By Shannon Carlin
There are very few songs about laughter. There are songs about smiles and tears, and the way she moves and the way he talks, but laughter often eludes a description by songwriters. It’s best to just let it happen, whether on purpose or on accident.
Some of these laughs put to tape stand out on their very own, some are hidden and some are as noteworthy as the song itself. Could you ever listen to “Crazy Train” without thinking about Ozzy Osbourne’s maniacal laughter?
From Jay Z to Janet Jackson to Elvis Presley, some artists’ laughs have become as famous as they are. While other laughs will sound familiar because they’ve been used so often. Yes, that giggle on the “Macarena” is totally taken from another song, which also made this list.
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And when it comes to Grandmaster Flash’s famous chuckle, everyone’s just trying their hardest to imitate it.
Some artists have too many laughs to count (we’re looking at you, Lil Wayne), so for the purposes of this list, only one song from an artist is included—the one we consider to be the absolute best.
While there’s countless songs that feature a good laugh, both canned and totally off the cuff, here are the 63 that we think deserve some recognition.
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63. David Bowie “The Laughing Gnome”
On this novelty single, David Bowie teams up with a giggly little gnome, who sounds just like one of the Chipmunks. It’s all very fake until Bowie lets out a very real laugh in the final seconds of the song, perhaps in response to how ridiculous this whole thing is.
62. Eminem “My Dad’s Gone Crazy”
Eminem had to be crazy to let his little girl Hayley appear on this F-bomb filled track where she does as many voices as her good ol’ dad. She gets to show off her childish laugh too, both at the beginning of the track and again at the 4 minute and 23 second mark, which is rather adorable. Unfortunately, not even Hayley could save this song.
61. Pulp “Common People”
Jarvis Cocker throws off a laugh or two, nothing out of the ordinary, that expresses that rather uncomfortable feeling you have when you’re first dating someone and just want them to like you.
60. Annie Lennox “No More ‘I Love Yous'”
Annie Lennox brings her voice up a few octaves to play a group of very creepy laughers reading aloud a fairytale. What true nightmares are made of.
59. Pavement “Summer Babe (Winter Version)”
Stephen Malkmus’ snickers through a line about dropping the golden robe and then moves on like it never even happened.
58. New Order “Every Little Counts”
For those who think New Order is all doom and gloom, listen to this song where Bernard Sumner breaks 15 seconds in. The culprit for this laughing fit? Sumner says the words, which, in his opinion, were just so awful he couldn’t help but laugh.
57. Def Leppard “Rock of Ages”
Def Leppard do their very best Beavis and Butthead impression with the short stifled laugh that find its way onto this 1983 track.
56. Charli XCX “Doing It”
Taking a page from the Spice Girls, Charli XCX keeps things cheeky with the schoolgirl giggle that begins this Sucker track.
55. Flaming Lips “I Can Be A Frog”
For this silly song about being anything you want to be, even a frog, Wayne Coyne and the guys feature a recorded bit of a woman’s laugh that echoes the sentiment of the whole track.
54. Ben Folds “B—h Went Nuts”
The b—h may have went nuts, but Ben Folds sounds absolutely mad as he chuckles away after letting out a good expletive-filled recount of how she turned on him. Holy f—ing s–t is right.
53. The Pussycat Dolls feat. will.i.am “Beep”
Using ELO’s “Evil Woman” as its guide, Nicole Scherzinger uses her dark magic to laugh on cue as she makes it clear will.i.am needs to keep his hands off her beep.
52. Katy Perry “This Is How We Do”
Too cool to laugh out loud, but she just can’t hold back. That is how Katy do.
51. Faith No More “Land of Sunshine”
Like a creepy carnival clown, Mike Patton is sure to frighten children with this on-going bit of chuckles.
50. Justin Timberlake “Señorita”
Justin Timberlake sounds a little mischievous with this laugh that was way before he brought sexy back, but still enough to get a girl to go home with him.
Hear the rest of the laughs on Radio.com
