emeraldsoul
well:
 
Many listeners detect sexual innuendo in the lyrics, with the key in its lock thought to symbolize sexual intercourse, or in phrases such as "I go pretty far" and "I've been all around the world".
Melanie has acknowledged the possibility of detecting sexual innuendo in the song, without confirming or denying the intent:
“"Brand New Key" I wrote in about fifteen minutes one night. I thought it was cute; a kind of old thirties tune. I guess a key and a lock have always been Freudian symbols, and pretty obvious ones at that. There was no deep serious expression behind the song, but people read things into it. They made up incredible stories as to what the lyrics said and what the song meant. In some places, it was even banned from the radio.
My idea about songs is that once you write them, you have very little say in their life afterward. It's a lot like having a baby. You conceive a song, deliver it, and then give it as good a start as you can. After that, it's on its own. People will take it any way they want to take it.[3]

THIS WAS PRICELESS!  what a difference there was in perceptions and "allowable" content between the early 70's and today!

Ok, mine is going to be completely unpopular from most of your perspectives.  Most of you will like this one I'm going to list.
 
"Old Man Down the Road" - John Fogherty
 
can't stand it even now just thinking about it to write it here! "he got da hiiiiii deee hiiiii deee hoooo!"
 
WT heck???
 

Beagle I guess you wouldn't like Blood sweat and tears Hi De Ho either!

Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive'... if I can dive for the off button, I will

craigb
This one is easy!  Friday by Rebecca Black.
 

If somebody gave me a pre-listen to this, I would say no way a hit. But that is because I am out of touch with what the teenage crowd like in music. On the other hand, from the perspective of what I hear in stores playing pop music, this song does not surprise me at all for being a hit (unfortunately). Very typical style in the recent decades.

Hi,
 
 
In the odd place ... Ralph Lundsten ... has an album where one robot is asking a robot out ... to his place for a drink during a dance. It is funny, if not silly! Another band "Supersister" did an Alvin satire that was funny, and this time they were stoned!
 
I can dig it out if anyone wants it badly.
 
Other than that ... The Clams -- "Close to You" ... or .... (don't know the band) ... let's take a trip down whittier boulevard! ... with Bapu on bass?  The Clams song has a "history"!
 
Amon Duul 2 does not fit here, since they were not interested in hit songs! And Renate would have given you a lashing and then some Net!

I saw (on Jeopardy, I think) that Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead hit #2 on the British charts after M. Thatcher died.

A couple BIG hits just came to me that surprised me. These selections will not win me any fans because they are works by very popular artists:
 
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" Nirvana. At the time, I just never understood why anybody liked this song. I guess I was just getting too old for this style of song. In retrospect, it was a change in musical style and a new upcoming generation looking for their own identities instead of having to like what my generation offered. Funny thing, as time has progressed I kind of learned to like this song. It is very raw and emotional which gives it that something.
 
"All I Wanna Do" Sheryl Crow.  A mediocre song at best (I thought). Went on to become the 1995 Grammy Song of the Year. Who wooda figured. A somewhat catchy tune but blasé. I never figured it to go on to attain what it did. Maybe a bad year for new songs perhaps?

Way way back, when I was too young to be really aloud in I used to frequent a nightclub. It was the early 70's a various bands of varying quality used to cycle through the place. One was a one hit wonder called the "Bay City Rollers".  They did not go down too well, infact they were probably the least popular of the bands on the circuit.
 
Then all of a sudden they have been given a tartan makeover and are all over Top of the Pops and beset by leigons of screaming girl fans. - I certainly did not see that one coming!
 
Maybe not the worst hit ever, but I am going to nominate "Shang-a-Lang".

bitman
Walk of life. When that comes on in the grocery store my hands grip the cart just a little tighter.

Charlie Mann's accordion-driven version is much superior to the original, has a really upbeat feel to it. Possibly helped by Mann, according to an interview with him, not really understanding what on earth the song was trying to say.

I liked the original single version of "Sultans of Swing", which was released some time before the album and in the UK only John Peel was playing it. The album, including the reworked "Sultans" was a real disappointment.