The Ultimate Food Bank Playlist

A couple of weeks ago we asked for your favorite food-related tunes. We were blown away by the response we received and thank you for participating. So let’s get to it, shall we? Here is the ULTIMATE food bank playlist that is sure to help you fight hunger while boogying the day away.

Peaches – The Presidents of the United States of America

This song from the Seatle-based alternative rock group came at the tail end of the nineties grunge scene. It peaked at 27 on the US Billboard charts and seemed to be everywhere in 1996. The song was allegedly written while lead singer Chris Ballew sat under a crush’s peach tree.

Strawberry Fields Forever – The Beatles

Strawberry Fields Forever was penned by John Lennon. He wrote the song about the strawberry fields he grew up near in Liverpool. Lennon considered the song the best song he ever wrote, and in appreciation, a Central Park memorial to the Beatle bears the song’s name.

Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs – Fraiser theme

This appetizing song was penned for the Cheers spinoff Fraiser. In an interview with rock critic, Ken Levine, songwriter Bruce Miller explained how he came up with lyrics, “I immediately wrote the song/music itself, but then needed a lyric that would work, so I called my friend Darryl Phinnesse who is talented and really smart. I gave him the idea of the show and he called back with the idea of Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs. At first, I was a bit baffled myself until he explained that these were things that were “mixed up”….like Frasier Crane’s patients.” If it’s really about mental health, we don’t care; it still makes us crave eggs for breakfast!

Ice Cream – Sarah McLachlan

Canadian Lilith Fair founder McLachlan writes about finding someone who’s love is better than ice cream. We didn’t think anything could be better than ice cream.

I’m Such a Hungry Man – Bobby Troup

It really doesn’t get any better than a song that includes such gems as statements like, “Duncan Hines, he ain’t got nothin’ on me / I’ve been known to drive alone / To Butte, Montana to get a banana split.” Don’t ask us what the lines mean. We’ll be too busy tapping our toes along.

Junk Food Junkie – Larry Groce

Food bankers work on getting healthy, nutritious food on clients’ plates, but we can cheat by jamming to this oddball tune. This tune was something of a one hit wonder for singer songwriter Larry Groce who never saw any of his other songs chart.

Banana – The Aggrolites / Yo Gabba Gabba

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Banana is a fun word to sing, and yes, we do likey.

Lemon Tree – Trini Lopez

Although covered by many artists, Trini Lopez’s version of Lemon Tree is the most well-known. The folk song is based off a Brazilian song, Meu limão, meu limoeiro. While lemons may be too sour to eat raw, food bankers know the fruit is a welcome addition to nutritious meals.

Fried Neckbones and Some Homefries – Willie Bobo

Santana performed the track at Woodstock in 1969 and launched the Willie Bobo penned song it into greater public consciousness. We’ll take Bobo’s word that fried neckbones are worthy of song and who doesn’t like homefries?

Watermelon Man – Herbie Hancock

A funky standard, this song by legendary jazz man Herbie Hancock has us craving the unofficial fruit of summer, the watermelon, without even as much as a single lyric.

Rad Gumbo – Little Feat

One listen to this song, and you’ll be salivating for some good Creole cooking.

Watermelon Crawl – Tracy Byrd

A favorite of country western line dancers, Watermelon Crawl, is an ode to a, let’s be honest here, an awful sounding wine made out of watermelon. We prefer our watermelon as is, or else chopped up into a salad. 

Jack Johnson – Banana Pancakes

Bananas are popular fodder for musicians, and nothing fits a lazy Sunday morning of brunch in bed then listening to Jack Johnson’s 2005 hit. The song even inspired a recipe from Bon Appetite magazine.

Vegetable – The Beach Boys

Perhaps because they aren’t as sweet as their fruit cousins, vegetables haven’t inspired the tome of songs. This quirky Beach Boys song gives leafy greens the respect they deserve.

Bread and Butter – The Newbeats

Every playlist, just like every meal, is better with a little bread and butter. This song reached #2 on the charts back in the 1960s and sold more than one million copies; earning the Newbeats a gold record.

Food Party – The Barenaked Ladies

Part of the Barenaked Ladies first children’s album, Food Party’s relationship to food is, well, obvious.

The Teen Idles – I Drink Milk

One of the first hardcore bands to have national success, the D.C. based The Teen Idles weren’t anything like their shocking punk appearance suggested. They were straight-edge and perhaps that is where the inspiration for I Drink Milk came from.

“Weird Al” Yankovic – Eat It

Eat It is a parody of Michael Jackson’s hugely popular single, Beat It. The song proved more than just a joke for humorist Weird Al; he won a Grammy for it. Apparently, Jackson was sent the lyrics and signed off on the video spoof. The song, bolstered by the silly music video’s many plays on MTV, eventually reached gold single status. Oddly enough, the song surpassed its inspiration in the Australian billboard charts, spending more time at number one than Jackson’s.