Classic New Year's Songs

A song to begin the new year can be anything from a ballad to a complete party song. If you are young and wanting a completely up to date party list, you should probably check out a list belonging to someone else. I realize my limitations as there is not one of these songs from after 2003 and most are older than me or from my teens-classic, right? Don't answer that question.

Kool and the Gang Celebration (1981)

There is no better embodiment of a party song than Celebration. This song is so obsessively addictive to me that I can listen to it at most twice a year. It is one of those songs that will remain with you a week after hearing it. The fact that Celebration was released when I was three and I am now thirty-two and talking about it says a lot about its popularity. I don't know if I would realize who Kool and the Gang was without this song.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebration_(song)

Prince 1999

A song that truly transpires time, 1999 may now be a distant memory for those of us old enough to remember it but the song is still appropriate for parties. The timelessness of this song was evident to me the last time my husband and I discussed it. He wanted to say it was released a few years before we graduated high school in 1995. A few years? A quick Internet search says 1999 was released back in 1982. He and I were in Kindergarten. Perhaps Prince knew better than to name a song 1983 as it would quickly become dated? 1999 was special outside of being just any year though and Prince knew it. It was the end of a millennium and that is something most humans will never witness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_(song)

Robert Burns Auld Lang Syne

One song that belongs on any New Year's list is Auld Lang Syne. The words to this song were written in 1788 by Robert Burns though a part was taken from James Watson in 1711. It is undeniably the song for the new year. "Auld Lang Syne" is Scottish for "Days Gone By." The new year is a holiday that blurs time. The song's words derive heavily from this fact. Auld Lang Syne is about memories of the past and whether it should be forgotten. The future is coming whether we want it to or not and Auld Lang Syne is usually interpreted as keeping up with long-ago friendships while looking ahead. The song is sung at midnight in much of the world but is on other occasions as well. The Beach Boys have a nice version of this song recorded also.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

Montell Jordan This is How We Do It

When I saw this topic, this was one of the songs that immediately came into my head but I'm hiding it in the middle because I already look like a dork with my list. It reminds me of my Senior year in high school and truly not having a care in the world. This is How We Do It was released by Montell Jordan in 1995. New Year's Eve is always Friday night when it comes to parties so this song fits the occasion perfectly. Granted, New Year's Eve is not a time for "summertime skirts" as the song indicates (unless of course you turn the heater on but it is still during the Winter) the song embodies the theme of the New Year, or a lot of alcohol drinking. For a whole lot of people, it is the same difference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_How_We_Do_It

C&C Music Factory's Gonna Make You Sweat (1990),
Gonna Make You Sweat is a song about dancing and having a good time. "Let the rhythm move you" into a new year. I need more songs for the new year. I'll make it a resolution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonna_Make_You_Sweat

It is fine to want a little more of the past before you start over. Like Auld Lang Syne, remember your past relationships and for us '80s kids remember when love felt huge and mysterious, attainable yet out of reach. Yes, I am frustrated with not finding enough new year songs.

Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes I've Had the Time of My Life (1987)

Ah, reflection. Something realized back in 1788 with Robert Burns Auld Lang Syne and almost two hundred years later with a song from Dirty Dancing, you cannot entirely escape the past so embrace the best parts. The best part includes love and remembering no matter what the new year brings, you have already enjoyed part of your life with your loved one. There is a lot to be said for getting older so embrace it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ve_had_the_time_of_my_life

Eric Clapton Wonderful Tonight (1977)

Another song about reflection and love, Wonderful Tonight is a perfect new year song if it is just you and someone you love. The beginning of a new year deserves to be wonderful and you deserve to know love so forget all pretenses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderful_Tonight

KC& The Sunshine Band Get Down Tonight (1975)

Get Down Tonight is considered disco, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. It sends a message anyone of any generation can agree to "do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight, get down tonight."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Down_Tonight

KISS Rock n Roll All Nite (1975)

Rock n Roll All Nite is another song that I thought of initially with the new year. Most songs I thought of were party and dance songs though. Parties and dancing for the new year? Perfect-rock n roll all nite, literally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_%27n_Roll_All_Nite

Black Eyed Peas Let's Get it Started (2003)

The beginning of a new year is started so why not get started? Let's Get it Started is an insanely addictive hip hop dance song that is appropriate for starting anything-especially a new year. It is a song about letting go, which is typically what the new year is about. So get it started .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lets_get_it_started