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Top 10 All Time Pop Singalong Songs
by Bill Lamb From
Your Guide to Top 40 / Pop
Whether
its in the car listening to the radio, at a sports
event, in a bar, or in the shower, one of the great
things about pop music is it invites you to sing along.
Some songs clearly are better than others for singing
along, and it takes some time for a pop song to establish
itself as a clear favorite. Read on for your guide's
picks of the best of the best in singalong favorites.
1) Baha Men - Who Let the Dogs
Out
This hit illustrates the narrow line between great
singalong and disturbing annoyance. For most its the
former and for some the latter...particularly faced
with a rowdy crowd reveling in imitating barking dogs.
The chorus is so irresistibly catchy it nearly forces
you to sing along if only in your head.
2) Beatles - Hey Jude
As the legend goes, this song was originally written
by Paul McCartney to try to cheer up a young Julian
Lennon when his father John was breaking up with Cynthia.
Regardless of how it came about, it soon had the world
singing along about taking a sad song and making it
better, and, particularly, that extended "Na
na na na" chorus.
3) Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive
You always wanted to try out your falsetto, right?
To get it absolutely right, you have to match Barry
Gibb's other-worldly falsetto note for note while
strutting down the street a la John Travolta.
4) Whitney Houston - I Will
Always Love You
This is the gold standard for aspiring pop divas.
If you can match Whitney Houston here, you might have
the goods for divadom. If your tastes lean more to
country than r&b, listen to Dolly Parton's original
recording of this song and singalong with her.
5) Tommy James and the Shondells
- Mony Mony
Where would wedding dances be without "Mony Mony?"
It's possibly the most memorable wedding dance shout-along
in history. The original by Tommy James is still the
best, but Billy Idol works up a good head of steam
on his version as well.
6) Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
- I Love Rock and Roll
You not only sing along with Joan, but you want to
crank up that guitar as well. Few songs do so well
at truly uniting rock and pop fans in 3 minutes of
pure bliss.
7) Don McLean - American Pie
"Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was
dry, them good ol' boys were drinkin' whisky and rye
singin' this'll be the day that I die." Could
Don McLean have had any idea at all this would be
one of the most familiar lyric lines in the history
of pop music?
8) Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
The movie Wayne's World showed Wayne and Garth rocking
out to this classic in their car, but it was only
a reflection of what so many of us had been doing
for 15 years. It's goofy and over the top, but easy
to sing along and full of killer hooks, that's pop
perfection.
9) Santana Featuring Rob Thomas
- Smooth
On "Smooth," Rob Thomas showed us all how
an ordinary white guy could transform himself into
a sexy Latin crooner. Sing along and you can imagine
yourself there.
10) Village People - YMCA
Thousands of people in stadiums and arenas around
the world stand up, spell out letters with their hands
and arms, and shout the abbreviation of the Young
Men's Christian Association when this is played over
loudspeakers. It is a pure singalong phenomenon.
From
Your Guide to Top 40 / Pop
