This should be interesting. It would probably be good to mention the type of gig and age group.

Hi Scott:

In my experience with "Senior Ballroom Dances" and also depends where within an area, here in Arizona, in the Sun City area and Sun City West right next to each other, are different some more upbeat other slower.

To fill the dance floor in General (in my area), usually a Medium Foxtrot does the trick, for older "seniors", usually a Waltz.

The new "baby boomer seniors" more upbeat tempos, songs like A crazy little thing called love, Rock-Swing type, or R&R 50's/60's.

------------------
mdorantes

Thank you for your input.

My band mainly plays for Baby Boomers or younger I guess. Like Scott said "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" works but so does the AC/DC we play "Back In Black" and "You Shook Me". But our audience also likes dancing slow to tunes like "Beautiful Tonight" and "Angel Baby". Dancers like to mix it up a bit rather than having constant up tempo music.
Slow dancing gives them a chance to dance close and cuddle a bit.


[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 05-13-2010).]

Driving My Life Away
Hot Stuff
You Sexy Thing
What The Hell I Got
Squeezebox
Please Please Me

These seem to be the ones that'll encourage a slowish crowd to get off their duffs. I think it's partly due to the strong, familiar intros and 'uppy' tempos on these songs. That's not to say that doesn't apply to many other songs, so there may be other forces at work here.

Good topic, Scott.

I meant to add that we play mainly for boomer and up crowds, though there are usually some thirtysometings around, too.

if you ask your self this question your really shouldn't be playing in front of people until you have enough experience watching others and absorbing. It takes many many years to be effective in a dance situation don't kid yourself. Don't become one of those "I only Care about the money" type players that I see all over.B ut in a way I can only thank them.....because the more they play.... the more jobs I get.. !



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-14-2010).]

I disagree....some may be inexperienced, but does not mean do not play for people..The question is legitimate...for the folks that are trying to improve...
The most important thing is playing well....you will know what to play..soon after..

Hmmmmmmmm?



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-14-2010).]

This is a valid question for several reasons...
A person may not be experienced in playing for 'dances' and would like to know what people are playing for various types of gigs ... this is a question that has appeared here in many ways i.e. "what songs to play for: a Bar Mistvah; a NH; a 50's party; etc., etc.
Because a person may not have the EXPERIENCE in playing 'dances' does not mean he/she doesn't have the ABILITY to play those gigs and play them well ...
It is true that experience means a lot, but NO ONE starts out being experienced ...

And maybe the asker is just being inquisitive as to what people are playing for various types of gigs ...
JMHO,
t.

How well you play the songs is one thing.
Reading the crowd is another.
Knowing correct tempos for dancing is another.
Doing it differently each gig is another thing.
Ahhhhhh whats the use & what do I know about dancing?.....

have fun



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-14-2010).]

Good grief...

I've been playing Ballroom Dances for a long time and I STILL ask people what they play. You can always pick up tunes from others.

The longer I perform, in fact, the more I'm comfortable learning from other musicians. About twice a year I've started threads on the SZ about new material people have added recently. It hardly means I've found myself on a stage and dumbstruck as to what to play, lol.

Can you ever have too many good tunes to pick from on a gig? I don't think so...

------------------
Bill in Dayton

Didn't think it would be too long before the EGO reappears... (Deja vu all over again!?)

1. I Gotta Feelin - Black Eyed Peas
2. Crazy In Love - Beyonce
3. Everytime We Touch- Cascada
4. Single Ladies - Beyonce
5. Just Dance - Lady Gaga
6. Yeah! - Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris
7. Don't Stop The Music - Rihanna
8. Low - Flo Rida
9. Get Low - Lil Jon & Eastside Boyz
10. SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
11. The Way I Are - Timbaland feartring Keri Hilson
12. So What - Pink
13. We Like To Party - Vengaboys
14. Evacuate The Dancefloor - Cascada
15. Cyclone - Baby Bash featuring T-Pain
16. Miracle - Casada
17. Lose Control - Missy Elliot
18. Dance With Me - 112
19. Hips Don't Lie - Shakira
20. Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed peas
21. 1,2 Step - Ciara featuring Missy Elliot
22. Party In The USA - Miley Cyrus
23. Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
24. Tic Tok - Key$ha
25. Move Shake Drop (remix) - DJ Laz

Have fun tryng to play todays top requested dance songs to fill the dance floor on an Arranger KB as a OMB...

