Top 10 Back to School Songs

Today is the first day of school for most kids, so I thought that I would post the Top 10 best back-to-school related songs.  These songs are in no particular order.  Unfortunately, my favorite song about school…”School’s Out” by Alice Cooper…won’t work for this list because it’s about the end of the school year.  Please write in the Facebook Comments section your favorite back-to-school song.

1. The Beach Boys – “Be True to Your School”

The song features the melody of the University of Wisconsin’s fight song, “On Wisconsin.”  Twisted Sister parodied the title on their song, “Be Chrool to Your Scuel.”

2. “Weird Al” Yankovic – “School Cafeteria”

This was one of the very first recordings by Al in 1976.  He re-recorded it in 1979 and released it as the B-side of his original bathroom version of “My Bologna.”  It’s never been released properly on any album of his (though it has been released on Dr. Demento’s Basement Tapes 7).

3. Bobby Rydell – “Swingin’ School”

It was from the movie Because They’re Young.

4. The Jackson 5 – “ABC”

It’s one of the shortest titles of a #1 song, according to Billboard.

5. Pink Floyd – “Another Brick on the Wall (Part 2)”

It was from the concept album The Wall, and it’s a protest song against rigid schooling (particularly boarding schools in the UK).  It’s Pink Floyd’s only #1 song.

6. Chuck Berry – “School Days”

Chuck would reuse the song’s arrangement for his song “No Particular Place to Go.”  It’s been covered by Gary Glitter, Jan & Dean, The Beach Boys, AC/DC, Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, and even The Simpsons.

7. Deftones – “Back To School (Mini Maggit)”

The song is a shorter, heavier version of their song, “Pink Maggit.”

8. Timbuk3 – “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”

According to the song’s writer, Pat MacDonald, the song’s positive message was meant to be ironic.  He meant it to be that a nuclear technician would graduate to get a job making nuclear bombs, which would blow us all away.

9. Sonny Boy Williamson – “Good Morning, School Girl”

Probably the most famous cover of this song was by The Yardbirds, but they titled it, “Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl.”

10. Van Halen – “Hot for Teacher”

The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) protested the song by calling for it to be pulled off the radio and the video pulled off MTV because of its sexually suggestive nature.