The “Bad” #1 Hits of the 1960s

The 1960s was a difficult decade for me to write about.  That is partly because I didn’t exist during it, and partly because the retrospective critical and popular reviews of the decade’s music are so overwhelmingly positive.  The Rate Your Music scores of 1960s #1 hits average roughly a full point higher than those from the 2010s.  There was also a lack of consensus on many of the songs.  Remember, for me to include a song in the “bad” hits museum there must be a general agreement among both critics and the public that it is well below the quality of other #1 records of its time.


The “Bad” #1s Museum – 1960s Inductees

“Mr. Custer” by Larry Verne (1960)

“Calcutta” by Lawrence Welk (1961)

“Moody River” by Pat Boone (1961)

“Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn)” by Joe Dowell (1961)

“Roses Are Red (My Love)” by Bobby Vinton (1962)

“The Ballad of the Green Berets” by SSgt. Barry Sadler (1966)

“Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro (1968)

 

The Runners-Up

“Running Bear” by Johnny Preston (1960)

“Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini” by Brian Hyland (1960)

“Go Away Little Girl” by Steve Lawrence (1963)

“Hey Paula” by Paul & Paula (1963)

“Dominique” by the Singing Nun (1963)

“There!  I’ve Said It Again” by Bobby Vinton (1964)

“I’m Telling You Now” by Freddie & the Dreamers (1965)

“Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” by Herman’s Hermits (1965)

“I’m Henry VIII, I Am” by Herman’s Hermits (1965)

“Winchester Cathedral” by the New Vaudeville Band (1966)

“The Happening” by the Supremes (1967)

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