I do my best to stay impartial about names. Sometimes, though, a bad song gets in the way.
When a perfectly good name gets trapped inside a bad song, I can’t help but start disliking the name along with the song.
Which songs have done the most to tarnish various names for me? The top five are:
- Come On Eileen (1982) by Dexy’s Midnight Runners
- My Sharona (1979) by The Knack
- Help Me Rhonda (1965) by The Beach Boys
- Roxanne (1978) by The Police
- Adia (1997) by Sarah McLachlan
Fact: This is the most annoying song in the history of mankind. Seriously. There was a world-wide vote. (Did you miss it?) Second place went to John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.
The melody is so-so, but the lyrics are just sleazy…especially when you consider that the Sharona who inspired the tune was just 16 when it was written.
I like The Beach Boys, but this particular song gets on my nerves.
Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaawks-anne. Need I say more?
Back in the late ’90s, the U.S. passed something known as the McLachlan Law. The gist of it was this: Every radio station must play Adia by Sarah McLachlan at least 300 times an hour. (Sound impossible? It’s not. Trust me, I was there.)
These are my worst offenders, but there are a few dozen other songs I could have included. (Hey Mickey, you’re so fine…)
What about you — has a song ever negatively influenced your opinion of a name? What song was it, and why do you dislike it?