... the bicentinnial, the year of my high school graduation. Todd once called 1974 the worst year in pop music, but salutes this year as being one with so much great music, it just makes the worst all the more horrible. His list, from the best to the worst of the worst is:
Shannon - Henry Gross
Shop Around - Captain and Tenille
BIggest Part of Me - Chicago
Only Sixteen - Dr. Hook
Get Up and Boogie - Silver Convention
Disco Duck - Rick Dees
Let Her In - John Travolta
I Write The Songs - Barry Manilow
Convoy - C. W. McCall
Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band.
Todd sure does his research. As for his list - Disco Duck has to be the worst song of 1976, maybe of the entire decade. Just in case you worry about him, Rick Dees actually had a very successful career as a DJ that spanned forty years, so don't think he became some bitter guy toiling in obscurity, always ranting about his one hit song. He did not.
And I'd rate "Muskrat Love" as an emblematic bad song by the Captain and Tenille rather than "Shop Around". For one reason, "Shop Around" is just a cover where "Muskrat Love" is actually something they came up with. Although my cat enjoyed looking for the "muskrat" or whatever it was whenever the song came on.
"Gonna Let Her In" - I thought that was lame in 1976. It's a lame performance by Travolta but the song itself is also pedestrian and repetitious. It was obviously made to capitalize on the popularity of "Welcome Back Kotter" which had premiered in 1975 and was coming apart by 1978 due to egos on the set.
As for "Shannon", a song about a dog dying, it produced a truly inspired rant by Kasey Kasem, and you get to hear that in this video.
As for the rest of his list - I really don't think the songs listed are that bad, although the background on Convoy and C. W. McCall - a marketing construct who does not actually exist - is fascinating.
Shannon - Henry Gross
Shop Around - Captain and Tenille
BIggest Part of Me - Chicago
Only Sixteen - Dr. Hook
Get Up and Boogie - Silver Convention
Disco Duck - Rick Dees
Let Her In - John Travolta
I Write The Songs - Barry Manilow
Convoy - C. W. McCall
Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band.
Todd sure does his research. As for his list - Disco Duck has to be the worst song of 1976, maybe of the entire decade. Just in case you worry about him, Rick Dees actually had a very successful career as a DJ that spanned forty years, so don't think he became some bitter guy toiling in obscurity, always ranting about his one hit song. He did not.
And I'd rate "Muskrat Love" as an emblematic bad song by the Captain and Tenille rather than "Shop Around". For one reason, "Shop Around" is just a cover where "Muskrat Love" is actually something they came up with. Although my cat enjoyed looking for the "muskrat" or whatever it was whenever the song came on.
"Gonna Let Her In" - I thought that was lame in 1976. It's a lame performance by Travolta but the song itself is also pedestrian and repetitious. It was obviously made to capitalize on the popularity of "Welcome Back Kotter" which had premiered in 1975 and was coming apart by 1978 due to egos on the set.
As for "Shannon", a song about a dog dying, it produced a truly inspired rant by Kasey Kasem, and you get to hear that in this video.
As for the rest of his list - I really don't think the songs listed are that bad, although the background on Convoy and C. W. McCall - a marketing construct who does not actually exist - is fascinating.