All-time Skating Rink Songs List (Warning: Bad Pop Music within)

Cafe Society
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So, I’m doing some manual labor with a guy who likes to burn CDs. It’s a strange mix, but there are a few songs that, in my mind, belong in the Roller Rink Hall of Fame:

“Saturday Night” by the Bay City Rollers
“Little Willy” by Sweet
“Ballroom Blitz” by Sweet

All three of these songs epitomize the roller rink experience. Now I was never a rink rat, but we did go there occasionally. All of the above, I bet you could play in a skating rink today, and everyone would be out there bubblegum bopping to them.

Another that was played all the damned time when I was a kid was “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”, but I lived in Georgia when this song was at it’s peak popularity, so it could have just been a regional thing. Also I’m not sure it would transcend generations of pre-adolescent kids like the first three above.

What should be added to make this list complete?

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Open Arms, Journey
You’re The One That I Want, Grease

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Jet Airliner - Steve Miller Band
Another Brick In The Wall - Pink Floyd

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You’re No Good - Linda Rondstadt

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I’m sorry, but true roller skating rink music is played on an organ, no vocals, and nothing more peppy that a waltz.

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How about Dave “Baby” Cortez’ “Rinky Dink”?

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“Celebrate” by Kool and the Gang

“Funkytown”

“Pop Music”

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You gotta have Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice.

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When I was a skatin kid, I felt like Billy Swan’s “I Can Help” was the ultimate skating song: cheesy organ, perfect swinging rhythm, lame lyrics, bad vocals.

Running down the list above, I still think it’s the skatingest of all the skate songs.

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The song I recall most fondly from that short period of my life is:

“Rock and Roll Fantasy,” by Bad Company

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I skated in the 80’s. It was a regular activity for Girl Scouts.

So we heard a lot of “Cherry Pie” and “We Built This City”

And of course, The Hokey Pokey :slight_smile:

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Don’t forget Freeze Frame by The J. Geils Band

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Every time I hear “Lovefool” by the Cardigans, I think, “All Skate.”

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Close to thirty tears ago for me, but the theme from Hawaii 5-0 was played every time there was a racing competition. What do they play now?

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Years, of course… And I even previewed. :frowning:

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“Centerfold” by J. Geils Band and “Crazy for You” by Madonna.

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‘Kiss Me Deadly’ by Lita Ford, with the rink worker standing by to cut the sound when the word ‘Laid’ was about to be sung. Ah yeah.

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Two that were always played when I was a kid:

“YMCA” by the Village People. Always fun to see people wipe out while trying to do the arm motions.

And for the Women Only skate - “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor.

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“Blinded by the Light” (with the mirror ball all lit up)

I can’t remember the name - might be “Last Song” - something like, “It’s the last song, I’ll ever write for you…”

“Wipeout”

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“(Keep Feeling) Fascination” by The Human League, “PYT” by Michael Jackson and “Our House” by Madness are three that I remember being played a lot.

Our school used to sell skate tickets at the end of the year that would get us into the rink every Tuesday and Thursday all summer long, and my mom had an elderly aunt who would take my sister and me. Great memories!