50 Years Name That Tune Game

My dad turns 50 tomorrow. I’ve been trying really hard to write him a letter expressing what he means to me and haven’t been able to do it; I just have too much to say.

Instead, I am going to create a version of his favorite game, Name that Tune, with 50 songs for his 50th birthday party, that we can play with my new pocket speaker when I’m there next week. I think it’ll be a great 50th birthday present.

I like to call myself a music lover but honestly compared to my dad, I don’t even like music.

Just to give you some idea of how much my dad loves music, he took a year off from working and created what he calls “Denny’s Opus,” a compilation of his top 1000 songs and 100 movies ever.

And he didn’t just put them on CDs in order from 1-1000, no that would be too easy. He actually narrated the collection with stories and reasons why those are his favorites.

I’m not sure my mom was super excited about the idea of him hanging out in his cave for an entire year working on his project but all of us that got a copy love it.

I listened to it while working at BYU one summer and had to keep myself from laughing out loud as my I listened to my dad singing a little diddy in between songs.

My dad is goofy, what can I say?

When someone asks me what kind of music I like, I have to answer all because I could listen to Fish Heads by Dr. Demento, the Les Miserables soundtrack, or Chicken Fried by The Zack Brown Band and be happy.

And I was first introduced to all three by my dad. I only hope that I can pass down that same love of  all types of music to K. So far so good. I think he liked dancing to the music.

Anyway, back to my gift. All my life I remember playing Name that Tune with my family. We played at every single family reunion, lots of family parties, and well just for fun in the car using songs on the radio.

The basic idea is that one person (always my dad) puts together a playlist of songs and then teams try to be the first one to shout out the name/artist of the song to win points for their team.

You can find full instructions in my black and white party post. The game is always super competitive at family reunions because my dad’s side of the family knows and loves music as well. When we play at parties with friends, not so much.

So for my dad’s birthday I’m going to change it up and create the playlist to let him play for once, and since I like themed games, I’ve created a playlist of 50 songs, one from every year he’s been alive.

It’ll be fun to see if he can beat the rest of us at guessing them. Here’s just a sample of my playlist. You can download the full list here or by clicking on the image below.

I recommend downloading the full playlist so that you have a printable version of this list but in case you’re just looking for tops songs from that 50 year range, here’s the full list of songs on the list!

1. 1963 – Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash
2. 1964 – I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles
3. 1965 – Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs
4. 1966 – These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ by Nancy Sinatra
5. 1967 – Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison
6. 1968 – I’m a Believer by The Monkees
7. 1969 – Leaving on a Jet Plane by Peter, Paul, and Mary
8. 1970 – Raindrops Keep Falling by B.J. Thomas
9. 1971 – Mr. Bojangles by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
10. 1972 – Take a Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed

11. 1973 – Killing Me Softly With His Song by Roberta Flack
12. 1974 – The Loco-Motion by Grand Funk Railroad
13. 1975 – Thank God I’m a Country Boy by John Denver
14. 1976 – Blinded by the Light by Manfred Man
15. 1977 – You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone
16. 1978 – Stayin’ Alive by Bee Gees
17. 1979 – My Sharona by The Knack
18. 1980 – Call Me by Blondie
19. 1981 – Endless Love by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
20. 1982 – Physical by Olivia Newton John

21. 1983 – Every Breath You Take by The Police
22. 1984 – Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
23. 1985 – Like a Virgin by Madonna
24. 1986 – That’s What Friends Are For by Dionne and Friends
25. 1987 – Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles
26. 1988 – Faith by George Michael
27. 1989 – She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals
28. 1990 – Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic
29. 1991 – Everything I Do by Bryan Adams
30. 1992 – I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston

31. 1993 – Whoomp There It Is! by Tag Team
32. 1994 – The Sign by Ace of Base
33. 1995 – One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey & Boys II Men
34. 1996 – Macarena by Los Del Rio
35. 1997 – You Make Me Wanna by Usher
36. 1998 – You’re Still the One by Shania Twain
37. 1999 – Believe by Cher
38. 2000 – Breathe by Faith Hill
39. 2001 – Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse
40. 2002 – The Middle by Jimmy Eat World

41. 2003 – In Da Club by 50 Cent
42. 2004 – Hey Ya by Outkast
43. 2005 – Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani
44. 2006 – Bad Day by Daniel Pewter
45. 2007 – Apologize by Timbaland and One Republic
46. 2008 – Low by Flo Rida
47. 2009 – Boom Boom Pow by Black Eyed Peas
48. 2010 – Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars
49. 2011 – Moves Like Jagger by Maroon Five
50. 2012 – Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen

51. 2013 – Roar by Katy Perry
52. 2014 – Let It Go by Idina Menzel
53. 2015 – Hello by Adele
54. 2016 – Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake
55. 2017 – Shape of You by Ed Sheeran
56. 2018 – Shallow by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
57. 2019 – Old Town Road by Lil Nas X & Billey Ray Cyrus
58. 2020 – Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
59. 2021 – Good 4 Us by Olivia Rodrigo
60. 2022 – Heat Waves by Glass Animals
61. 2023 – Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift

If you like the idea of name that tune, try out one of these fun musical party games next!

• Christmas music bingo – this fun game will have you playing bingo while listening to Christmas music!
• Christmas name that tune – a fun version of name that tune using just Christmas songs!
• Baby song game – a fun baby shower game using songs with the word baby in them!
• Adult party games – including one of the best music games I like to call Doo Doo Doo!
• Water balloon games – lots of musical variations in here like musical water balloons, a musical water balloon toss, and more!