Songs About Toys

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!

1. A Broken Doll – Al Jolson (1916) 
2. Baby Be My Toy – Teresa Brewer 
3. Barbie Girl – Aqua 
4. Big Boy Toys – Aaron Tippin 
5. Brand New Key – Melanie 
6. Come & Buy My Toys – David Bowie 
7. Cuddly Toy – Nilsson 
8. Doll House – Priscilla Renea 
9. Dreidel – Don McLean 
10. I Like My Toys – Idle Race 
11. I’m In Love With My Little Red Tricycle – Napoleon XIV 
12. I’m Your Puppet – James & Bobby Purify 
13. Jack In The Box – Jackpots 
14. Kite – U2 
15. Kites Are Fun – The Free Design 
16. Let’s Go Fly A Kite – from the Disney classic, Mary Poppins 
17. Like Toy Soldiers – Eminem 
18. Little Plastic Castle – Ani DiFranco 
19. Little Toy Trains – Glen Campbell 
20. Master of Puppets – Metallica 
21. My Ding-A-Ling – Chuck Berry 
22. New Toy – Lene Lovich 
23. Old Toy Trains – Roger Miller 
24. One Tin Soldier – The Original Caste, Coven 
25. Parade of The Wooden Soldiers – Harry Connick Jr. (A Disney Classic) 
26. Puppet Man – The Fifth Dimension 
27. Rag Doll – Aerosmith 
28. Rag Doll – Four Seasons 
29. Real Toys – Altered Images 
30. Red Rubber Ball – The Cyrkle 
31. Rubber Duckie Song – Ernie from Sesame Street (voiced by Jim Henson) 
32. Skip A Rope – Henson Cargill 
33. Teddy Bear – Elvis Presley 
34. The Dreidel Song – various artists 
35. The Hula Hoop Song – Teresa Brewer 
36. The Man With All The Toys – The Beach Boys 
37. 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) 
38. The Teddy Bear Song – Barbara Fairchild 
39. The Teddy Bear’s Picnic – Henry Hall & His Orchestra (1932) An All-time children’s classic 
40. Toy Balloons – Russ Conway 
41. Toy Boy – Mika 
42. Toy Soldiers – Martika 
43. Toys In The Attic – Aerosmith 
44. Yellow Balloon – The Yellow Balloon 
45. Yo-Yo – Billy Joe Royal 
46.  Yo-Yo – The Osmond Brothers 

BONUS #1:

SONGS ABOUT GAMES & OTHER RELATED PLAY THINGS

1. 19 Something – Mark Wills 
2. Do The Donkey Kong – Buckner & Garcia 
3. House At Pooh Corner – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 
4. March of The Toy Soldiers – from the Nutcracker Suite – originally by Tchaikovsky 
5. Merry Go Round – The Replacements
6. Music Box Dancer – Frank Mills 
7. My Boomerang Won’t Come Back – Charlie Drake 
8. Pac-Man Fever – Buckner & Garcia 
9. Penny Arcade – Roy Orbison 
10. Pinball Wizard – The Who 
11. Playground In My Mind – Clint Holmes 
12. Puff The Magic Dragon – Peter Paul & Mary 
13. Return To Pooh Corner – Kenny Loggins 
14. Simon Says – 1910 Fruit Gum Company 
15. 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

Extra Special Bonus #3:

YouTube Sensations

“The Gummy Bear Song” (English version) – Gummibar (includes sing-along lyrics) 

“Transformers Song – I Am Optimus Prime” – Parody of “The Time” (Black Eyed Peas)  by Angie Griffin & Chad Nikolaus 

“The Toy Song” – Destorm 

Songs About Nostalgia That Reference Specific People Places Things or Events of the Past

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.

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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

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SONGS ABOUT NOSTALGIA

THAT MENTION SPECIFIC

PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS OR EVENTS OF THE PAST

1. 1985 – Bowling For Soup

2. 19 Something – Mark Wills

3. A Different World – Bucky Covington

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