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Time to take a brief stress break in the middle of your hectic day and think back to your childhood… of the simple little things in life that made you happy….. or made you smile….. that made everything right in your world….. if only for that moment in time. The theme here is toys, usually meaning the toys of the past or “yesteryear”. Some of these songs look back on a particular toy with great fondness while others use the theme of toys to shed light on something completely different….. if you know what I mean. The only requirement here is that there is a toy mentioned by name or referred/suggested to in the title of the song….. even if it happens to have a ‘double’ or ‘alternative’ meaning. You’ll find a few of these to be real obscure but there are some fun ones here in the mix. Enjoy!
Songs About Toys
A Broken Doll – Al Jolson (1916)
Baby Be My Toy – Teresa Brewer
Barbie Girl – Aqua
Big Boy Toys – Aaron Tippin
Brand New Key – Melanie
Come & Buy My Toys – David Bowie
Cuddly Toy – Nilsson
Doll House – Priscilla Renea
Dreidel – Don McLean
I Like My Toys – Idle Race
I’m In Love With My Little Red Tricycle – Napoleon XIV
I’m Your Puppet – James & Bobby Purify
Jack In The Box – Jackpots
Kite – U2
Kites Are Fun – The Free Design
Let’s Go Fly A Kite – from the Disney classic, Mary Poppins
Like Toy Soldiers – Eminem
Little Plastic Castle – Ani DiFranco
Little Toy Trains – Glen Campbell
Master of Puppets – Metallica
My Ding-A-Ling – Chuck Berry
New Toy – Lene Lovich
Old Toy Trains – Roger Miller
One Tin Soldier – The Original Caste, Coven
Parade of The Wooden Soldiers – Harry Connick Jr. (A Disney Classic)
Puppet Man – The Fifth Dimension
Rag Doll – Aerosmith
Rag Doll – Four Seasons
Real Toys – Altered Images
Red Rubber Ball – The Cyrkle
Rubber Duckie Song – Ernie from Sesame Street (voiced by Jim Henson)
Skip A Rope – Henson Cargill
Teddy Bear – Elvis Presley
The Dreidel Song – various artists
The Hula Hoop Song – Teresa Brewer
The Man With All The Toys – The Beach Boys
The Marvelous Toy – Chad Mitchell Trio (however the well done animated video shown below is John Denver as the vocal – who actually was former member of the Chad Mitchell Trio long before he went solo in his career)
The Teddy Bear Song – Barbara Fairchild
The Teddy Bear’s Picnic – Henry Hall & His Orchestra (1932) An All-time children’s classic
Toy Balloons – Russ Conway
Toy Boy – Mika
Toy Soldiers – Martika
Toys In The Attic – Aerosmith
Yellow Balloon – The Yellow Balloon
Yo-Yo – Billy Joe Royal
Yo-Yo – The Osmond Brothers
BONUS #1:
SONGS ABOUT GAMES & OTHER RELATED PLAY THINGS
19 Something – Mark Wills
Do The Donkey Kong – Buckner & Garcia
House At Pooh Corner – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
March of The Toy Soldiers – from the Nutcracker Suite – originally by Tchaikovsky
Merry Go Round – The Replacements
Music Box Dancer – Frank Mills
My Boomerang Won’t Come Back – Charlie Drake
Pac-Man Fever – Buckner & Garcia
Penny Arcade – Roy Orbison
Pinball Wizard – The Who
Playground In My Mind – Clint Holmes
Puff The Magic Dragon – Peter Paul & Mary
Return To Pooh Corner – Kenny Loggins
Simon Says – 1910 Fruit Gum Company
Two Little Boys – Rolf Harris
SPECIAL BONUS #2:
CLASSIC TOY TV COMMERCIAL JINGLES
1960’s Cracker Jacks Commercial with Famous Theme Song (This is a classic embedded in deep within the memories of those of us who grew up in this era)
1960’s Slink Commercial with Famous Theme Song (same can be said here for an iconic tune from my childhood)
1980’s G.I. Joe Theme Song from the TV cartoon series of the 80’s
Over the years we can all relate to good times and bad times in our lives. Some are rewarding experiences that seem to make that moment in time stand still while others are unpleasant or emotional events that leave a lasting impression or hurt in our heads, hearts and souls. There are a few songs out there that specifically mention these events or people or objects that bring back these times to those of us who have lived through them. These particular songs can attest to a particular time in our past that evoke memories of that particular era.
