Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs is a 1997 humor book written by Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry, chronicling the results of his bad song survey. The survey started when he wrote a column about a particular bad song, and he got such a response that in addition to a follow-up column, he decided to write an entire book about the results of the survey. 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by Knight Ridder. ... David Barry, Jr. ...

The book opens with a warning that it will "put bad songs into your head", and suggests that it instead be given to your enemies as a potent Psychological weapon. This kind of hyperbole is also found in the book's criticism of cheesy or overly sappy lyrics, and is a hallmark of Dave Barry's writing style. The U.S. Department of Defense defines psychological warfare (PSYWAR) as: The planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives. ... Look up hyperbole in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In the book he acknowleges the results are biased because he had arbitrarily limited the survey to songs that were very popular and at least 10 years old, as well as excluding certain songs including ones that were intentionally terrible. The survey also likely reflects the demographics of his readership: the large number of middle aged readers resulted in a disproportionate number of Oldies being selected. Middle age is a non-specific age when a person is not old, not young, but somewhere in the middle. ... Oldies is a generic term commonly used in the United States and Canada to describe a radio format that concentrates on popular Top 40 music from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. ...

The worst songs ever, according to the survey, are:

1. MacArthur Park as sung by Richard Harris
2. Yummy Yummy Yummy (I Got Love In My Tummy) performed by Ohio Express
3. (You're) Having My Baby by Paul Anka
4. Honey by Bobby Goldsboro
5. Timothy written by Rupert Holmes and performed by The Buoys
6. Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus

Barry also includes special categories such as: For the park in Los Angeles, California after which the song was named, see MacArthur Park MacArthur Park is an epic song, written by Jimmy Webb and first performed by Richard Harris in 1968. ... There are more than one Richard Harris: Richard Harris (actor) Richard Harris (correspondent) Richard Harris (prospector) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Ohio Express was a Bubblegum pop/garage band that fronted for Kasenetz and Katzs Super K Productions studio musicians, including singer/songwriter Joey Levine (Yummy Yummy Yummy). Categories: American musical groups | Popular musical groups | Musical group stubs ... Paul Anka receiving the Order of Canada from Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in a ceremony performed at Rideau Hall on Friday, June 10, 2005. ... Honey, also known as Honey (I Miss You), is a song written by Bobby Russell for American country singer Bobby Goldsboros tenth album, Honey. ... Bobby Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop music singer. ... Rupert Holmes (born February 24, 1947 in Northwich, Cheshire, England) is a composer and writer who grew up in the northern New York City suburb of Nanuet, New York, and attended nearby Nyack High School. ... Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961 in Flatwoods, Kentucky) is an American country singer, best known for the hit single Achy Breaky Heart (1992). ... Billy Ray Cyrus performs at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Ky. ...

• Weenie Music
• Love Songs
• Songs Women Really Hate
• Teen Death Songs
• Songs People Get Wrong