Tuesday Top Ten: "School" Songs

Today was the first day of school for Chicago Public Schools, so all three of my offspring are back in the clutches of their teachers.  To celebrate this blessed (?) occasion, I am going to give you my ten favorite songs with the word "school" (or some variation thereof) in the title, along with an abbreviated description of each song.  These are in no order whatsoever.  Bear with me, I'm running on 15 fewer minutes of sleep than I'm used to getting.

1.  "School's Out" by Alice Cooper
Yes, it has to do with school getting out, rather than the first say of school, but I didn't come up with this list to leave the greatest "school" song off of it.


2.  "School Days" by Chuck Berry
It has the same melody as another Berry classic, "No Particular Place To Go," which is perhaps not a coincidence, as my truant officer always told me, "Maybe you should go to school if you have no particular place to go."  God, he thought that was so fucking funny.  I should also mention that I'm actually 70 years old and have delusions.


3.  "School Spirit" by Kanye West
Unfortunately, this is the only song on the list that mentions both Greek letters and pimps.


4.  "Be True to Your School" by The Beach Boys
There are two versions of this song, and I'm going with the one that has the cheerleader yells in the background.  This one is an ode to the Wilson brothers' high school, Hawthorne High School, and it has the same melody as "On Wisconsin," the University of Wisconsin's fight song that had the same melody as Hawthorne's fight song.


5.  "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" by The Yardbirds
Originally recorded in 1937 by blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson, England's most famous guitar-legend-producing band The Yardbirds covered the song in 1964 (with Eric Clapton on guitar, whose talents are featured in the solo). 


6.  "Catholic School Girls Rule" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
This rarely performed funk punk gem was inspired by a tryst lead singer Anthony Kiedis had with a local Catholic high school girl before discovering her age. Just a warning, the video likely is not safe for your workplace, unless you're employer is, like, totally cool with boobs.


7.  "Rock 'N' Roll High School" by The Ramones
I use the opening line to describe otherwise mundane things to my kids where we are going to listen to rock and roll, like "rock rock rock rock rock and roll dinner."  It's the little things that keep you sane.


8.  "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" by Paul Simon
This is fun-loving little ditty that only gained more appreciation from me when it appeared in The Royal Tenenbaums. And now I found out that the official video -- released in 1988, 16 years after the song came out -- features the likes of Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Mickey Mantle (who was likely two fifths of vodka deep at that point), John Madden, and Spud Webb.  Let's shag ass.


9.  "Old School" by 2Pac
A classic ode to old school hip hop from the GOAT.  There, I said it.


10.  "In School" by Runner & The Thermodynamics
This is one of those bands that broke up too soon, which is easy for me to say as an uninvolved observer.  Their 2004 self-titled debut is a barrage of great rock and roll, and this is a fine example.


11.  "Fuck School" by The Replacements
I just wish the message in this song was a little more upfront.