So here I present to you a few songs with videos that reference, reflect, mention or list specific people, places, things, events and dates of the past. Some of the videos presented here also include song lyrics of vivid childhood images and memories of what it was like growing up with favorite past times, celebrities, heroes, fads, games, toys, pop culture (music, movies and TV), etc. Some of the recollections also include unpleasant or sad events such as deaths of famous people, destruction, tragedies, war and so forth.
So sit back and enjoy the following videos of songs that evoke memories and/or pay homage to specific and/or real people, places or things of our past. If you can think of others please feel free to let me know in the comment section at the bottom of this post.
2017 UPDATE – Just did a major update & overhaul of this post – lots of new additions, a few corrections & a few changes. Please let me know in the comments below what I may have missed……….thanks
4. A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara’d into Submission) – Paul Simon
5. Abraham, Martin & John – Dion
6. AM Radio – Everclear
7. Back To The 80’s – Aqua
8. Big Bang Theory Theme Song (History of Everything) – Barenaked Ladies
9. Buddy Holly – Weezer
10. Class of ’57 – The Statler Brothers
11. Class Reunion (That Used to Be Us) – Lonestar
12. Cleaning Windows – Van Morrison
13. Club At The End Of The Street – Elton John
14. Creeque Alley – The Mamas & The Papas
15. Do You Remember Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio – The Ramones
16. Do You Remember These – The Statler Brothers
17. Done Too Soon – Neil Diamond
18. Extra Ordinary – Better Than Ezra
19. Garden Party – Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band
20. Heart Songs – Weezer
21. I Do The Rock – Tim Curry
22. I Feel Like Buddy Holly – Alvin Stardust
23. I Watched It (All On My Radio) – Lionel Cartwright
24. In The Days Before Rock ‘n’ Roll – Van Morrison
25. John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16 – Keith Urban
26. Kids of The Baby Boom – The Bellamy Brothers
27. Land Of 1000 Dances – Wilson Pickett
28. Life in a Northern Town – The Dream Academy
29. Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me) – Reunion
30. Liquid Dreams – O-Town
31. Man On The Moon – REM
32. Nightshift – The Commodores
33. No News – Lonestar
34. Old Days – Chicago
35. Old Hippie – The Bellamy Brothers
36. Old Hippie (The Sequel) – The Bellamy Brothers
37. One Week – Barenaked Ladies
38. Post World War II Blues – Al Stewart
39. Put That Record On – Hinder
40. Raised On Radio – Journey
41. Rock & Roll Heaven – The Righteous Brothers
“Rock & Roll Heaven” – A music video tribute to the rock music heroes who have passed away. The soundtrack is “Rock and Roll Heaven” (Stevenson/O’day) is a new demo recording, sung by Ronnie Kimball, with reworked lyrics from the 1970’s Righteous Brothers hit. Artists featured in this video include John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Roy Orbison, Don McLean, Otis Redding, Freddie Mercury, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Marc Bolan, George Harrison, Bon Scott, Buddy Holly, Sonny & Cher, Johnny Cash, Denny Martin, Bob Marley, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Jeff Buckley, The Beatles, Wendy O Williams, Robert Palmer, Kurt Cobain
42. Rocket – Def Leppard
43. Short Fat Fannie – Larry Williams
44. Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder
45. Sweet Soul Music – Arthur Conley
46. The Intro & The Outro – The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
47. The Miracle – Queen
48. The Movies – The Statler Brothers
49. The Village Green Preservation Society – The Kinks
50. Three Stars – Tommy Dee
This song is a tribute to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. The three entertainers died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, in what became known as the “Day the music died” thanks to the Don McLean song “American Pie.” Tommy Dee (Tommy Donaldson) was a disc jockey at KFXM in San Bernadino. After the plane crash, he got the idea for this song and took it to Crest Records, where he recorded it with Carol Kay And The Teen-Aires. Tommy performed the narration on the song. This was the only hit for Tommy Dee, who died in 2007 after a long career producing and promoting Country music. Eddie Cochran, who was good friends with Ritchie Valens, was the first to record this song, but his version was not released until 1966. Cochran died the year after he recorded this, when on April 17, 1960 he was killed in a car accident.
