There’s no reason you can’t rock out at your baby shower. Here are our picks for a great mix to liven up your party. You could play Rockabye Baby! lullabies, but we can’t be responsible for people falling asleep in the punch.

What are your favorite baby shower song ideas? Tell us in the comments!

P.S. Don’t miss Part 2 in this series for more of our playlist picks.

Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf

We say, why not reference Dennis Hopper at your baby shower? Besides, when the sweet little bun in your oven is entering the terrible twos, this pick will make a lot more sense.

Be My Baby – The Ronettes

We wanna be Ronnettes. Pencil skirts, teased hair and black eyeliner, crazy Phil Spector wall-of-sound production (and we do mean crazy).

Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses

Axl, Slash and co. really knew how to deliver a hard rock ballad. Plus those high notes kind of remind us of a baby’s high-pitched wail. You might was well start getting used to it now.

P.S. Check out our lullaby rendition here!

I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight – Bob Dylan

Okay, not so rockin’, but we were convinced this song was about a baby when we were little. Especially the line “Bring that bottle over here…”

Shower the People – James Taylor

Get it? SHOWER the people? By sweet BABY James. Get it?

Boys Don’t Cry – The Cure

Oh, they don’t? This is either highly ironic or a lovely bit of fantasy for expecting parents to indulge in. Also suitable for a bris. Hear our lullaby rendition here.

Cry, Cry, Cry – Johnny Cash

Yes, that’s more like it. Our country cousin, Hushabye Baby, covered this one quite beautifully. Check it out!

And the Cradle Will Rock – Van Halen

Don’t even dream of rocking your shower without this one.

Do you swoon for the man in black? Check out our country cousin, Hushabye Baby, a lullaby series for county music fans. Lullaby instruments meet gentle country sounds like guitar, Dobro and banjo to create soothing renditions of the songs of Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Carrie Underwood, Dolly Parton, Rascal Flatts, Garth Brooks, George Strait, Vince Gill, and Willie Nelson.

We’re very proud that the new series has already won four iParenting awards and has earned raves from County Weekly, GAC, Parade, CMT and others for the unique sound and for the charming eco-friendly packaging. Each CD comes with an exclusive baby food recipe, a story, mini-baby book and more.

Check out the site to see and hear more!

Like its sister program The Muppet Show, Sesame Street has attracted an astounding array of performers from all over the world of music. Starting with legends like Lena Horne when the show debuted and spreading out into rock, R&B, country and pretty much every other branch of musical expression, a guest spot on Sesame Street was proof positive that you’d made it. Here is the first installment my favorites from the show’s history, facilitated by the kindliness of YouTube.

Johnny Cash – Nasty Dan

The Man In Black sings a little tune about a no-good dude, his lousy wife and their crummy kid to a very appreciative Oscar The Grouch. Really shows how the program used to be a lot funkier and more emotionally complex than it is now.

 

Yo Yo Ma – Quartet for Honkers, Dinger and Cello

Virtuoso cellist Yo Yo Ma has performed alongside all sorts of musicians, but the weirdest have to be his puppet compatriots in the Sesame Street Chamber Music Society. Starting off with some gentle wordplay, sparks really start to fly when the group gets going.

Little Richard – Rubber Duckie

What’s better than Little Richard wearing a leopard-print jacket sitting in a bathtub? All of the aforementioned knocking out Ernie’s bathtub anthem. A few points taken off for the dismal 80s synthesized backing band aren’t enough to dislodge it from my list.

Listen My Brother – Count To Twenty

The late Luther Vandross (in the pink shirt) anchored this New York theater group, which appeared twice on the 1969 season of Sesame Street. This track is a great Stax/Motown breakdown from start to finish, culminating in an awesome fire escape raveup at the end.

 

P.S. Don’t forget to enter to win our new Lullaby Renditions of Queen CD!