I remember. It fully deserves the title of Worst Number One in the Seventies!
Chicago hard to say I sorry sucks i hate 80s Chicago
I think I’ll tackle the 80s next week!!!
Ok, before I even watch this, if “The Last Game of the Season (A Blind Man in the bleachers)” is NOT on the list, this man has some ‘splainin to do.
It only hit #18 so it’s not eligible.
Dancing Queen by Abba in 1977 🤮
Yuck!!!
Seriously? 😮
That was their weakest song IMO, but in general I really liked ABBA. They and the Carpenters were the main reasons I didn't completely hate pop. Told you all I'm all over the road. Had a preference for FM rock but there were always exceptions.
Awww man, I actually look back at a lot of the songs on your list and have fond memories of the novelties, although I'm not saying I liked them beyond the fact they were amusing. I even like "Convoy" just because of the equally bad Peckinpah film by the same name. I'm surprised there wasn't a lot more disco on the list because they were mostly terrible from a musical perspective.
Looking forward to further instalments, but I would caution you about judging them by present day standards. Doing so is called presentism fallacy, among other things, and adds little to any valid criticism. Just remember that one day, we will be judged as well by standards we haven't even considered by people who have the benefit of hindsight.
Carry on, peace love and don't give up trying to save that king!
I kinda left disco and R&B alone. For the most part!!!
Although I came of age in the 80s, I could never understand why people said the worst music was recorded in the 70s. I always felt the albums by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, etc. in the 70s were some of the best albums of all time. However, your playlist changes my perspective about 70s music.
Every decade produces plenty of great music and plenty of garbage, and the garbage tends to be forgotten over time.
FM rock was almost always excellent (well, except for KISS and Ted Nugent), while AM pop was often cheesy.
Carl Douglas followed up Kung Fu Fighting with Dance the Kung Fu. A song that sounded just the same.
Horrible!!!!
Joseph Brooks (writer of You light up my life) was the role model for Harvey Weinstein!
Great vid 👌 Scott
Thank you!!!!
Really enjoyed this episode!!!!
This was fun!!!! Definitely going to do the eighties next!!!
I thought I was rid of "Afternoon Delight" after the 70s, until I heard it again in the movie _Good Will Hunting!_ This is a pretty good list, Scot. I was a kid growing up in the 70s and sadly remember most of these stinkers. It's hard to imagine that the same decade that produced _Close to the Edge_ and _Relayer_ also contained these abominations! 😜
Don McClain-American Pie
This is the song that never ends, it keeps going on and on my friends, somebody started singing it not knowing what it was and it will keep on going on forever just because.
I was obsessed with this song when I was ten or eleven…
Some other godawful #1 songs from the 1970s (IMO) would include:
"A Fifth Of Beethoven" - Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band
"Love Theme from 'A Star Is Born' (Evergreen)" - Barbra Streisand
"Star Wars Theme" - Meco
"Miss You" - The Rolling Stones (worst RS song ever)
"My Sharona" - The Knack (I would put this one as my top worst #1 song)
"Pop Muzik" - M
My Sharona?!?!?! No!!!!! I love The Knack!!!!!
I like Pop Musik - i quite like quirky New Wave electronica - same with with Video Killed the Radio Star.
The Candyman is a great childrens song.
It’s creepy!!!
@@TheProgCorner That's because of the glass eye. 😅
@WooBino. Exactly!!!!!!!👍
@@TheProgCorner Renaissance has their final tour this fall , you should get Annie on a livestream to promote it. She's been on a few livestreams that I've seen.
Ask her about Scott Muni.
I always assumed Candyman was a drug song...
A good list. 10 of those 12 songs are trash. But Afternoon Delight is a cherished childhood favorite. Really catchy, fun bits of innuendo. And I could listen to you Light Up My Life a hundred times in a row. Love it.
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I agree with half of your list. The 70's has some really fun throwaway #1's.
Lots of novelty songs. I’m doing the 80s next week - and not so much there. Lots of fun though…
@TheProgCorner I look forward to seeing it.