51. Titles – Barclay James Harvest
52. Tribute (Right On) – The Pasadenas
53. Twenty Years Ago – Kenny Rogers
54. Vogue – Madonna
55. We Didn’t Start The Fire – Billy Joel
56. When Smokey Sings – ABC
57. Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes? – George Jones
58. You’re My Song – A Rocket To The Moon
59. You’re The Top – Cole Porter
And last, but definitely not least, here’s probably the ultimate nostalgic reminiscing song of our lifetime…….at least for those of us between 40 and 70 ………. 🙂
60. American Pie – Don McLean
This song has various interpretations, no doubt, over the years and has been the source of many arguments, opinions and disagreements but the writer, as well as singer, Don McLean has kept pretty silent about the whole “meaning” of his song….therefore leaving it to any and all who want to try to interpret it’s meaning and or significance. For those under 40 and to the rest of us that might want a few questions answered, you gotta check out this LINK HERE
Here’s the original song again with a video interpretation of it by another person…. with some ‘food for thought’…..
and one more…
and here’s yet another explanation with quite a few facts thrown in to bolster what the song means….
HONORABLE MENTION
As an update I should give an honorable mention to the following songs for their ‘nostalgia’ theme, even though specific names have not necessarily been mentioned within the lyrics, but none-the-less are reflections of how much simpler, carefree, or better life once was, many years ago…..
These are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ when it comes to ‘nostalgic’ or ‘throw-back’ songs – as I’m sure this list can grow much larger with your input… what do YOU think?
Can you name others that reflect the past?
All Summer Long – Kid Rock
All Those Years Ago – George Harrison
Autumn of My Life – Bobby Goldsboro
Back When My Hair Was Short – Gunhill Road
Beach Baby – First Class
Boys of Summer – Don Henley
Crocodile Rock – Elton John
Goin’ Back – Byrds
Dog-End of A Day Gone By – Love & Rockets
Coat Of Many Colors – Dolly Powers
Coal Miners Daughter – Loretta Lynn
December 63 (Oh What A Night) – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Gentle On My Mind – Glen Campbell
Glory Days – Bruce Springsteen
Grandpa (Tell Me About the Good Old Days) – The Judds
In My Life – Beatles
Keeping the Faith – Billy Joel
Key Largo – Bertie Higgins
Looking Back – Nat “King” Cole
Make Me Lose Control – Eric Carmen
Moments to Remember – The Four Lads
My Back Pages – The Byrds
My Eyes Adored You – Frankie Valli
My Hometown – Bruce Springsteen
My Way – Frank Sinatra
My Old School – Steely Dan
Nostalgia – David Sylvian
Old Time Rock & Roll – Bob Seger
Photograph – Nickelback
(Remember The Days Of The) Old Schoolyard – Cat Stevens
Remember Then – The Earls
Remember When – Alan Jackson
Reminiscing – Little River Band
Same Old Lang Syne – Dan Fogelberg
Saturday In The Park – Chicago
Summer of ’69 – Bryan Adams
Summer Sand – Tony Orlando & Dawn
Take Me Back To Chicago – Chicago
The Days of Sand & Shovels – Bobby Vinton
The Old Songs – Barry Manilow
The River – Bruce Springsteen
There Used To Be A Ballpark – Frank Sinatra
This Used to Be My Playground – Madonna
Those Oldies But Goodies – Little Caesar & The Romans
Those Were The Days – Mary Hopkin
Through the Years – Kenny Rogers
Times of Your Life – Paul Anka
Try To Remember/The Way We Were – Gladys Knight & The Pips
Turn Around – Dick & DeeDee
When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) – Beach Boys
When I Was Young – Eric Burdon & the Animals
Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? – Paula Cole
Yesterday – Beatles
Yesterday Once More – Carpenters
Yesterday’s Gone – Chad & Jeremy
You Can’t Put Your Arm Around A Memory – Johnny Thunder