Awful songs you just can't get enough of

[Peter_Spaeth]

No redeeming qualities at all: Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield.

Lady in Red -- Chris de Burgh.

[edtiques]

A song I like but it's also kind of "Bubblegum" music. From the summer of '74, "Life is a rock (but the radio rolled me)" by Reunion.

https://youtu.be/16kh-AP4OCU

Another nomination for a bad song, "They're coming to take me away ha-haaa" by Napoleon XIV.

https://youtu.be/3Fn36l_z3WY

[TUM301]

Going pretty far back, what was the title of the tune that went, "hello Madda hello Fadda here I am at Camp Granada"

[irv]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Luckily the commercial for hair coloring was only on for maybe two weeks. Unfortunately it was every third commercial. I find the woman who sings it very attractive so I didn't change the channel.

Well, then I don't blame you.
These days, mostly, I listen to Hair Nation, Classic Rewind and Classic vinyl, but I do switch around occasionally to other stations when I can't find anything good on those ones. What I've found with Sirius, and it happens quite often is, when they play good songs, all the stations above are playing them at the same time, and the same goes when they aren't.

Originally Posted by TUM301

Going pretty far back, what was the title of the tune that went, "hello Madda hello Fadda here I am at Camp Granada"

"Camp Granada"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzErh_s62Wk

[butchie_t]

Originally Posted by TUM301

Going pretty far back, what was the title of the tune that went, "hello Madda hello Fadda here I am at Camp Granada"

That is the title. Hello Muddah Hello Faddah by Allan Sherman

I have that and many others in my iPad now. The Best of Allan Sherman.

Boooooyeah!

[Peter_Spaeth]

Billy Don't Be a Hero.

[butchie_t]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Billy Don't Be a Hero.

That one is now spinning around in my head... thanks.

[nolemmings]

Indiana Wants Me. Although I liked it as an 11 year-old.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by butchie_t

That is the title. Hello Muddah Hello Faddah by Allan Sherman

I have that and many others in my iPad now. The Best of Allan Sherman.

Boooooyeah!

Maybe a little known fun fact. The group Lynyrd Skynyrd got the basis for their name from that Allie Sherman song.

[GasHouseGang]

Originally Posted by BobC

Maybe a little known fun fact. The group Lynyrd Skynyrd got the basis for their name from that Allie Sherman song.

That's not the story I heard. This is what the band said:

The basketball coach at their high school, Forby Leonard Skinner, had more of an impact than he could have imagined. Skinner was a gym coach who at some point in the 1960s disciplined two members for letting their hair grow long. The young musicians eventually dropped out of school, but remembered all the hassles. In 1970, the band, which at the time called themselves “One Percent,” had a gig at a local club where they called out to the crowd, "Hey, we're Leonard Skinner and we're gonna play for y'all tonight". Since most of the crowd had run into Coach Skinner at one point or another the name was an instant hit and stuck. To make themselves more original, the spelling was later changed to “Lynyrd Skynyrd.”

[Writehooks]

I submit two hideous releases from 1976: Charlene's "I've Never Been to Me" and the equally putrid "Torn Between Two Lovers" by Mary MacGregor (written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame).

[irv]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

That's not the story I heard. This is what the band said:

The basketball coach at their high school, Forby Leonard Skinner, had more of an impact than he could have imagined. Skinner was a gym coach who at some point in the 1960s disciplined two members for letting their hair grow long. The young musicians eventually dropped out of school, but remembered all the hassles. In 1970, the band, which at the time called themselves “One Percent,” had a gig at a local club where they called out to the crowd, "Hey, we're Leonard Skinner and we're gonna play for y'all tonight". Since most of the crowd had run into Coach Skinner at one point or another the name was an instant hit and stuck. To make themselves more original, the spelling was later changed to “Lynyrd Skynyrd.”

I heard and watched the same vid, Dave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quWzKAoT50E

[BobC]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

That's not the story I heard. This is what the band said:

The basketball coach at their high school, Forby Leonard Skinner, had more of an impact than he could have imagined. Skinner was a gym coach who at some point in the 1960s disciplined two members for letting their hair grow long. The young musicians eventually dropped out of school, but remembered all the hassles. In 1970, the band, which at the time called themselves “One Percent,” had a gig at a local club where they called out to the crowd, "Hey, we're Leonard Skinner and we're gonna play for y'all tonight". Since most of the crowd had run into Coach Skinner at one point or another the name was an instant hit and stuck. To make themselves more original, the spelling was later changed to “Lynyrd Skynyrd.”

I've seen that video also, but there's currently a documentary about the band on Netflix, and they do mention the high school teacher, Leonard Skinner. But in the documentary it also shows Bob Burns, the band's drummer, going into further detail about how the reference and name supposedly came from him and originally started from the Allie Sherman song 'Hello Muddah, Hello Fadddah'. They actually play a little soundbite from the song in the documentary and, lo and behold, the lyrics actually mention the name Leonard Skinner as one of the other campers at Camp Granada, who gets ptomaine poisoning. It was apparently a sheer coincidence that they also ended up with a high school teacher named Leonard Skinner, but Burns seems to clearly indicate the initial, earlier influence came from the song. You can check out the song's lyrics, and the documentary, to see I'm not making this up.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by BobC

Maybe a little known fun fact. The group Lynyrd Skynyrd got the basis for their name from that Allie Sherman song.