Hey Scot! When i was still living in Chicago we took matters into our own hands regarding disco. Ever hear of a little thing called disco demolition! Chicago southside at Comisky Park, home of the White Sox. I was there with about 15 of my friends. What a great night until it wasn't! Steve Daul and Teenage Radiation from The Loop FM 98 were the masters of ceremony. A packed house and another 25,000 that couldn't get in were outside partying! Cost .98 to get in that night for a doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers. Everyone brought disco records to the game which were eventually blown up in center field after the first game. It was a blast until things turned ugly. Centerfield was on fire and fans stormed the field. Over 10,000 rioting on the field. My buddy slid into 2nd base. Fires also erupted in the stands. That's when it went from cool to being scary. People didn't know what to do. We got the hell out of there!! Disco died that night in Chicago. It had to happen!! Disco Duck sucked too!!! Game 2 was canceled due to the field being destroyed. For those who don't remember disco demolition look it up. The story and videos are out there. What a night i will never forget!!!👍🦆🚫😎
I remember that!!!! God Bless Chicago White Sox fans.
@@TheProgCorner 👍☮️👑🐍😎
I belong to the ‘if you don’t like a certain genre of music then just don’t listen to it’ brigade. The burning, or blowing up, of disco records was just gross ignorance on display, reminiscent of burning books in nazi Germany and more recently in certain parts of the USA. I don’t believe anyone has ever been forced to listen to disco music.
I protested disco by wearing a black t-shirt with the words DISCO SUCKS emblazoned on the front in large lettering. 😆That was 15 year old me.
@@TheReaperMan275
‘Protesting’ a genre of music. Well, I suppose we were all idiots one way or another at 15.
How about 10 awful prog hits?
You mean there were actually 10 prog hits?
What?!? I own all these singles on Japanese SHM virgin-pressed gold-plated SACDs! ;)
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I like Kung Fu Fighting, otherwise great list. 📻🎯
Ha!!!! Maybe it’s just me…
“Afternoon Delight” 🤢🤮
Terrible.
I have been silenced before commenting haha ... sorry Scott, peace and love but but in 1970 I had the most passionate hatred for Tie a Yellow Ribbon, and I was just as dirty about Jud Strunk's(?) Daisy a Day at #2. I was as passionate in my dislike of that song as I was passionate about how great Sasha was, another #1 from around that time. Weird how that goes. I loved Half Breed and Ben. I dug Cher's vocals and, as an animal lover, I was deeply touched by Ben.
Ha ha!!!!! 👍👍👍
@@TheProgCorner Those two songs at the top of the charts traumatised me! It put me in a "what is the world coming to?" frame of mind :)
Ben used to make me mist up. Then again, I thought Steely's Dan's Rose Darling was a touching love song until I later learned that it was actually a *touching* love song ...
Rats I can't break out the torches and pitchforks.
😂😂
Unlike the Eighties show, there's a load of Billboard Seventies #1s that I haven't heard but of the ones I do know, these are the ones that scrape the bottom of my particular barrel: (chronological order):
1. Paul & Linda McCartney - Uncle Albert
2. Al Green - Let's Spend The Night Together
3. Sammy Davis jr - The Candy Man
4. Michael Jackson - Ben
5. Billy Paul - Me & Mrs Jones
6. Edgar Winter Band - Frankenstein
7. Barbara Streisand - Love Theme from A Star Is Born
8. Abba - Dancing Queen
9. Shaun Cassidy - Da Doo Ron Ron
10. Herb Alpert - Rise
A horrible, despicable list!!!! (Except Edgar Winter…)
@@TheProgCorner 😀
OK Scott, I'm not going to say much but regarding your favorite and your least favorite #1 hits, I'm not a fan of the majority of these tunes. Most definitely not what I think of when I think of the 70's. I'm just not a fan of pop music. I probably only like about 5% of all the pop music ever recorded.
That sounds about right!!!