If I had to play that song list...I would quit playing...

Just confirms my opinion...Music is at it's lowest point..

I guess we will never return to the great music of the 40's and 50's...

I dont know about you but I never left
there's a big audience for that list and beyond.....but it aint my list or my audiences......we all have choice and thats a good thing.....find "your slice" of the pie and enjoy eating it

And if you have to resort to DJ-ing to pack the floor, Donny, perhaps it is YOU that needs to get out and watch others more?

Donny ... are YOU PERFORMING those songs?
t.

So are you playing anything on that list Diki?.... its doesnt exsist in my world sorry...

To elaborate T.... NO not one.

#'s 1, 5 & 9 at the moment, with live bands...

Can't say they are any more excremental than any other pop through the ages...

Including doo-wop, Donny!

(surprised that Cuban Shuffle didn't make it to the list, though... the Macarena of the 21st century!)

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 05-14-2010).]

EGO?....Deje Vu?,,,

Surprised you didn't misspell EGGO as well, what with the waffle fixation you and Fran have...

That's a relief. That list fills the dance floor, but not tunes I'm interested in playing. I share Fran's opinion nothing like that great music of the 40s and 50s. if I had to play that I may as well not leave the house either.

"Can't say they are any more excremental than any other pop through the ages... "

Not sure exactly how sarcastic you were being there Diki, but taking that statement on Face Value, I couldn't agree more.

Well, to be more accurate, I think there was good AND bad music all throughout history.

There was "Crap AND greatness" in the 40's and 50's and C' n G all the way through to now.

To fill the Dancefloor, we often play many of the songs on Donny's "list" AND 40's/50's etc - all the way through.


I stopped judging music by it's age some time ago.

------------------
God I hate signatures.

BUT...

www.chi-chi.com.au

Here are more of these fill the dance floor lists...
http://www.popculturemadness.com/Music/Dance.html

If you are getting requests for that list of songs, you're at the wrong party. It amazes me that someone would say how important it is to be able to feel a room and call a crowd, yet challenge us with this list. The jobs OMBs are playing do not usually stretch that deep into modern pop culture. But I'm sure that with some dedicated work someone with an arranger could put these out to an audience and sound good at it. Music is music.

Some people are born with such talent and greatness that they don't need experience. Nine months in the womb took care of that.

Yet what is it that prevents them from achieving fame, recognition and performing in Carnegie Hall? Nursing home gigs? Bah! Such a waste of talent!

------------------
Bo pen nyang.

[This message has been edited by Taike (edited 05-15-2010).]

Great list.

I'm playing top 5 on my gigs.

I Gotta Feelin is greaat song and simple for arranger

Well my band actually does play one of those songs live. We play a cover of "So What" by Pink. In a similar vein we also play "Shut Up And Let Me Go" by the Ting Tings. We will play any pop/rock song if there is enough of a demand for it. After all we are simply hired to entertain so that's what we try to do.

And that is the bottom line...we are hired to entertain.

Of course, where and who we choose to entertain, is up to us, and will ultimately affect what we play.

Ian

C'mon Donny,

I bet you'd have a good time with #13 - We Like To Party.

Do it, Six Flags-style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PDIBTS_xDQ


-mike

I guess you have no compassion for people that are ill. I would say it's the most rewarding type of gigs versus a waste of talent.

You got that right, ian ...
While some of us 'more experienced' (make that OLDER ) players may cringe at today's pop list, is that any different from what 'older' players thought of the music we may have been playing in the 60's and 70's??? ... a few weeks ago I was talking with one of the other members of the band we had and we were discussing how when we started out we were referred to as 'the kid band' by some of our older competitors ... tempus fugits, folks, so as the song says "Don't Blink"...
The 'Circle of Life' goes on ...
t.
Play what you enjoy, enjoy what you play...

I live by the Sinatra code.........stay the course and NEVER change Your style for anyone.. Choose your audiences wisely.

You've first got to understand the point I am trying to make.

Me not having compassion? You DEMAND pay while I do it for free! More than once have I given away all I had so that others may have a better life.

If you really want to know, what I said was in reference to your remarks. Think... and maybe you'll get it.



------------------
Bo pen nyang.

