Five overplayed songs from the 1960s that wrecked our brains

The 1960s was a great decade for music, but rock had some growing pains. While the music was becoming louder and even more dangerous, there were also some weird tunes. People tinkered with the better production values and performed songs on TV on the many music shows that were springing up.

The songs that follow are not all just strange. In one case, the track is unsettling. All were overplayed.

Of course, that is partly the magic of music. Sometimes, songs become surprise hits. With the five tracks below, though, they shouldn't have.

Five overplayed songs from the 1960s that lowered our intelligence

"Cherish" - The Association (1966)

So ridiculously saccharine and fluffy, "Cherish" is the soft rock version of a hit song by a hair metal band. It seemingly strains to be orchestral but then comes across as some poorly sung hymn from Sunday's church service. The great thing is that this song makes an excellent gift to someone you are in a relationship with as long as the goal is to break up immediately after the gift is given.

The worst part is that the popularity of this song must have sprung the soft rock revolution five years later. Most of the songs are drivel, including "Cherish."

"MacArthur Park" - Richard Harris (1968)

OK, first off, if you haven't seen the new film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, there is a scene that uses "MacArthur Park" in the best possible way. That might fit as a spoiler alert, but you don't know how it fits into the plot or the scene setting. You would need to watch the film for that.

This song has been made fun of a lot, and there is good reason for it. The cake melting in the rain part is comedically atrocious. It's imaginative in all the wrong ways. Plus, the song is far too long. It's the "American Pie" of bad 1960s songs.

"Yummy Yummy Yummy" - Ohio Express (1968)

This song contains the line, "I got love in my tummy that your love can satisfy." What the heck does that even mean? The problem with the line is it is one of the more interesting parts of the song because it's so confusing. The rest of the lyrics seem as if they were written by a kid in Kindergarten.

The most frustrating aspect of the song, however, is that the silly melody will get stuck in your head like an earworm that will begin to eat your brain. You might even find yourself humming the tune at work, and your poor co-workers will think you might have gone a bit loco. Don't sing this song at work.

"Tiptoe Through the Tulips" - Tiny Tim (1968)

This track is immediately lyrically confusing. The protagonist wants someone to tiptoe through a window, and then boom! They suddenly appear around some tulips. Then, there is some mix of kissing in the garden, flowers, and showers. Still, the song outdoes itself with this line: "Maybe it's flowers you stray will be the showers of life."

To be fair to Tiny Tim, the song was originally from the 1920s. The sin that Tim exposed to the public was singing the song on a popular TV show in the 1960s and then music fans were forced to hear the song often on the radio. We deserved better.

"Young Girl" - Gary Puckett and the Union Gap (1968)

A common complaint among older folks (of which I am one, so I can speak freely here) is that the old days were better because people didn't get worked up so much about trivialities. Here is the thing, though. Some things that people see as wrong now but might not have 50 years ago didn't mean they were right then.

Such is the case with this icky song. A grown man has a crush on an underage girl and sings longingly about her as if that is OK. It's not. It's gross. It was in 1968, and it will be forever.

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