Hit Songs Hated by their Makers Quiz

Answer: Material Girl

"Material Girl" is a song about a gold-digging woman who only dates rich man. Sadly, this song became a top 10 hit in at least 10 different countries. However, it turns out Madonna wasn't completely inhumane. In a 2015 interview, Stern asked Madonna if it was true that she hated "Like a Virgin" because other people wrote it.

She said that she likes "Like a Virgin" and appreciates its writers, and the song that she hated is "Material Girl." Not only did she hate the song, she hated that strangers called her "Material Girl" whenever they say her.

She claims that she is not a material girl.

Answer: Let it Be

Although the Beatles created more hit songs than anyone else in their time period except maybe Elvis Presley, John Lennon hated a lot of them. Ultimate Classic Rock Magazine compiled a list of 20 songs that John Lennon hated. All of the songs that were possible answers to this question are on the list. The one that is the title track of their last album is "Let it Be" (and this will always be the Beatles' last album since John Lennon and George Harrison are now dead).

In a 1980 interview with Playboy Magazine, months before his demise, Lennon said of "Let it Be:"
"That's Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could've been Wings. I don't know what he's thinking when he writes 'Let It Be.'"

Answer: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Cobain told Rolling Stone that it is "Almost an embarrassment" to play "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Rolling Stone asked if he was bothered by the song's success. Cobain admitted that he was, saying that he had written many other songs, such as "Drain You," that were just as good as "Smells Like Teen Spirit" but weren't as popular, and that seemed wrong to him.

He also said that he was trying to "Rip off the Pixies" by using their way of dynamics, starting off quietly and then suddenly getting really loud, and that Nirvana had used that formula too much in their songwriting and he was getting tired of it.

Answer: Pinball Wizard

"Tommy" is a legendary 1969 rock album by the Who. It is a concept album about a kid named Tommy who's "Deaf dumb and blind." On that album's biggest hit, the singer is baffled at how a kid who can't see hear or speak can play pinball so well.

"Pinball Wizard" went to number four on the U.K. chart and it charted in the top 20 in the U.S. The song is regarded by virtually all fans of rock music as one of the greatest rock songs ever written. However, its writer Pete Townshend was not so fond of the song. According to Richard Bones, who wrote a story about the making of the album that can be read in the liner notes to its remastered version, Townshend considered "Pinball Wizard" to be "The most clumsy piece of writing [he'd] ever done."

Answer: Radiohead

Wow, there were an awful lot of songs named "Creep" in the early 1990s. Of all those songs, though, none of them were more hated by their creators than Radiohead's song. This is Radiohead's most popular song, charting in more than 10 different countries, but its writer Thom Yorke hated not only the song, but he hated his fans who loved the songs. Radiohead rarely played this song live between 1995 and 2016. I can't even tell you on this site the things Thom Yorke has said to fans wanting to hear this song.

Answer: Shiny Happy People

"Shiny Happy People" was released in 1991. It features Kate Piersen of the B-52's, who sang some vocals on the song and appeared in the video. The song charted in the top 10 in seven different countries and it charted in the top 20 in 14 different countries, but the band members did not like it.

In an interview with BBC, "It's a fruity pop song written for children. It just is what it is. If there was one song that was sent into outer space to represent R.E.M. for the rest of time, I would not want it to be 'Shiny Happy People.'" Apparently, R.E.M. preferred making depressing songs. Who would want people to be happy?

Answer: Babe

In this interview, James Young said "I'm not a ballad guy. 'When 'Babe' became the huge hit that it was, that type of music is just not my cup of tea. I maybe shouldn't compare it to Barry Manilow, but it's really soft. The Who would never have done a song like that, and I wanted to be in the Who. I wanted to be in Deep Purple."

Since he's not a ballad guy and Styx hadn't played any of their hit ballads live ever after 1998, you can assume that he doesn't like "Best of Times" or "Show Me The Way." However, if you answered either of those, you'd be wrong because he did not specifically mention either of those songs by name in this interview. James Young talked about "Mr. Roboto" in this interview, but he didn't say that he himself hated the song, although he did say that it "Killed a whole lot of people's interest in [their] music." Even if he said he hated it, you'd still be wrong if you answered that because they played that song live a lot in 2018.

Answer: I Was Made For Lovin' You

"I Was Made For Lovin' You" was probably KISS's biggest hit song worldwide. Other songs charted higher and are better known in the United States, but "I Was Made For Lovin' You" was their only song to chart at number one in more than one country, rising to the top of the charts in Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

However, Gene Simmons does not like it. In a 2018 interview with Okay Magazine, he said that when Paul Stanley introduced the song to him for the first time, he liked the sound of the lyrics... until Stanley told him that his role in the song was to sing "Do do do do do do..." Simmons did not like the idea of playing a disco song.

Answer: Cherry Pie

"Cherry Pie" is the title song of Warrant's second album, which came out in 1991. According to Jani Lane, "Cherry Pie" was not originally supposed to be on the album and the album was supposed to be called "Uncle Tom's Cabin," although lead guitarist Joey Allen said that the album was supposed to be called "Quality You Can Taste." The record label called Lane and told him that they wanted a rock anthem so that the album would sell well. Lane wrote "Cherry Pie" in 15 minutes, and then the album was complete.

The song was a hit, charting at number ten on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, Jani Lane said in a 2006 interview with VH1 that he wanted to kill himself for writing that song. Sadly, he did kill himself in 2011 with alcohol.

Answer: Fight For Your Right

"Fight For Your Right," sometimes known as "You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Party" came out in 1987. It became one of the most iconic party songs of all time. What most people don't know is, according to the Beastie Boys in the liner notes of the greatest hits album, the song is supposed to be ironic.

The song wasn't meant to be a party song, it was meant to mock people who do nothing but party. The Beastie Boys say that they hate that almost everyone misinterpreted the song, and their own values. If you ask me, they've just got themselves to blame. How the hell was anyone supposed to know this song is ironic? I'd say if that many people misinterpreted it, it means that you did not do a good job communicating what you meant.