I'm with Hellboy on this one (and that WAS kinda the point I was making). Basically, 'pop' music has always had its up and down moments, and in the big picture, I think doo-wop isn't exactly the zenith of pop music. Little in the way of harmonic complexity, lyrics as banal as anything today, formulaic beyond belief... But don't get your panties in a wad - it has LOTS of company through the years! And, just like any music (including hiphop and rap) it DOES have its' high moments...

Thing is, I'm surprised that Donny DOESN'T cover any of that list. I was always under the impression (that he points out so often) that 'by any means necessary' was his mantra. And, as willing as he is to use karaoke MP3's, the difficulty of getting an arranger to sound that contemporary is kinda moot...

The problem with walling yourself off from contemporary pop is that you are restricted to audiences that are, let us just be kind and say 'getting on a bit', and usually slowing down as far as going out at night and supporting live music. You may be doing well now, but eventually, that demographic is dwindling. Stay capable of doing classic stuff AND contemporary, no problems.

The band I am in right now (a 5 piece with a sax player) does everything from Ipanema and It had to be You, to the Cuban Shuffle and Get Low. Best of all possible worlds - particularly as I don't have to program the stuff! I've got a world class drummer, and at least that will make you realize, no matter HOW good you think your arranger is, it has a LONG, long way to go before it is a fraction of the versatility and inventiveness a good player brings to the table...

not only dont I cover that list or do I care to...it doesn't even exist in my world.
I respect the music and the peopel that like it and who produced it, it's just not my cup of tea or is it any of my audiences.
I'm a singer that can play KB & backs himself up with an arranger KB, backing tracks & DJ's with a Laptop for songs I just cannot sing or play, won't do, or to fill requests at a gig, it's no sweat off my back as long as the people are happy and I make a living which after 40 years i havev no problems....I mix it up all night long and my audiences love to listen and dance to it gig after gig every night. Enjoy what you do and how you do it if it sounds good and your happy performing it..
Just don't try to tell me what to play, like or how to do it. And that ain't no ego trip baby!.....or maybe I should just go all out and do covers of "Knees up Mother Brown", "Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree", and the "Hokey Cokey" too!




[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-15-2010).]

This is really scary. Everything Donny said above applies to me as well. Plus, I agree with every word, but for a different reason. In my case, most of the clubs I play in don't even have dance floors and (like Donny) only one in a hundred would know a single tune on that list (I, myself, have only heard of ONE of them - and couldn't even hum that one). In Donny's case, he obviously is able to pick and choose his audiences and venues, and THAT is the key to what you are able to play or not play.

It's not just whether it's a dance venue or not, but it actually gets down to WHAT KIND OF dance venue it is. In some, that list would be 'must play' and Donny's list would go over like a lead balloon. In others (the ones he chooses to play in), the reverse would be true, and that play list above would generate nothing but blank stares from the patrons and a pissed-off owner. As always, you have to play what's called for. If you can't (or won't), don't take the gig. Simple as that.

chas

Chas just for the record...& BTW nice post......I myself might only have heard of 2 or 3 of those songs also..

That list I posted was a google search for top dance songs as I provided the link above also....mine or your list or repertoire I'm sure would look very very different. Don't you think by now we gave Scott enough info to make a decision on how to "FILL A DANCE FLOOR" !

So, let's just tell it the way it is... you didn't post that list top actually answer a real question, simply speaking, you posted that list as a joke, as Scott was asking a serious question. You certainly didn't post YOUR list of floor packers did you - unwilling to share?

Thing is, laugh's on you, as in fact, unless you are playing to the elderly or NH crowd, that list actually IS how to pack a floor. And Duke of Earl ISN'T!

Anyway, as I think I might have shown, you CAN play oldies and new stuff and entertain with BOTH. Choosing to completely ignore anything that is contemporary only shows how ossified you can let yourself become if you aren't careful.

Diki,

I hate to disagree with you, but that list, at least in this part of the world, would NOT pack a dancefloor. Keep in mind that you're playing music down in "Kiddie Land", an upscale resort area of the Florida Panhandle where the average age of your audience ranges from high school to college. I saw them walking around the beach area of Destin when I was in your neighborhood. (A lot of young, attractive ladies down there during the dead of winter.)

I may be a bit old--Hell, I'm old as dirt, but I can still read an audience and pack a dancefloor. And, I'm not talking about the dancefloor of a NH. I only know one song on that list, and I wouldn't play any of them. But that's just me.

