One of the best and most fun parts of Bob’s Burgers is its numerous musical numbers. Whether its the characters singing their own songs or something that series creator Loren Bouchard and the other writers threw together for the credits, there’s no denying that there are plenty of wonderfully fun and sweet musical moments on the show.
So what makes a Bob’s Burgers musical number so great? It has to be the dedication from Bouchard himself, who has always filled his shows (particularly his earliest one, Home Movies) with a lot of music. Each of these ten musical numbers does a great job in showing off the talents of the voice cast, the sharpness of the writing team, and the humor of the show itself.
“Happy Crappy Place”
The season five episode “Late Afternoon in the Garden of Bob and Louise” finds Bob finally accepted into an exclusive community garden after he makes a deal to let Louise’s nemesis Logan do an “internship” at the restaurant, putting Louise and Linda in the unenviable position of having to deal with Logan and his equally irritating mother Cynthia.
The entire upside/downside to this deal is summed up in the delightfully jaunty “Happy Crappy Place.” Bob joyfully sings about his dream come true of “tomatoes, and sweet peas, and green beans.” Meanwhile, Louise and Linda express their exasperation at Logan being “the most annoying person that was ever born” and how Cynthia “brought her own tea.”
“Electric Love”
Gene Belcher had already shown in previous episodes that he was a boy who loved music (think back to the first season when he was obsessed with his triangle and performing at Jimmy Pesto’s). However, it wasn’t until the season three episode, “Topsy” that the middle Belcher child finally got to really show off his musical chops.
The song “Electric Love,” sung by Mr. Fischoeder and Gayle (Kevin Kline and Megan Mullally) is an incredible work of short musical theater. It tells the love story between Thomas Edison and Topsy, the elephant he electrocuted. The song builds to an exciting crescendo and adds layer after layer of instrumentation and choir, before culminating in Louise exposing Edison as a monster and almost electrocuting Tina.
“Nice Things Are Nice/Bad Things Are Bad”
Season 4 of Bob’s Burgers capped off with a pair of great episodes featuring two sweet little musical numbers. In “Wharf Horse” and “Wharf Horse II: The Wharfening,” Bob tries to convince Mr. Fischoeder to sell Wonder Wharf so a condo development can be built and Bob can finally open the fancy seaside restaurant he always wanted.
“Wharf Horse” features the song “Nice Thing Are Nice,” wherein Bob shares his own dream and all the things Mr. Fischoeder could do with the money. It also checks in with Tina, who has chained herself to Mr. Goiter, her favorite carousel horse. “Bad Things Are Bad” puts the original tune in a minor key, as Bob and Mr. Fischoeder sing about their misfortune and imminent death beneath the pier. Of course, one of Bob’s biggest regrets is that he’ll never know who “wins Game of Thrones.”
“I Don’t Need Music Anymore”
Gene is rarely seen without his trusty keyboard, and his love for music is no secret to anyone. He finally gets to live out his dream of being in a band when he forms the Itty Bitty Ditty Committee (in the episode of the same name). However, Gene’s lack of professionalism and musical knowledge eventually get him kicked out of his own band.
Feeling dejected, Gene decides to give up music forever. When he tries to think of what he could do instead, he almost immediately breaks into song, declaring “I don’t need music anymore,” as he ponders whether he could juggle, juice, or “be in Top Gun and be friends with Goose.”
“This is Working”
“Happy Crappy Place” worked so well as a song because of the juxtaposition of emotions. “This is Working” does the same thing in the episode “Lindapendent Woman.” Linda takes a job at Fresh Feed to make some extra cash, leaving Bob to run the restaurant on his own.
As Linda sings about how wonderful it is to be working and “wrangling carts,” Bob laments that he is “chopping up this lettuce, alone.” The song works wonderfully because of the emotion from both H. Jon Benjamin and John Roberts as Bob and Linda, respectively. Both of them hit those sad and happy notes perfectly.
“The Fart Song”
If it seems like there are a lot of Gene moments on this list, it’s only because he is by far the most inherently musical member of the Belcher family. He’s also the most obsessed with farts, as evidenced in the season four episode “The Frond Files.” Mr. Frond brings Bob and Linda in to hear each of their kids’ personal essays on “Why I Love Wagstaff,” and it’s Gene’s that delivers one of the best musical moments of the series.
Gene writes a story where he and the other kids attend “Fart School for the gifted.” After his keyboard is confiscated and subsequently released from “keyboard jail,” Gene plays an absolutely rocking song about how “farts will set you free.” This is the kind of song that would fit perfectly in a 70s rock opera. Its driving rhythm and sing-along chorus are a blast, and enough to bring Linda to tears, saying “It’s so beautiful. His farts set them free, he’s a hero!”
“The Nice-Capades”
The Christmas episodes of Bob’s Burgers are typically great, but “The Nice-Capades” is something truly special. When The Belcher kids accidentally spurn a mall Santa, Louise is convinced that she and her siblings are going to wake up to stockings full of coal. In order to change Santa’s mind, she convinces her family to help her put on an ice show where they can talk about all the nice things they did.
Gene does a number about letting regular-sized Rudy take the last taco at school while he was left eating nuggets (which he likes anyway). Tina sings about helping a horseshoe crab back into the ocean (and she definitely didn’t kick it, and it “had all the right number of legs” when she left it). Finally, as Louise is about to burst into an energetic song about all the nice things she did, she suddenly falters, and the music cues match her stumbling in such a beautiful way, as she realizes that this isn’t the right thing to do.
“Valentine’s Day”
Not every musical number on Bob’s Burgers has to be big and complex for it to be really great. Case in point, Gene’s short Valentine’s Day song in the sixth season episode “The Gene and Courtney Show.” After Gene and his former like-liker Courtney land the job of doing the morning announcements, they find their flame rekindling.
However, as their relationship begins to affect the quality of their work, Courtney decides to end it, leaving Gene feeling heartbroken. However, he finds it in himself to write a song about how like-liking and losing someone is far better than never having that feeling in the first place. The song is touching, cute, and is a good reminder that “your heart’s not broken, it’s only growing.”
“Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl”
Season five of Bob’s Burgers kicked off with one of the best episodes of its entire run, “Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl.” The episode found Gene and Courtney putting on competing musicals after the school decides to let the students pitch their ideas. Gene wants to put on his long-gestating Die Hard musical, while Courtney opts for Working Girl (The “sassy sister film to die Hard, according to Gene).
Gene ends up getting fed up with his entire cast and doing a one-man show in the boiler room, while it is very obvious that Courtney’s musical was done entirely by her Dad. Eventually, Gene and Courtney put their differences aside and combine their musicals into one amazing show, comprised of some incredible and catchy musical numbers. The episode then features a spirited performance of the play’s title track during the credits, featuring an appearance from Carly Simon (who had been promised through the entire episode)!
“Bad Stuff Happens in the Bathroom”
In the sixth season finale, “Glued, Where’s My Bob?” Bob finds himself stuck to the toilet after Louise tried to prank Gene. She covered the seat in Teddy’s special spackle, which means Bob is truly stuck, and almost nothing is going to help him come unstuck. The situation eventually draws the attention of most of the town, and is complicated by the fact that Bob is supposed to be doing an interview with Coasters magazine.
The centerpiece of the show is a sweet musical number sung by Bob and Louise (Kristen Schaal and H. Jon Benjamin really get the opportunity to show off their vocal chops). Both Belchers lament the situation, but hold out hope for it to be over and for everything to be “just fine.” The song hits a nice balance of emotion, and Benjamin and Schaal demonstrate some great vocal chemistry.
