Most Requested Thanksgiving Party Songs
Top Pop Hits Include Living On A Prayer & Give Peace A Chance
Oct 6, 2008
While there are popular children tunes and dinner songs appropriate for Thanksgiving celebrations, very few pop songs have been written for the Thanksgiving holiday.
This article ranks the most-in-demand songs with titles that include one of three words pertinent to Thanksgiving: prayer, thank and giving. The current Pop Culture Madness database for pop music requests was used for this study.
When one reflects on the significance of Thanksgiving this year, what better way to start than with pop songs that mention the word prayer in their titles?
Most Popular Prayer Songs For Thanksgiving
Bon Jovi’s Living On A Prayer deals with a young working-class couple striving to make it on their own in face of constant hardships. Like A Prayer has become Madonna’s most popular song internationally.
- Living On A Prayer (Bon Jovi) … Number 1 most-requested song from 1987
- Like A Prayer (Madonna) … Number 5 from 1989
- Prayer For The Dying (Seal) … Number 26 from 1994
- I Say A Little Prayer (Diana King) … Number 45 from 1997
- Travelin' Prayer (Billy Joel) … Number 67 from 1974.
Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote I Say A Little Prayer, which Dionne Warwick originally performed followed by Aretha Franklin in the sixties, followed by Diana King’s version for the 1997 Julia Roberts movie My Best Friend’s Wedding. Billy Joel’s Travelin’ Prayer is an upbeat song about protecting one’s love.
Most Popular Thank You Songs For Thanksgiving
John Denver’s ditty is a celebration of life on the farm, while Boyz II Men’s Thank You is a rhythm and blues tribute to a loyal and supportive lover.
- Thank God I'm A Country Boy (John Denver) … Number 2 most-requested song from 1975
- Thank You (Boyz II Men) … Number 18 from 1995
- Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself Again (Sly and the Family Stone) … Number 29 from 1970
- Thank You For Loving Me (Bon Jovi) … Number 33 from 2001
- I Thank You (Sam and Dave) … Number 36 from 1968
- Thank You (Dido) … Number 39 from 2001
- Thank U (Alanis Morissette) … Number 47 from 1998
- Thank You For Being A Friend (Andrew Gold) … Number 53 from 1978.
To show her gratitude for success as a pop star, Alanis Morissette wrote Thank U. Andrew Gold’s song was used as the theme music for the hit television series Golden Girls, which ran from 1985 to 1992.
Most Popular Giving Songs For Thanksgiving
Many songs like Marvin Gaye’s Got To Give It Up and Rick James’ Give It To Me Baby are still highly popular, yet are not readily associated with Thanksgiving. Below are song titles with the word give and that have at least some relevance for reflection at turkey dinner time.
- You Give Love A Bad Name (Bon Jovi) … Number 6 most-requested song from 1986
- Give Me Just a Little More Time (Chairmen of the Board) … Number 10 from 1970
- Don't Give Up (Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush) … Number 12 from 1987
- Give It To Me (Timbaland, Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake) … Number 29 from 2007
- Give It Away (Red Hot Chili Peppers) … Number 31 from 1992
- You Give Good Love (Whitney Houston) … Number 37 from 1985
- Give Peace A Chance (John Lennon) … Number 38 from 1969
- I've Got So Much Love To Give (Barry White) … Number 56 from 1973
- Give A Little Bit (Supertramp) … Number 56 from 1977
- Give Me The Night (George Benson) … Number 57 from 1980
- Give Me Just One Night / Una Noche (98°) … Number 60 from 2000
- Never Gonna Give You Up (Rick Astley) … Number 61 from 1988.
Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up is a rousing anthem from man whose passion has made him happily dependent on his lover.
Author’s Choice For Best Thanksgiving Song
In the song Give It Away, The Red Hot Chili Peppers pose another intriguing question to think about this Thanksgiving: “The more you give, the more you receive, so why not give it all away?”
Sources for this Article
This article presents independent calculations and insights based on Pop Music Charts song data presented by Pop Culture Madness and songfacts.com.