What's really interesting is that I performed a Latin song at an Italian restaurant where I was filling in for the regular guy who was a bit under the weather. The song, El Cumbanchero, is older than you. The audience loved it, packed the dancefloor, and some of the younger folks in their 30s had never heard it, but they danced just the same. You just never know what will work, and if I could predict what would work, I would own a much larger boat.

Scott,

I'll be more than happy to give you a call and see if I can help.

Gary

[This message has been edited by travlin'easy (edited 05-15-2010).]

Gary, I'm honestly not sure what the point of your post is here. I've no doubt at ALL that you could pack a Dancefloor with none of those Songs on the now "Infamous New Song List" posted on the previous page, but if you included a couple, (carefully picking and choosing...) a couple of those BIG hits would probably get everyone up just as well as the hits from yesteryear.

A hit is a hit.

I've personally played "I Gotta Feeling" (our Dance remix of it no less) countless times in many Venues, and it gets EVERYONE, Old OR Young either on the floor, or writhing in their seats (in a GOOD way ) which brings me to a question after reading all these posts here:

Do many of you (maybe I'm talking to the U.S. Citizens here) play to audiences that are so narrow in Age-range/Tastes?

Speaking for myself, we (my Wife and I) absolutely NEED to play a huge range of music almost every time we play.

Just last night at a gig we did -

1. Old Time Dance Numbers (e.g. In the Mood, But I Do)
2. Country (e.g. Neon Moon, I just Wanna Dance with You)
3. RnR (e.g. Runaround Sue, You Never Can Tell)
4. Pub/Goodtime (Bad Moon Rising, Mustang Sally)
5. 90's (Mambo #5, Macarena)
6. Top 40 (Tik Tok, Pokerface (mashed with Bad Romance)

and many many MANY more including "out there" kind of songs like "Bad Things" (the Theme to True Blood - works great as a RnR Eight-Step!)

Unless we're doing a specific themed show with a specific audience (RnR or Country/Linedancing shows) we play to audiences that range in Age from 5 to 90 - ALL THE TIME.

(Even when we DO those specific shows I mentioned, we manage to slip in some VERY out of Genre tunes that go down a treat)

I often read here about very specific gigs - is it all about the Restaurant or NH gigs?

Are there lots of specific, "splintered" audiences in lots of specific Venues over in the States?

In Australia, most (public) Venues contain - by and large - All Ages.

I really wanna know.....genuine, serious (and respectful) question here!

P.S. My point is, if we just stuck to a "certain list" of Material, we'd be out of a Job.

So does this mean you don't play
"Knees Up Mother Brown" ?

But audiences can be VERY different so of course you completely base your song selection on what you know they will want to hear. That is so obvious it doesn't even require discussion.

I doubt that an elderly audience would be much interested in the Vengaboys either .... unless they enjoy doing the silly old guy Magic Mountain dance

Some of our songs you can find on our home page, there is a live site so you can listen and also a site in swedish "vilka l�tar vi spelar" = songs we play www.susann-hasse.se

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU2yt6wOoK0

Hellboy,

The first five categories of songs on your list are in my list as well. And, I agree, I too must play a huge variety of music to accommodate the audiences. The audiences vary significantly from region to region, and in the Florida Panhandle there can be drastic differences in audience composition within a distance of only 50 miles. The same holds true here where inland audiences tend to be more conservative and older, while those along the coast at beach resorts are younger and wilder. That's why teh ability to read the audience and make needed changes has always been of paramount importance.

I NEVER play a set number of specific songs--it all depends upon the audience. Scott is a very talented individual, but his experience as an OMB performer,if I recall correctly, was somewhat limited, thus his request for assistance.

Gary

My audience ranges from 20's to 80's. Just because you weren't looking at them, Gary, doesn't mean there weren't some ladies of a more mature age floating around on the beach!

Thing is, unless you are in a venue that ONLY caters to the elderly, you can't completely ignore the kids... it is disrespectful of a customer that is paying JUST as much (if not more!) as a more aged one. Refuse to play anything from their generation, and they have every right to simply go somewhere else. And, Donny notwithstanding, we find that there are customers MUCH older than their twenties that LOVE to dance to some of those tunes, too!

I guess it all boils down to how well you perform them...

I see (Gary/Diki/Everyone) there really IS a cross section of people WHEREVER you go (including the Caregivers/Staff at Nursing Homes) - so, not so different I guess.


