3 One-Hit Wonders From the 1960s That My Two-Year-Old Loves Dancing To

One of the best things about being a parent is seeing your child grow. Watching them find new things like music is tremendous. You see how they respond, how they enjoy it. You watch their tastes blossom. Here below, I wanted to showcase three songs that our family enjoys. These are three tunes we return to often. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 1960s that my two-year-old loves dancing to.

“Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)” by Barry Mann from ‘Who Put The Bomp’ (1961)

This one should be self-explanatory. Indeed, any song that can put words like bomp or boomp or bimp or anything else like that into the lyrics will be a kid fan favorite. Certain words just grab their ears. And “bomp” is certainly one of them—at least for my two-year-old. Not only is the word in the song title a whopping four times, but it’s in the song lyrics about a billion more. So, if you are a parent and you are at the end of your patience one day, try putting this song on and letting your kid take a dance break.

“Sukiyaki” by Kyu Sakamoto from ‘Sukiyaki And Other Japanese Hits’ (1963)

Who doesn’t love to dance to this song? It’s an all-time classic for a reason. The sweeping, soaring melody is all-encompassing. It’s enrapturing. You don’t have to have a mortgage or a college degree to understand that. Some songs just engage our ears automatically. It’s as if they’ve been carved out of time itself—a sonic gem to entertain us in the otherwise dreary day-to-day. Well, “Sukiyaki” by Kyu Sakamoto is one of those. All humans get it, whether you’re two or 102.

“Wipe Out” by The Surfaris from ‘Wipe Out’ (1963)

Surf rock music is the stuff that can move all of our souls. Even instrumental surf rock songs get us to boogie. My two-year-old is proof of that. She doesn’t even need a surfboard to feel at home in the music. She can just look up from her blocks and stuffed animals and smile when this tune comes on. If we owned grass skirts, we’d all be wearing them. That’s the power of this awesome track.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images