Road Trip Tunes

Music to Drive To: Kid-Friendly Tunes for Road Trips

By Brie Latini

Long car rides with kids can be tough. Keeping everyone amused, fed, and peaceful is a huge undertaking, and you have to do all of that while safely operating a vehicle! It’s no joke. Music can help keep the peace but, now that you’re a parent, you can’t exactly blast your favorite Tupac album. Your choices need to be free of swear words and sexual innuendos, but that does not mean you have to submit to terrible music. Here are ten albums that are kid-appropriate and yet not offensive to your grown-up taste in tunes:

1. Snacktime - Barenaked Ladies: Your favorite Canadian band created an album for kids! The kiddos will crack up singing along to songs such as “7,8,9,” “Allergies,” and “The Canadian Snack Time Trilogy!”
2. Trolls Motion Picture Soundtrack - Various Artists: Two words, people: Justin. Timberlake.
3. Philadelphia Chicken - Sandra Boynton: Quirky, funny and creative, this album hosts a bevy of superstars such a Kevin Bacon, Meryl Streep, Patti LuPone and Laura Linney rocking out to songs by beloved kids author Sandra Boynton.
4. Wreck-It Ralph (Original Score): A sweet movie with an equally sweet soundtrack (think “sa-WEET vs. sugary sweet) featuring great songs by Owl City and a score by Henry Jackson.
5. Smile - Mr. Steve and Miss Katie: Philadelphia-area favorites Mr. Steve and Miss Katie have hit it out of the park with an album geared towards younger children and the music-loving parents who raise them.
6. Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks - Various Artists: A bevy of 1990’s bands rocking out the songs of your Saturday mornings! The stand-outs are “I’m Just a Bill” by Deluxx Folk Implosion, “Three Is the Magic Number” by Blind Melon, and “Unpack Your Adjectives” by Daniel Johnson.
7. Let All the Children Boogie (A Tribute to David Bowie) - Various Artists: Yours kids need Bowie in their lives and they will thank you for it.
8. The Muppet Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack): This one is a great road trip movie as well. Isn’t it high time your kids watched the movie you loved when YOU were a kid?
9. Here Comes Science - They Might Be Giants: Songs about the elements, electricity and paleontology from your favorite 90’s band!
10. Really Rosie - Carole King: I know your kids think Beyoncé is the Queen, but they are mistaken. Carole King is Queen, and a rousing chorus of “Chicken Soup With Rice” will make even the most plain road trip topography cheerful!

All of these albums are available for download from iTunes. Enjoy the drive!