‘Baby’ happens to be one endearment which features a little too often in romantic numbers. This is a list of 15 most popular romantic songs with the word ‘baby’ in the title.
“So Cosmo says you’re fat/Well I ain’t down with that!”
Sir Mix-a-Lot’s smash hit, Baby Got Back ran into a lot of trouble when it released in 1992, thanks to its rather outspoken rant on women’s posteriors. 22 years since, the song has been revisited by Jonathan Coulton for Glee, and more famously by Nicki Minaj in Anaconda. The once-objectionable song is now seen to be sending out a positive message to women, encouraging them to embrace their curves, rather than trying to achieve unrealistic standards of beauty, personified in part by the media and the fashion industry.
Songwriters, over the years, have been overwhelming in their use of the endearment, ‘baby’. It is no surprise, then, that the songs we’ve got in this list include everyone from the King to Mr. Bieber himself.
So, here’s the list―we’ve got country, rap, R&B, rock, hip hop, and much more―all of which have the word ‘baby’ in their title. Sing along, fellas!
Popular Songs With ‘Baby’ in the Title
Baby, Baby
AMY GRANT
Baby, baby
I’m taken with the notion
To love you with the sweetest of devotion
Baby, baby
My tender love will flow from
The bluest sky to the deepest ocean
Amy Grant’s Baby, Baby is a sweet song, which also happens to be one of the biggest hits of her career. The song has an innocent ring to it, and centers around the idea of how a relationship should basically be fun, more than anything else. To those of you who’ve never heard this 1991 hit, we urge you to give it a listen―the song’s simplicity retains its freshness even today.
Baby, I Love Your Way
BIG MOUNTAIN
Ooo, baby, I love your way, everyday
Ooo, baby, I love your way, everyday
Shadows grow so long before my eyes
And they’re moving across the page
Suddenly the day turns into night
Far away from the city
American reggae band, Big Mountain did a cover version of this Peter Frampton classic, giving it a delightful spin. The song went on to be one of the biggest hits of 1994, thanks in part to being featured in the cult classic movie, Reality Bites
Always Be My Baby
MARIAH CAREY
You’ll always be a part of me
I’m part of you indefinitely
Boy don’t you know you can’t escape me
Ooh darling ’cause you’ll always be my baby
R&B queen Mariah Carey gave us this soulful song in 1996. The song essentially talks about how true love triumphs despite the odds stacked firmly against it. The 1990s was Mariah Carey’s decade in every sense―she was in the prime of her career, notching up one hit after another. But what set this song apart was that it talked about estrangement in a very positive light, saying that love is an emotion that never really dies, after all.
Ice, Ice Baby
VANILLA ICE
If there was a problem, Yo, I’ll solve it
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it
Ice Ice Baby Vanilla, Ice Ice Baby
Ice Ice Baby Vanilla, Ice Ice Baby
Say what you want to, judge all you want to―but I think it’s safe to say that anyone over the age of 25 right now has lip-synced to this song more than once in their lifetime. And those over 30 are sure to be mouthing, Alright stop/Collaborate and listen/Ice is back with my brand new invention… as they’re reading this. Aaand enough said.
…Baby One More Time
BRITNEY SPEARS
My loneliness is killing me
I must confess, I still believe
When I’m not with you I lose my mind
Give me a sign
Hit me baby one more time
Britney Spears exploded on to the pop scene with this hugely successful single in 1998. The Spice Girls were already beginning to fall apart by this time, and it just left the stage open for this young singing sensation from Louisiana to take over. Britney’s career took off in a big manner after this song, and it still reminds us of the time when her singing talents were more talked about than her tumultuous private life.
Baby
JUSTIN BIEBER
And I was like
Baby, baby, baby oooh
Like baby, baby, baby nooo
Like baby, baby, baby oooh
I thought you’d always be mine
“Baby” ranks among the Biebs’ best-known songs, released in 2010. I’d refrain from saying “popular”, since he happens to be one artist who seems to invite love and loathing in equal measure. Well, love him or hate him, Justin Bieber happens to have a massive following of “Beliebers” who claim to love this number.
Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)
THE FOUR SEASONS
Bye bye baby baby goodbye
bye bye baby don’t make me cry
You’re the one girl in town I’d marry
Girl I’d marry now if I were free–
I wish it could be
We’re going back to 1965 to revisit this wonderful song by the American band, The Four Seasons. They were a highly successful international act before Beatlemania hit, and this song stands testimony of their talent. The song itself is quite touching, and talks about ill-timed love―possibly the worst kind of love among all the love there is.
Baby Come Back
PLAYER
Baby come back,
Any kind of fool could see
There was something in everything about you
Baby come back, you can blame it all on me
I was wrong, and I just can’t live without you
Released in 1977, this single was the biggest hit for the American rock band, Players; it was also their sole Billboard number one. The song went on to inspire other cover versions, but what remains most memorable about the original is the song’s title as the hook, making up the chorus.
My Baby Left Me
ELVIS PRESLEY
Yes my baby left me,
never said a word.
Was it something I done,
something that she heard?
Originally written and sung by blues singer Arthur Crudup in 1950, My Baby Left Me was brought into the limelight by the King himself when he included it along with his 1956 single, I Want You, I Need You, I Love You. Several cover versions exist, but if you’re looking for the most soulful of them all, turn to the original blues number by Crudup.
Be My Baby
THE RONETTES
So won’t you, please? (Be my, be my baby)
Be my little baby
(My one and only baby)
Say you’ll be my darlin’
This smash hit song from 1963 is an icon from what used to be the era of rock&roll. It manages to feature in every publication’s ‘greatest hits of all time’. Be My Baby went on to become the all-girl band, The Ronettes’ signature song, and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Now, even 50 years later, the song sounds as fresh and appealing as it was all those years ago.
Hey Baby
NO DOUBT
I’m the kinda girl that hangs with the guys
Like a fly on the wall with my secret eyes
Takin’ it in, try to be feminine
With my makeup bag watchin’ all the sin
Gwen Stefani’s vocals lifted this otherwise-plain song to a higher-than-deserving pedestal. Also, the quirky video, with band member Adrian Young going full monty contributed a lot towards popularizing this song. It’s got a nice rhythm and will get you dancing in no time.
Baby-Baby-Baby
TLC
And you want my love, well that’s alright
Well it will be there for you morning, noon and night
But you gotta be good
And do it right
R&B band, TLC had a great run during the nineties, and had a string of hits to their name throughout the decade. They began by performing as an opening act for MC Hammer, and went on to chart their own success story eventually. Baby-Baby-Baby is a classic R&B number which featured in their debut album, and went on to become their second consecutive Top 10 hit
Tell Me Baby
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Tell me baby what’s your story
Where you come from
And where you wanna go this time
Tell me lover are you lonely
Red Hot Chili Peppers is one awesome band with a lot of good music to their credit. Tell Me Baby may not rank among their best-known songs, but is definitely worth a listen. The song describes the struggles faced by those who come to big towns in search of fame and fortune, with each one’s story being different.
Baby Love
THE SUPREMES
Ooh baby love, my baby love
I need you, oh how I need you
But all you do is treat me bad
Break my heart and leave me sad
Diana Ross’ powerful vocals are the highlight of this 1964 hit. You can listen to it even today, and it won’t sound one bit dated. It actually takes you back in the times when pop singers relied on their music to make an impression, rather than mix it up with some rather undesired shenanigans.
Bang Bang
CHER
Bang bang, you shot me down
Bang bang, I hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, my baby shot me down.
And at long last, we get to my personal favorite from this list―Bang Bang by the original diva herself, Cher. The song was written by her then-husband and frequent collaborator, Sonny Bono. Innumerable versions of this song have done the rounds, including one by Nancy Sinatra, used in the opening sequence of the movie, Kill Bill Volume 1. But Cher knows how to do it best, and if you haven’t heard her version, you haven’t heard the song at all.
It is amply clear by now that the word ‘baby’ has been done to death by the music industry―but such is the appeal of this endearment, that it ain’t gonna stop any time soon. Think we missed any songs? Do let us know.