To be more helpful to Scott:

BROWN EYED GIRL (works everywhere)

I GOTTA FEELING (Black Eyed Peas) like it or not, it's a Feelgood, yet "Hip" song that - mostly - everyone of all ages likes.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR (An international Hit I believe, that is both a Samba and another Feel-good-everyone-likes-it number.

DANCING QUEEN/MAMA MIA (Surely Abba is relatively popular in the US? It simply does NOT fail in Australia. ANYWHERE)

MICHAEL JACKSON, especially *ahem* now...
(Blame it on the Boogie, The Way You Make Me Feel are two must plays we've found, & Billie Jean is a great Cha Cha)

ALL SHOOK UP - 'nuff said.

ROCKIN' ROBIN - Ditto.

COPACABANA - great, fun, Kitsch!

All the others mentioned above me....

P.S. Ooooh! GREAT BALLS OF FIRE - you get to show off your soloing skills AND it's a barnstormer of a RnR song everyone of all ages digs.

Yo Donny, would you believe I've had a request several times from a dear, sweet, little old lady in a retirement community for Knees Up Mother Brown?

Joe

Each year Joe I do an International English ladies club in a famous Cape May Hotel & that song is a MUST!! I'm surprised it's not in Diki's song list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gGP_gFhtcQ&feature=related



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-16-2010).]

Okay...I never heard of Knees up...
Now I know http://www.thanksmuch.com/kids/knees-up-mother-brown-mp3.html
yeah....now I know.
Eddie

If I were still doing pubs in England, I might still be doing it... But it's been a few decades since I did the Hokey Pokey and Knees up Mother Brown.

But I can probably find you an MP3 if you want to cover it, Donny...

Thanx for all the good responses.

I think I need to clarify a bit by the looks of some of the respones here.

Someone made the inference that I don't know how to fill a dance floor etc, etc.

I play for a number of dance clubs. A few are weekly, some are monthly, etc.

Today, for instance, I played solo for an ongoing brunch. I had a couple travel 1 1/2 hours to hear me and dance to my music. Another couple drove an hour. Both drove in bad weather, one wasn't feeling well. This is common for the niche I've found for myself in the different dance halls. It absolutely floors me, really. But I am flattered by the people in the area dance community that do this in the different places I play. One guy lives in Pensacola. On the day's when I do my weekly gig in town, he will drive to Mobile, a good hour to get his dance partner, drives another hour to the dance, another hour to take her home and another hour to get back home in Pensacola. Some real die-hards.

Two venues is a duo. There are another bunch of dance clubs that have asked me to perform solo instrumental. So, I have found out you don't have to sing or have a singer to be successful.

All of my gigs for some time have all been by referral. They seek me out.

Do I gig often? For example, I had only 4 open days recently one month and turned down about a dozen other gigs.

I am really a pretty humble kind of guy, but I thought that I needed to point this out by the way some of the posters answered.

I was hoping that people would give their top 5, 10, 20 or whatever songs that they find fill the floor for them in their particular setting. Maybe songs that just about everybody would dance to. Maybe it would be their favorites. But also I wanted to see what others playing different types of gigs where playing, as I want to keep myself kind of updated. I thought everyone, not just me could gain by this.

I hope we hear from everybody. Who knows who might pick up a couple new tunes, remember one that they haven't played in eons, get a different perspective, etc,

I hope we hear form Donny, Gary, Bill, Don, etc, etc....

Best
Scott

Here' some of the songs that my current audiences like to dance to:

Unchained Melody
Jambalaya
Silver Wings
Where'm I Gonna Live
Release Me
Elvira
Electric Slide
Europa
Oye Como Va
Sway
Hello Josephine
Mustang Sally
Sea Cruise
Boogie Shoes
Rockin' Pneumonia
Love Potion #9 (as a west coast swing)
In The Mood
Woodchopper's Ball
Begin The Beguine
At Last
Stranger On The Shore
Moonlight Serenade
Margaritaville
Could I Have This Dance
Waltz Across Texas
Brown Eyed Girl
Pretty Woman
Chattanooga Choo Choo
I'm Walkin'
Come Monday
Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen
St Thomas (as a merengue)
Drum Boogie (Gene Krupa)
etc, etc

Scott the two main criteria for a sucessful dance are...

!- Take very recognizable to all songs of which there are thousands

2- play them very danceable with the "Correct Tempos" I can't stress this enough.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-17-2010).]

