Starship’s “We Built This City” spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after its release on August 26, 1985, also topping charts in Australia and Canada and reaching the top ten across several European countries. Decades later, the song has been repeatedly named the worst ever recorded, according to Parade magazine.
The track was the lead single from Starship’s debut album “Knee Deep in the Hoopla” and was written by Martin Page, Bernie Taupin, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf. On release, Billboard called it an unusual rock-and-roll anthem, while Cash Box praised its memorable sound and strong musical hooks. In 1986 it received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, and the album went platinum.
Critical opinion shifted sharply over time. In 2004, Blender magazine ranked “We Built This City” first on its list of the 50 worst songs of all time. Editor Craig Marks said the song presented itself as anti-commercial while reeking of the corporate rock commercialism that nearly killed rock music in the 1980s. In 2011, Rolling Stone readers voted it the worst song of the decade, and in 2016 GQ called it the worst song of all time.
Despite the criticism, the song continues to appear on radio and in advertising more than 40 years after its release.
