Blippi Who? The 10 Best Danny Go! Songs According to a Toddler Mom (Who Hears Them in Her Sleep)
Before I had kids, I assumed I’d be listening to a lot of Disney songs and Sesame Street songs in the car — and I wasn’t wrong. But sometimes I want something with a little more… bounce?
Children’s entertainer Danny Go! has a lot of songs that fit this bill. His music is a little pop, a little EDM (electronic dance music), and a lot of fun. Upbeat and catchy, his songs will probably get stuck in your head — but I’d take something with a good beat stuck in my head over the usual kiddie songs any day. If you haven’t heard of him, it’s definitely worth checking him out on YouTube, where he’s become wildly popular over the past few years. (I have links to some of his songs embedded below.)
If I had to describe him, he’s like a cooler version of Blippi whose high-energy songs are decidedly more fun to listen to. (Sorry, Blippi. We do love “The Excavator Song” though!)
I think what makes Danny Go! more appealing, at least to my husband and me, is that his songs just *sound* better and naturally make you want to dance. This is no accident — Danny Go!’s songs are all about encouraging movement like hopping, ducking, and stretching, and his YouTube videos definitely illustrate this. (The one thing I’m not 100% into with the videos is the character Bearhead, a guy wearing a bear mascot head, who tends to be the troublemaker in several of Danny Go!’s songs. My kids LOVE him though.)
Here, in no particular order, are our family’s favorite Danny Go! songs:
- Gorilla Smash – This is currently my kids’ absolute favorite. On Friday afternoons around pickup, our daycare does a dance party. One Friday, I walked in to see all the kids with half-length pool noodles in their hands, banging them on the ground like drumsticks — copying the gorillas’ drum beats just as Danny Go! directed them. I giggle whenever I think of them living their best lives shouting “I pound the ground cuz I LOVE THAT SOOOOOOUND!” at the tops of their lungs during the chorus.
- Robot Dance – This was definitely the song that made me a Danny Go! fan. I came to this realization the day it was playing as we were getting out of the car at daycare drop off — and I was still listening to it when I got back in the car to head to work. (Did I also start it over again? I’ll never tell.) My 2-year-old laughs hysterically when we get to the “SPEED DANCE!” part, probably because I shake around all crazy. But watching him do his best robot dance moves in his car seat while singing “I’m a wobot, I’m a dancing wobot!” is what makes it my favorite.
- Drive Drive! – My husband asked where this song was when I was reading him my list, so I figured it earned its spot! No surprise, this one is about how much Danny Go! loves “to drive all the vehicles.” And, you guessed it, the vehicles include things like garbage trucks, race cars, and ambulances — and the sounds they make. My truck-obsessed 2-year-old is a big fan. Huge.
- The Millipede March – With lyrics like “But what I want… And what I need…<key change> Is to dance like a bug with a lot of feet! (Even more than a centipede),” how could this song NOT make this list? Doesn’t hurt that it’s got a fun beat too. It names upwards of half a dozen insects, so the bug-loving kids in your life will definitely enjoy it.
- Gimme That Garbage – If you don’t laugh at the title alone, this one is probably not for you! As you might expect, this little ditty is about the purpose of a garbage truck and how it collects the trash around your neighborhood. As the mother of a little boy who literally cannot see a garbage truck without announcing to everyone within earshot “WOOK! A GAWBAGE TWUCK!” this one is a definite winner.
- Glow in the Dark Shapes Dance – This is a fun one to listen to in the car because it’s got a peppy beat and is all about drawing various shapes in the air. On a different note: I’m about 99% sure you could slip this song into the playlist at a dance club and, if it was late enough into the night, it would go undetected as a song for kids.
- Digging in the Dirt – A big hit with both of my construction vehicle-obsessed sons. Danny Go! mentions classics like the excavator and the dump truck and gives a fun explanation of what they do. And there’s a part in the middle of the song that is definitely reminiscent of an old school Nintendo game.
- The Wiggle Dance! – A certified bop in my book! It’s similar to “The Robot Dance” and has a callback to “Digging in the Dirt,” which my kids love. It’s very synth-driven, a little like Calvin Harris songs.
- Chug Like A Train – This one is all about moving like you would if you were building a train track or driving a locomotive. Not gonna lie… this elder Millennial mama dusted off her dance moves from Quad City DJ’s 1996 hit “C’Mon n’ Ride It (The Train).” You know the ones.
- Swab the Deck! – A pirate-themed clean-up song that I definitely find myself tapping my toes to. My kids LOVE this one and ask Alexa to play it whenever we tell them it’s time to clean up. Whatever works!
BONUS: Airplane Mode! Neither my husband nor myself can quite put our finger on what this song reminds us of, but it’s definitely something. And I’m not mad about it. As you’d expect, this song is about flying in a plane (or hang glider or hot air balloon) and how nice it is in the air up there.
