Digging into the music of the past decades can come up with some true gems. Yet, at the same time, it can confront you with some music that was a true disgrace then and even more so now. And very often, it is not just the poor recording or production quality, something that was often the case with songs from.
In this case, the 1960s - the rush for coming up with a hit, and some awful stuff was turned into hits then, and is still now brought us some terrible playing, even worse lyrics, and, very often, laughable performances.
The change in music taste, particularly when novelty songs are concerned, can be another element to consider, but some of the songs below were poor even when they hit the then omnipotent record stores and radio waves. Some of the eight foul ones below were hits, some rightfully didn’t make it, but all are often searched on streaming services these days, sometimes just for the heck of it.
These songs were awful in the 1960s and they are still terrible now
Paul Anka - “Puppy Love” (1960)
What do you get when you write a song because you have a crush on somebody? A song that can be absolutely great, or a song that is absolutely awful. No middle ground. Paul Anka might have been a big star with a nice voice in the early sixties, but his crush on then-teen heartthrob Anette Funicello gave us this mushy. gooey stuff, that reeks of kitsch all the way to No. 2 on The Billboard Hot 100 list at the time.
The Hollywood Argyles - "Alley Oop" (1960)
Making fun of prehistoric humans seems to have been quite some fun back in the day, as this novelty one was composed based on the late fifties comic strip of the same name. The Hollywood Argyles were a studio concoction created by producers Gary Paxton and Kim Fowley for supposed one-off fun. It worked then, as it reached No. 1 at the time, but it probably wouldn’t get a time of the day now.
Jimmy Cross - “I Want My Baby Back" (1965)
From the late fifties to mid-sixties, there was even a rock sub-genre dubbed as teen tragedy. The big hit back in 1964 for this sub-genre was “Leader of the Pack” by The Shangri-Las.
Trying to make a parody of the song and doubling the tragedy (and grossness) level was radio producer Jimmy Cross (who also was the vocalist) with this song, which didn’t reach No. 1 as the song it tried to parody, but became some sort of a cult classic.
Novas - “The Crusher” (1964)
Can so awful it was really good phrase be applied to this one? Maybe, as this, another novelty song by this Minnesota surf/garage band recorded as a tribute to wrestler Crusher Lisowski, was later covered by both the Cramps and The Ramones.
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While the covers do have their charm and both covering bands are trying to make something out of the song, the original sounds dated these days, to say the least.
The Royal Guardsmen - "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" (1966)
Peanuts cartoons were a big rage in the 1960s, and they retained their quality and charm to this day, so it was not a strange occurrence for music inspired by Peanuts to come around, particularly at the time.
Some of it, like that created by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi sounds great to this day, but this novelty ditty by Florida’s Royal Guardsmen had a wild ride in the charts back in the mid-sixties but sounds quite dated and trite today.
Mrs. Miller - "Downtown” (1966)
Today, anybody can record their music, whether it is originals or covers, and release it in some form or other, but back in the sixties, that was often a rarity. How in the name of anything that could be called music did Elva Ruby Miller, aka Mrs. Miller, get a chance by any record company at the time to record such lousy versions of great songs, including this one, remains a mystery, including the fact that this one has over half a million views on YouTube these days.
Tiny Tim – “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” (1968)
Herbert Butros Khaury, aka Tiny Tim, and his strange vocal range were always an acquired taste, to say the least, and divisive opinions about his performances remain to this day. But obviously at the time, quite a few people favored this, his take on a song from a 1929 Broadway musical.
Moms Mabley - "Abraham, Martin And John" (1969)
Another great song, another debatable interpretation. The arrangement sounds haphazard to say the least, and Moms Mobley might have been a good singer, but it is hard to hear that here, as she sounds completely off-key.