Music is and has always been an essential component of my life. From early on, my parents made sure that it was not Raffi on the tape deck, but instead artists such as Tom Waits, Ray Charles, and The Beatles, all of whom I could identify by age three. Early favorite songs included “Born in the USA” and Louis Jordan’s “Five Guys Named Moe,” which I willingly belted out, even without a specific request. Similar to me, my kids have their own taste in music from which this family-friendly mixtape is made.
Danny’s Choices
Being a parent, I wanted to make sure that Disney hits are not all my kids are exposed to as far as music. Since I almost always have music on at the house or in the car, they have been able to pick up some of their own favorites. My older son Danny, being six, has had different “phases” of music that he has been drawn to; it’s been interesting to see. For a while, he was into electroclash, with bands including Adult and Ladytron. He also had an emo phase with Juliana Theory and Saves the Day. Quite honestly his taste is all over the place.
Tommy’s Choice
My younger son, Tommy, is pretty consistent in that he likes a good beat and is often drawn to 70s soft rock a la Chicago and Stevie Wonder. I like that the boys are able to explore the musical styles they like. For the last three years, I’ve made them a series of mix CDs that have included songs they have identified as liking. The first consisted of Danny’s favorites, including “Misery” by Soul Asylum, “God’s Away on Business” by Tom Waits (who Danny thought was Cookie Monster), and “Oh Happy Day” by Edwin Hawkins Singers. Clearly, his taste is quite diverse!
A Family-Friendly Mixtape
With the CDs, I can put even random ads and jingles he likes including his favorite song, which is a Battle Beasts commercial from the 80s, a Ford Taurus commercial from 1986, and the Skyrizi medicine jingle. I can’t quite recreate that on a Spotify playlist but I have put here a bunch of songs for a family-friendly road trip soundtrack enjoyed by both kids AND adults. The gamut is run here as it ranges from Alice Cooper and Motorhead to Sesame Street and Kermit.
Some of the songs on this family-friendly mixtape my kids heard from my dad’s weekly radio show, Uncle Ken’s Rummage Sale on WCNI. Others they heard from me, some from television or movies, but all of these songs are favorites of my sons (as crazy as some of these may sound!). Hopefully, these will get your kids’ fingers snapping like Tommy or playing air guitar like Danny.
Give the family-friendly mixtape a listen!!
Kidz Bop Playlist
- Stan Bush – The Touch
- The Big Show Theme
- Soul Asylum – Misery
- Bad Livers – Adventures of Pee Pee the Sailor
- Bruce Stringbean – Barn in the USA
- Bruce Springsteen – Born in the USA
- Foreigner – Urgent
- Bastille – Quarter Past Midnight
- Sleater-Kinney- You’re No Rock n’ Roll Fun
- Low vs Diamond – I’ll Be
- Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You
- Taylor Swift – Shake It Off
- Ryan Adams – Luminol
- Saves the Day – Sell My Old Clothes, I’m Off To Heaven
- Little Feat – Oh, Atlanta
- George Michael – Freedom! ‘90
- Johnny Horton – North to Alaska
- Roky Erickson – I Walked with a Zombie
- The Shins – Mildenhall
- P.O.D. – Goodbye for Now
- Vince Guaraldi Trio – Linus and Lucy
- Katy Perry – Firework
- HAIM – Want You Back
- The Beach Boys – Merry Christmas Baby
- Paul Evans – Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat
- The Gap Band – You Dropped a Bomb On Me
- The Kinks – Strangers
- The Black Keys – Stack Shot Billy
- Gordon from Sesame Street – Tell Them
- Addams Family Theme
- Ray Parker Jr. – Ghostbusters
- Jonathan Richman – I’m So Confused
- Sean Rowe – My Little Man
- G. Love and Special Sauce – She’s The Rock
- Bobby Darin – Splish Splash
- Lou Bega – Mambo No. 5
- Air – Kelly Watch the Stars
- Mayer Hawthorne – The Ills
- Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop the Feeling
- Alice Cooper – School’s Out
- Fountains of Wayne – Lost in Space
- Arcade Fire – Everything Now
- Ernie and Hoots – Put Down the Duckie
- Phil Collins – Sussudio
- KT Tunstall – Black Horse and The Cherry Tree
- Rick Derringer – Real American
- Ryan Adams – Gimme Something Good
- Mark Morrison – Return of the Mack
- The Doors – Roadhouse Blues
- The Hollies – Long Cool Woman
- Steve Miller Band – The Joker
- Chicago – Saturday in the Park
- Duck Tales theme
- Belinda Carlisle – We Want the Same Thing
- Money Inc theme
- Sesame Street – Born to Add
- Andrea True Connection – More, More, More
- Blue Man Group – Above
- Len – Steal My Sunshine
- Gladys Knight and the Pips – Midnight Train to Georgia
- George Harrison – My Sweet Lord
- Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – Apologies
- Abandoned Pools – The Remedy
- Jackson Browne – Somebody’s Baby
- Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street
- Ratatat – Neckbrace
- Minnie Ripperton – Lovin’ You
- Justin Timberlake – Mirror
- KISS – Detroit Rock City
- The 88 – All I Want For Christmas Is You
- Marilyn Manson – This is Halloween
- Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
- Boukman Eksperyans – Tande M Tande
- The OneUps – Crash Man
- Cinderella – T.L. Ako Sa’yo
- Kermit – Rainbow Connection
- St. Germain – Rose Rouge
- Giorgio Moroder – Chase
- Daft Punk – Verdis Quo
- Atlanta Rhythm Section – Do It Or Die
- Air – All I Need
- David Coffin – Safe in the Harbor
- Blur – Moroccan People’s Revolutionary Bowls Club
- Superhero Second Line – Jingle Bells, Batman Smells
- Fountains of Wayne – Denise
- The Gaslight Anthem – 45
- Ladytron – Seventeen
- Frozen – Lost in the Woods
- Undertaker theme song
- Bob Seger – Old Time Rock and Roll
- Hank Williams Jr. – All My Rowdy Friends
- G. Love and Special Sauce – Birmingham
- Motorhead – Born to Raise Hell
- Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
- The Edwin Hawkins Singers – Oh Happy Day
- Sufjan Stevens – Santa Claus is Coming to Town
- Cinderella – Ikaw Ang Idol Ko
- Tom Waits – God’s Away on Business
- Bert and Ernie- Lonesome Joan
- Elvis – Viva Las Vegas
- Michael Jackson – Beat it
- Jimmy Buffett – Fruitcakes
- Baha Men – Who Let The Dogs Out
- Flyleaf – What’s This
- Sleater-Kinney – All Hands On The Bad One
For more mixtapes, check these out: BYR&BT mix, A Very Merry Yacht Rock Christmas, and Under the Covers.
