Mother’s Day and Songs for Mama

Music About Your Mom: Mother Songs

Mother’s Day

The modern holiday of Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in West Virginia.  There were Ancient versions of Mother’s Days, but they were more about fertility and birth. Anna’s idea to make Mother’s Day a real holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her own mother, Ann Jarvis, died.

Anna wanted to honor her mother by continuing the work she started and to set aside a day to honor all mothers because she believed a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”.

In 1868, Anna’s mother was Ann Jarvis, and she wanted to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War – so she created The “Mother’s Friendship Day” Committee. During the war, she organized what she called “Mother’s Day Work Clubs” to improve sanitation and health for both Union and Confederate soldiers for a typhoid outbreak, which was a big problem. 

Young Anna saw how her mom used other mothers, to help everyone on both sides and maybe healed a bit after the Civil War, so she really recognized the importance of mothers, through her own mother’s actions, and she campaigned – a lot, and by 1911 every U.S. states observed the holiday one way or another, both formally and informally.

In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers. She was particular about the spelling – APOSTROPHE – S, to “be a singular possessive, for each family to honor its own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world.”

Anna never had any children herself- Her intention was to have a truly personal holiday for individual mothers, but it didn’t turn out that way. People call it a “hallmark Holiday’ after the greeting card company, and Anna was resentful of the commercialization of the holiday.

By the early 1920s, companies started selling Mother’s Day cards. (Hallmark didn’t sell Mother’s day Cards until the late 1920s) People gave their mothers candy and carnations, but Anna thought that the companies and people in general, misinterpreted and exploited the idea of Mother’s Day and that the emphasis of the holiday was supposed to be a sentiment, not profit. She was probably right – a phone call or visit is more personal than a card, so take mom out, or invite her in for dinner.

Mother’s Day is the #3 Day for Cards. Quality Time is probably the best gift for a mother.

Songs For Moms

1. I’ll Always Love My Mama – Intruders
2. Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler
3. A Song For Mama – Boyz II Men
4. Mother – Kacey Musgraves
5. Mother and Child Reunion – Paul Simon
6. The Sweetest Gift – Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris
7. The Best Day – Taylor Swift
8. My Mammy – Al Jolson
9. Mamma Mia – Abba
10. Mama Said – The Shirelles
11. Julia – The Beatles
12. (God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You – *NSYNC
13. Mama Don’t Forget To Pray For Me
14. Mom – Meghan Trainor
15. Mama – Il Divo
16. Mama Used To Say – Junior
17. Sadie – The Spinners
18. Look What You’ve Done – Drake
19. Mother – Ashanti
20. Mama’s Pearl – The Jackson 5
21. The Baby – Blake Shelton
22. The Mother – Brandi Carlile
23. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle – Glen Campbell and Steve Wariner
24. Like My Mother Does – Lauren Alaina
25. Where You Lead – Carole King
26. Ma – Rare Earth
27. The Wish – Bruce Springsteen
28. Mama – Genesis
29. Mama’s Song – Carrie Underwood
30. Mother’s Little Helper – Rolling Stones
31. Somebody’s Hero – Jamie O’Neal
32. One Heartbeat At A Time – Steven Curtis Chapman
33. My Daughter’s Eyes – Martina McBride
34. Turn To You – Justin Bieber
35. Mama Can’t Buy You Love – Elton John
36. I Got It From My Mama – will.i.am
37. Mother – Ray Charles
38. Mother-In-Law – Ernie K Doe
39. Mother – John Lennon
40. Thank You, Mom – Good Charlotte
41. My Yiddesha Mama – Willow Howard
42. Sweetest Devotion – Adele
43. Mama, We’re All Crazy Now – Quiet Riot (or Slade)
44. Oh Mother – Christina Aguilera
45. Dear Mama – Tupac Shakur
46. Mama, He’s Crazy – The Judds
47. Your Mama Don’t Dance – Loggins and Messina
48. Mama, Said Knock You Out – L.L. Cool J
49. Mother – Danzig
50. The Perfect Fan – Backstreet Boys
51. Mama Didn’t Lie – Jan Bradley
52. Coat of Many Colors – Dolly Parton
53. My Mama Told Me – Barbara Lewis
54. Mama Liked The Roses – Elvis Presley
55. Mama – The Spice Girls
56. Mama Told Me Not To Come – Three Dog Night
57. Hey Mama – Kanye West
58. Mother of Mine – The Band Perry
59. Mama, I’m Coming Home – Ozzy Osbourne
60. Mother – Sugarland
61. Mamma – Connie Francis
62. Mama Tried – Meryl Haggard
63. Mama Said – Metallica
64. Mother – Pink Floyd
65. M-O-T-H-E-R ( A Name That Means The World To Me) – Henry Burr
66. Your Mother Should Know – The Beatles
67. Mama’s and Papa’s – The Classics IV
68. Ma, He’s Making Eyes At Me – Eddie Cantor
69. Sylvia’s Mother – Dr. Hook
70. Mama Kin – Aerosmith
71. Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean – Ruth Brown
72. Roses for Mama – CW McCall
73. Motorcycle Mama – Sailcat
74. Throw Mama From The Train – Patti Page
75. Stacy’s Mom – Fountains of Wayne