Here Are 10 Kids’ Cartoon Theme Songs Written & Performed by Rock Stars

Cartoons are a staple of childhood, and plenty of musicians have kept their inner-kids alive by making music for animated shows that find their way into family living rooms (and, since it hasn’t stopped in the streaming era, tablets too).

Many famous artists have performed the themes written by others — like Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, who sings over the opening credits for Fox Kids’ Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Or Little Richard’s energetic take on The Magic School Bus and Simple Plan’s pop-punky gig for What’s New Scooby Doo. The B-52s sing Nickelodeon’s Rocko’s Modern Life track and Solange teamed up with her sister and Destiny’s Child for Disney Channel’s The Proud Family opener. Christina Milian entered the Disney family too, adding her voice to Kim Possible’s “Call Me, Beep Me!” And don’t forget Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers’ delightful performance of “Believe in Yourself” while Arthur began on PBS.

But these nine tracks were written by the rock stars – some simply instrumental, others full on singable bops that get stuck in your head if you’re with a kid who loves the shows. Old-school rockers like Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh, Oingo Boingo’s Danny Elfman and Iggy Pop are joined in this group by the likes of They Might Be Giants, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump and blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus.

Whether the series follows babies, super heroes, extra-terrestrials, iconic Disney characters, famous toys or are adaptations of well-known kid’s literature, scroll through these rocking cartoon theme songs below.