Michael W Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Outside of stuff like "Macarena," "Hokey Pokey," "Chicken Dance," and "YMCA," what songs would you suggest are "must know" tunes for any keyboardist wanting to gig in the US? (Non-US responses might be interesting to hear as well.) Of course there will always be popular tunes of the moment, but assuming it's not a full-on Top-40 band, what do gigging players consider to be THE "standards" of 2013? Michael Montage 8, Logic Pro X, Omnisphere, Diva, Zebra 2, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Here are some of the ones that are pretty surefire... Sweet Caroline Don't Stop Believing Living on a Prayer My Girl Margaritaville Shout Build Me Up Buttercup and there's always some Stones, some Sinatra... Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Let's Stay Together -Al Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgoo Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Ya might need to have "celebration" on the list, but if you do, don't call on me to sub. Words can't describe how much I loathe that song... Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio www.gmma.biz https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Ya might need to have "celebration" on the list, but if you do, don't call on me to sub. Words can't describe how much I loathe that song... When I hired a band for my own wedding (a very long time ago), the only song request I gave them was that they were not to play that song. Sure enough, they played it. Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Ya might need to have "celebration" on the list, but if you do, don't call on me to sub. Words can't describe how much I loathe that song... When I hired a band for my own wedding (a very long time ago), the only song request I gave them was that they were not to play that song. Sure enough, they played it. I also banned this song at my wedding 25 years ago. The band complied. Damn shame I didn't think to ban Rick Astley's "Together Forever" because that was played when we were introduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 tunes that seem to getting huge responses at every wedding reception, in no particular order (some more cringeworthy than others): sweet caroline september this is how we do it best of my love shook me all night long play the funky music lady marmalade .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Heslop Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Old Time Rock And Roll ....runs for cover. Stage: Korg Krome 88. Home: Korg Kross 61, Yamaha reface CS, Korg SP250, Korg mono/poly Kawai ep 608, Korg m1, Yamaha KX-5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willf Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Songs frequently requested (both corporate and wedding), in no particular order The Killers - Mr Brightside Kings of Leon - Sex is on Fire Toploader - Dancing in the Moonlight Crowded House - Weather With You Guns 'n' Roses - Sweet Child o' Mine The Commitments - Mustang Sally (<< Don't shout at me!) Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer Bryan Adams Summer of 69 Phil Collins Easy Lover Los Lobos - La Bamba Tina Turner - Simply The Best AC/DC - Shook Me All Night Long Queen Crazy Little Thing Called Love The Doobie Brothers Long Train Running Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 And don't forget the white man's mating call, Mustang Sally. I wish I could. Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37 Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Damn - doubled! Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37 Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuzikTeechur Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 About a hundred years ago (well, maybe 25), I was playing solo piano in a cozy little restaurant. An older gent approached and asked if I would play "Take the A Train". I've played that tune 10,000 times, I'm sure. I wanted to make some smart aleck reply about the D+ chord being broken on the piano, but I feared the ghost of my grandmother would appear in my dreams and berate me for not respecting my elders. So I played it. He tipped me a fifty-dollar bill. At a time when my young family was on food stamps, that was a lot of money for one little tune. Lesson learned: all of you who are "too good" to play certain tunes, or you're sick of them; you've forgotten who you're playing for. I'm not saying your first set should be Misty-Girl from Ipanema - Take the A Train - Mustang Sally - Old Time R&R - Play that Funky Music - etc. But If someone wants a tune, and you're capable, play the damn thing and make them happy. A few years back we were playing cocktail music at a very nice club, and the drummer flat out refused to play "There Will Never Be Another You." I counted off the tune, and he proceeded to futz with his set - tightening the snare, adjusting the hi-hat, etc. - anything to not play. We finished the night, I gave him his pay, and fired him. We all have songs with bad connotations or whatnot, but get over yourself. Of course, if the client says: "NO 'CELEBRATION'!", then it's up to you to respect that as well. If your self-respect won't allow you to play "Macarena" or "Chicken Dance" at a wedding, just put them on a CD and play them at the set break. Muzikteechur is Lonnie, in Kittery, Maine. HS music teacher: Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Chorus, Music Theory, AP Music Theory, History of Rock, Musical