10 SONGZ: Grocery Store Classics

Let's take a trip to the grocery store! 

I have childhood memories of going to grocery stores once a month with my mom. As an adult, I go to grocery stores frequently. Full disclosure: I don't know what I want to eat 2 weeks from now, yet still somehow always proceed to buy the same crap for myself every few days. ANYWAYS... Many songs I heard at grocery stores as a kid are still being played there today.

I guess this list could get very long if I included music from the late 90s, but the staples that come to mind are from an older time. These are some unintentionally milquetoast hits that became popular before The Chronic officially shattered the innocence of music marketing. Late 80s and early 90s. So today we breakdown the Grocery Store Classics. Don't act like you're above it, when it sure looks like you love it.

Here's 10 SONGZ! 

Don Henley The Heart of the Matter

This song has been king of the grocery store circuit for years. Kind of a perfect recipe for how to end up here. Singer is 10 years removed from his famous rock band, takes a crack at making a Grammy-baiting "mature" album, and its 4th single attains grocery store glory.

Steve Winwood Roll with It

I've heard this song in like 100 different grocery stores and only just now found out it's by Steve Winwood. And I always thought it was titled "Work with It." This man has lived like 7 different careers. Didn't know karaoke machine R&B was also in his bag.

Toad the Wet Sprocket Walk on the Ocean

Sometimes things at the grocery store can get pretty serious. "Somebody told me that this is the place where everything's better" hits a lot different while you're contemplating which flavor of Pop-Tarts you should buy this week. I often imagine walking on the ocean with Toad the Wet Sprocket.

John Fogerty Rock and Roll Girls

John Fogerty's best-selling solo album has a couple notable hits on there. But I feel like I've only ever heard its 3rd single "Rock and Roll Girls" while grocery shopping. Is that just me?

James Brown Living in America

I don't know what was actually considered "cool" in the mid-80s. Was Rocky IV cool? I just remember hearing this once at a Walmart in July while their station was counting down the greatest patriotic songs, and I found myself laughing through the whole thing.

Marc Cohn Walking in Memphis

Like I said before, sometimes things at the grocery store can get pretty serious. I don't think I ever doubted the sincere spirit of this song. Infusing soft rock with gospel isn't a crime. But because the world works the way it does... I'm always gonna associate it with the produce section.

Howard Jones Things Can Only Get Better

I didn't want to include too much synth-pop on here, as it predates most grocery store standards. But Howard Jones should have known when he wrote this hook that this song was gonna be more tied with adult contemporary than anything Duran Duran ever did.

Whitney Houston I'm Your Baby Tonight

There's always something funny about hearing a minor key song at a grocery store. I can feel my eyebrows narrowing downward. The shopping focus you walked in with has now become intense. You reach out for that can of tomato sauce and whisper into it: "I'm you baby tonight."

Huey Lewis & The News Doing It All for My Baby

These guys released 6 singles from their album Fore! and this was single #6. Sounds like an excessive amount, but singles like these tend to live forever in the grocery store circuit. For what it's worth, I've heard some Fore! songs on the radio. But this one's made for the bread aisle.

Go West The King of Wishful Thinking

Choosing songs for this blogpost, I couldn't believe this wasn't made in the 80s. I mean, 1990 is almost the 80s, but still. I wondered if this was by Calloway, but no. They're 2 white guys, and they look like a couple of dorks in their 30s. Just like me. I don't know if I should feel inspired or embarrassed.