The Worst Songs of All Time

Looking back at the posts this week at Kiko’s House, it occurs to me that I need to lighten up.

Now.

Having bloviated at length on possibly the worst president of all time, what better way to put aside the Sturm und Drang of current events by reprising a golden oldie of mine -- the Worst Song of All Time.

My vote has long gone to Jefferson Starship’s “We Built This City,” which was a No. 1 hit in 1985. But half the fun of hating a song is to see how many other folks agree or disagree with you, or what their own picks are.

As it is, the Starship’s blasphemy shows up on a fair number of Worst Song lists, including Todd Leopold’s.

Leopold writes a pretty fair entertainment column for CNN and cast his vote this week for a song in my own Worst Top 10 – “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro, which not only was a No. 1 hit in 1968 but stayed atop the charts for five weeks. Barf!!! (Like me, Leopold avoids the low hanging fruit and only selects songs that were hits.)

Leopold describes what it was like to hear “Honey” recently on XM’s 60’s channel:

I sat transfixed in my car as it played, as if I were in the midst of an accident. The simpering melody, the tearjerking lyrics: God, how I hated it. And yet I couldn't change the station.

See the tree, how big it's grown
But friend, it hasn't been too long, it wasn't big . . .

We should all feel his pain.

Beyond “We Built This City” and “Honey,” the rest of my own Worst Top 10 are, in no particular order:

“In the Ghetto” (Mac Davis)

"Achy Breaky Heart" (Billy Ray Cyrus)

“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” (William Shatner)

“Yummy Yummy Yummy (I’ve Got Love in My Tummy)” (Ohio Express)

“In the Year 2525” (Zager and Evans)

“Afternoon Delight” (Starland Vocal Band)

“Your Body is a Wonderland” (John Mayer)

. . . and anything by Celine Dion.

Don't be shy. Tell me how would you vote buy clicking on the "Comment" button below. You can be an Anonymoose and don't have to give your name. And try to confine yourself to songs from the last 40 or so years. Thanks!