Theatre, Piano, Guitar, Drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCRoswell Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 As Lonnie suggested we just DJ the stuff we don't want to play. Everybody's happy. Don't forget the ubiquitous "Brown Eyed Girl". I've learned not to complain about that song around non-musicians because someone invariably shouts "I love that song". And I'm reminded of why I must play it. At least I'm getting paid for it! Live rig: Roland FA-08, Yamaha MOTIF ES 6, laptop for supplemental sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nordude Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Lot's of wedding (in general: party) standards in my experience. Disco/dance classics are well represented. For better or worse of course, but 'everything' for the client, esp. when explicitly agreed upon. Relight My Fire Disco Inferno Play That Funky Music That's The Way I Like It YMCA Long Train Running Proud Mary Blame It On The Boogie Ease On Down The Road I Want You Back Lady Marmelade IMHO, it's an art to find the not beaten-to-death-but-very-recognizable tunes and mingle them in between a couple of these ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resigned Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Current hot selections for weddings: Cha-Cha Shuffle - DJ Casper Cupid Shuffle - Cupid Single Ladies - Beyonce I've Got A Feeling - Black Eyed Peas We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus I Was Born This Way - Lady Gaga Lucky - Jason Mraz Forget You - Cee Lo Green A lot of the old wedding standards have given way to modern songs, although "Love Shack" by the B-52's still works, and you can throw in "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles for fun. But stupid things like "Cha Cha Shuffle" are mandatory now. One band I work with plays standards like Mustang Sally and Brown Eyed Girl live, then switches to Cupid Shuffle and Cha Cha Shuffle on MP3 during their breaks to cover everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 IMHO, it's an art to find the not beaten-to-death-but-very-recognizable tunes and mingle them in between a couple of these ones. Lots of good stuff in this thread. In my corporate gig years ago, our audience were all statisticians / programmers. We played at a party before the closing day of the conference(s). These were held all over the U.S. Every year we had to come up with new tunes that fit the bill - and made them dance. And each year, since the bandmembers were from all across the U.S., we had to learn our parts before we got to the conference, then rehearse in the hotel - sometimes in a conference room, but often in a hotel room. It was primarily the vocal harmonies we had to get right, as there were five vocalists in the band. The tunes listed in this thread were often played - because they were recognizable by the audience, AND they would get the crowd on the floor and try to dance. There were open bars all around the room. Things usually stated slow, but as the night grew older, the KindaCrazyAndNotGonnaWinDancingWithTheStars-type emerge from the shadows. Of course, I cannot reveal all that I saw, but the audience seemed quite different from the reserved PhD folks who presented papers such as, "Agile Adoption: Measuring its Worth" and Big Data in Big Companies: Pragmatic Research Results and Implementation Strategies. Funny... they all LOVED "Mustang Sally". Every time. Tom "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Lonnie makes a good point. If you're in a cover band or a similar kind of act like he was, you play the tunes. If you're an originals act that plays some covers, that's different, IMNSHO. "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 +1, Lonnie. As much as we hate some of these tunes (or have just grown tired of them, to be accurate, in most cases) we shouldn't forget they put food on the table. I've just started working with a pretty basic soul band and the thought of playing Dancing In The Street is making my toes curl somewhat. But so what? People love it, and these guys have gigs in the book well into the new year, so they're obviously doing something right. Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37 Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 My band has been playing wedding/corporate gigs for over 30 years although lately, not so much.... I can't think of a wedding where we have not played the following songs: Unforgettable At Last I Can't Help Falling in Love With You Crazy Misty Mack the Knife Designated Rhumba, Cha Cha or Bossa Nova (Spanish Eyes, Autumn Leaves, Bessa Me Mucho) Polka (usually any will do) Old Time Rock & Roll I Will Survive Love Shack Play that Funky Music Get Down Tonight Electric Slide What I Like About You/ROCK in the USA Brown Eyed Girl Mustang Sally Melt With You Don't Stop Believing Living on a Prayer "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 (or have just grown tired of them, to be accurate, in most cases) Right... I may have never liked Celebration or Boogie Oogie Oogie, but I had no problem with Mustang Sally or Sweet Caroline. You may get tired of it after playing it at 100 gigs, but most of the people at the gigs probably haven't heard it in years. Unless they've been to another wedding. ;-) Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 We'll play anything they want. We played the "Chicken Dance" at a corp. party when nobody in the band (we're in Texas) had ever played it before. Got a guest to hum a few bars. - pulled it off very well - crowd dances their tails off. We played "Sick and Tired" ['I'm sick and tired foolin' around with you...'] at a wedding reception - I realized the blunder half way through the first verse. Nobody in the party noticed. All dancing - lining up activities for later in the evening. We just aren't tune snobs. We love to entertain them and get them up on the dance floor. We try hard to play each song like it's brand new to us and swing/rock hard. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Since no one has mentioned them yet: Ain't Too Proud To Beg Midnight Hour The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanL Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 We'll play anything they want. We played the "Chicken Dance" at a corp. party when nobody in the band (we're in Texas) had ever played it before. Got a guest to hum a few bars. - pulled it off very well - crowd dances their tails off. We played "Sick and Tired" ['I'm sick and tired foolin' around with you...'] at a wedding reception - I realized the blunder half way through the first verse. Nobody in the party noticed. All dancing - lining up activities for later in the evening. We just aren't tune snobs. We love to entertain them and get them up on the dance floor. We try hard to play each song like it's brand new to us and swing/rock hard. The Thrill is Gone is another great bride/groom song. Live: Korg Kronos 2 88, Nord Electro 5d Nord Lead A1 Toys: Roland FA08, Novation Ultranova, Moog LP, Roland SP-404SX, Roland JX10,Emu MK6 www.bksband.com www.echoesrocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael W Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 My band has been playing wedding/corporate gigs for over 30 years although lately, not so much.... I can't think of a wedding where we have not played the following songs: Unforgettable At Last I Can't Help Falling in Love With You Crazy Misty Mack the Knife Designated Rhumba, Cha Cha or Bossa Nova (Spanish Eyes, Autumn Leaves, Bessa Me Mucho) Polka (usually any will do) Old Time Rock & Roll I Will Survive Love Shack Play that Funky Music Get Down Tonight Electric Slide What I Like About You/ROCK in the USA Brown Eyed Girl Mustang Sally Melt With You Don't Stop Believing Living on a Prayer Great list! Michael Montage 8, Logic Pro X, Omnisphere, Diva, Zebra 2, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 We played "Sick and Tired" ['I'm sick and tired foolin' around with you...'] at a wedding reception - I realized the blunder half way through the first verse. Nobody in the party noticed. Yeah, at some point we realized that "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" probably wasn't a great choice to play at a wedding. But it's on our song list and sometimes people still request it. And we still do play "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" pretty often. People just love the song. And it's not quite as bad as the other, to play on a wedding night. I remember reading an interview with Carly Simon where she said that she's aware that lots of people have requested "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" played at their weddings, which she finds incongruous. The chorus may sound nicely romantic out of context, but the rest of the song is a pretty damning indictment of the whole idea. Just goes to show, half the people never pay attention to the lyrics anyway. Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadroj Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Ones that never ever seem to fail: Sweet Carloline Mustang Sally Sweet Child of mine Sex on Fire Mr. Brightside. Dance the Night Away (The Mavericks) Brown Eyed Girl Superstition Shout - Lulu Proud Mary (either version, Tina Turner and Ike one always goes down best though) Working 9 til 5 Valerie Anything by AC/DC Play that funky music Don't Stop Believing Sweet Home Alabama Blame it on the Boogie Maggie May - Rod Stewart Walking on Sunshine Summer of 69 Twist and Shout/La Bamba (we merge the two together into a medley) and if you ever play in Scotland, always, always, always, always end with Loch Lomand by Runrig unless asked otherwise! Hammond SKX Mainstage 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Jellyroll has been a staple in the Philadelphia area for many many years; top notch musicians and a great party band. They play weddings and corporate events, inaugural affairs, etc... Sift through their song list .... http://www.bvtlive.com/jellyroll-song-list 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brettymike Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Jellyroll has been a staple in the Philadelphia area for many many years; top notch musicians and a great party band. They play weddings and corporate events, inaugural affairs, etc... Sift through their song list .... http://www.bvtlive.com/jellyroll-song-list This is a great idea. Find the best high profile cover bands , and sift through their song lists. Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Another song at weddings would be Eric Clapton's "You Look Lovely Tonight". Seemingly romantic, it's about a woman having to bring home a drunk and put him to bed. Maybe prophetic. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Heslop Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 That would be "Wonderful tonight" Stage: Korg Krome 88. Home: Korg Kross 61, Yamaha reface CS, Korg SP250, Korg mono/poly Kawai ep 608, Korg m1, Yamaha KX-5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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