I know people love Free Bird, but I always though it was awful and a rip off sort of of Stairway.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I know people love Free Bird, but I always though it was awful and a rip off sort of of Stairway.

Have always heard the allegations, but actually like 'Freebird'.

Now if you want to talk ripoff, lets look at Bowie's 'Under Pressure' and Vanilla Ice's 'Ice, Ice, Baby'. I read somewhere that they got away with that by adding an extra note or beat to the baseline, or something like that.

And if you want to talk about bad songs you can't get out of your head, anyone remember the Banana Splits theme song!?!?!?

[irv]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I know people love Free Bird, but I always though it was awful and a rip off sort of of Stairway.

Lynyrd Skynyrd is likely my favorite band, or next to Led Zeppelin, and although I love Free Bird, I rarely have the patience anymore to listen to it in its entirety.

My wife and I seen them a few years ago. (Obviously, not the original band) They put on a really good concert, and of course played Free Bird to cap the night off. Listening to it live and knowing it was the last song of the night, (their encore) however, made me wished the song never ended.

[Snapolit1]

How about the 3 most morose, depressing pop songs of all time?

Alone Again Naturally (Gilbert O'Sullivan)

Vincent (Don McLean)

and probably the most depressing of all

All By Myself (Eric Carmen)

[edtiques]

How about a nice little song about cannibalism? Timothy by the Buoys:

https://youtu.be/AXn0uIF60iU

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by edtiques

How about a nice little song about cannibalism? Timothy by the Buoys:

https://youtu.be/AXn0uIF60iU

Odd you mention that song-- I just listened to it last night for the first time in years. Between that and DOA by Bloodrock about a year or so later, it's no wonder so many of my generation was/is twisted (or so I have been told by those older and wiser who came before me).

[judsonhamlin]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

How about the 3 most morose, depressing pop songs of all time?

Alone Again Naturally (Gilbert O'Sullivan)

Vincent (Don McLean)

and probably the most depressing of all

All By Myself (Eric Carmen)

Alone Again is on a great soundtrack (Life on Mars) but damn if that isnt the biggest downer of a song.

[judsonhamlin]

Even though my wife would probably call out about 20% of the songs I like, even I admit to:

Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann’s Earth Band version, and
Burning Bridges- Mike Curb Congregation (and the theme from Kelly’s Heroes).

[butchie_t]

Originally Posted by judsonhamlin

Even though my wife would probably call out about 20% of the songs I like, even I admit to:

Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann’s Earth Band version, and

That is the best version. Springsteens version, I cannot even listen to, he sounds drunk.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by butchie_t

That is the best version. Springsteens version, I cannot even listen to, he sounds drunk.

<trigger warning for Springsteen fans>


He always does.

I'd have added a couple of his, but I think it was bad songs that we like...

Plus, he's supposedly partly responsible for Bon Jovi ....

And my friends made me go to the movie no nukes because "the boss" was in it.

[earlywynnfan]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

How about the 3 most morose, depressing pop songs of all time?

Alone Again Naturally (Gilbert O'Sullivan)

Vincent (Don McLean)

and probably the most depressing of all

All By Myself (Eric Carmen)

I can't hear All By Myself without thinking of Bob and Tom back in the day, whenever they'd even be close to a topic of self-servicing, they'd play that line. Immature, but so am I!

[earlywynnfan]

Anyone else man enough (or nerd enough) to admit they like Orinoco Flow by Enya?

[steve B]

Originally Posted by edtiques

A song I like but it's also kind of "Bubblegum" music. From the summer of '74, "Life is a rock (but the radio rolled me)" by Reunion.

https://youtu.be/16kh-AP4OCU

Another nomination for a bad song, "They're coming to take me away ha-haaa" by Napoleon XIV.

https://youtu.be/3Fn36l_z3WY

I like that last one.

But... if we're going to add novelty songs this list will get way longer in a hurry.

[Jim65]

Originally Posted by edtiques

Another nomination for a bad song, "They're coming to take me away ha-haaa" by Napoleon XIV.

https://youtu.be/3Fn36l_z3WY

I had the 45 as a kid, I remember the flip side was the same song but played backwards.

[mark evans]

I guess off-topic because the following are excellent songs IMO. I would distinguish rock and roll from ballads. Free Bird in my mind is a classic rock song but I'm partial to Southern rock. The other song I would cite among rock classics is Can't You See by the Marshall Tucker Band. I saw the original band in Maryland in the 70s -- excellent.

My favorite ballad would be Adele's Someone Like You. For me, it replaced Will You Love Me Tomorrow by the Shirelles which I bought as a 45 in 1960 when a ten-year old.

All above available on YouTube.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

No redeeming qualities at all: Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield.

Lady in Red -- Chris de Burgh.

The use of "Jessie's Girl" in "Boogie Nights", is one of the great movie scenes of all time.