I took Travelin' Easy advice and put together a promo pack and sent it out to some nursing homes. I got my first NH gig booked for next month. I know many of you have lots of experiance playing nursing homes. Any tune recomendations that will go over well the the 80 and over crowd? Any tips on how to get them calling back would be appreciated too. Thanks!

For me in SW Ohio (Dayton) a mix of big band, country, oldies/rock, hymns and seasonal/patriotic works very well. You're I think in Dallas, so lean towards classic country...

Consider this way of looking at things:

You said 80+ in age...let's use 80 for this example.

An 80 year old today was born in 1930. That means they were 15 years old in 1945. That also means that generally speaking stuff from before that won't be as popular as the stuff for this age group from 1945-1960.

I think if you browsed the hit parade charts from those 15 years, for country and big band tunes...you'd have exactly what you're looking for...

Other material can work really well also, make no mistake. A lot depends on their particular preferences, what YOU like to play, etc.

Good luck...

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Bill in Dayton

[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 01-13-2010).]

Congrats on your gig. I would suggest you do a search here, this has been discussed before on here.

There are a million songs you could play. Mostly stay with mid to up-tempo songs. If you play a slow song, maybe it's not to play one that is profoundly sad. Sad theme probably is no problem if it became a staple song. (Some smash hits, even though having a sad lyric, aren't viewed so sad.)

Pretty much play whatever you enjoy, as long as it was a hit song that people will know. And don't limit your setlist to songs from way back when. There are people of all ages in nursing homes, although, yes, most are 70s to 80s.

Mix and mingle with people if you can. Joke with a few of them.

I forgot to ask, do you sing? If so, that will probably go over better.

We've discussed this several times, and you can use the search function to catch up, but it is good to remember that most of the people in nursing homes today remember the music from their prime years.
I've found that music from the 50's, and 60's work best.
Use plenty of up-tempo songs, and make sure most of the slower ones are "happy" songs.
Most nursing homes get regular visits from church choirs and gospel groups, so I keep my show totally different, focusing on old-time rock and roll and country for the most part.
I generally start with "Blue Suede Shoes" (the intro, one for the money, etc., is a good start-off) and end with an upbeat gospel song at the end, like "I'll Fly Away" or "I Saw The Light".
Depending on the area, age and condition of the residents, I'll often do medleys of various types, including Hank Williams, Elvis, Mustang Sally-Midnight Hour R&B stuff.
Hope this helps.
DonM

How about "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone"? Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

Tom

"Any tips on how to get them calling back would be appreciated too. Thanks!"

Be good, genuine and honest.

Your comfort level, program and songlist will improve over time, but you have to present a quality product from the start. Keep in touch with the AD and follow up after your job. See if they can find another date for you right away. Maybe offer a 2fer or a discount for multiple bookings - you are new to this, after all.

If the job goes well, contact another facility right away and name drop. Build clientele now while the year is early; some places book months in advance and some already are booked for the year. If you're good, they'll find a way to ask you back.

Just like almost any other gig... get the audience to like you enough that THEY ask the AD to have you back.

Make sure they remember your name!

Good ideas- thanks guys!