You realize I didn't ask this question, don't you?

Scott it doesn't matter ....my answer pertains to any songs in general top fill a dance floor.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-17-2010).]

The question posed is what SONGS are you playing. Your answer is an obvious given.

Scott no more obvious then the original question. This whole thread is getting ridiculous.

Says the guy who drove the thread off the tracks in the first place. Awesome...

I'll be posting a list later today, but I wanted to comment on Donny's comment about dance tempos.

First, Scott has been doing this long enough to know what works for his crowd and what doesn't.

Second, it may not be what works for a guy in New Jersey, Dayton or Texas for that matter.

I perform for a few different Ballroom Dance clubs. These are probably some of the most polished dancers in the SW Ohio area,. One club prefers slow and medium tempo Waltzes to be performed nightly. The other club wants ONLY faster Waltzes.

Is one Club wrong? Nope, not in my opinion.

I also perform at several Animal Clubs North of Dayton in a more rural part of Ohio. Country folk. They like their waltzes S-L-O-W! Are they "wrong?" Nope...

Polkas are another good example. Some clients like them fast, others like them on the slower side.

Each group has their own preferences. If you watch the competitive ballroom shows, they also have their own tempos.

Nobody's wrong...

So when someone says "You must play these songs at the correct ballroom tempo!!!" they should really say, "You should play these songs at the tempos your dancers want them at and respond well to."

You want to lose some gigs fast, Scott? Start playing everything at a professional competitive Ballroom tempo and then tell your dancers they've been doing it wrong all this time.

I'll post a list of what works for me later today...

------------------
Bill in Dayton

Set lists from my last weekend band gig: (Mother's day weekend)

1st -

M-o-t-h-e-r
You belong to me
They Can't Take that away from me
Bill Bailey
He'll have to go
Moonlight Serenade
Everybody Loves Somebody
Cherry Pink/Apple blossum white
NY, NY
I Only Have eyes for you
Green Door
Red Roses/Blue lady
Sway
King of the road
Innamorata
All Shook up
Moonglow
Sentimental Journey
KC
Please don't talk about me when I'm gone
PA Polka
I can't stop loving you
Blueberry Hill
It Had to be you
Misty
tequila
You've got personality
Tennessee waltz
I just called to say I love you
For the good times

2nd -

Don't take your love from me
Slow poke
The wanderer
Could I have this dance
Fly me to the moon
Drinkin Champagne
Make the world go away
fools rush in
Mack the knife
Memories are made of this
My blue heaven
stranger on the shore
unforgettable
tea for 2
let it be me
all of me
Your mama don't dance
Paper doll
Blue skirt waltz
Its now or never


3rd -

You're nobody till somebody loves you
Dolly
Margaritaville
Satin Doll
Cab driver
Don't get around much anymore
Blue moon
last date
dream
God bless america

------------------------
We have played together so long that we move from tune to tune pretty seamlessly. In many cases, the final beat of one tune is the start of the count off for the next one. There is minimal chatter from us on the bandstand, its just not our style.



------------------
Bill in Dayton

Hi Scott,
That was the gist I gathered from your question, so can I point you back to my earlier post.

FWIW, in answer to those who think that the 'correct' tempo is a be-all, end-all, I haven't found that to be the case. Nobody in over 40 years of dance gigs ever came up to me and said they couldn't dance to what I was playing. Not just tempos, which were probably right or near enough, but songs done in completely different styles from their original versions. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

That is a terrific device to help keep things fresh.

Take a tune like "It Had to be you." It can be a ballad, a bounce, a fox trot, a rhumba, a cha cha, etc. with out losing its appeal.

Its also fun to see how flexible a tune can be...

Good comment, 124...

------------------
Bill in Dayton

Yeah.......if it wasn't for "activity directors" running interference!

Lucky

Excerpt from: http://www.eastangliadance.co.uk/styles.htm

At public dances, the styles are usually restricted to Waltz, Quickstep, Foxtrot, Jive, Cha Cha Cha, & Rumba. The other ballroom dance styles, & indeed many of the complicated steps and flashy introductions as seen on Strictly Come Dancing - these are mainly for display or competition level dancing. Definitely not the sort of dancing for a crowded dance floor !

Strict Tempo
The term "strict tempo", is often used in association with Ballroom Dancing, or even as another term for Ballroom Dancing, but could equally apply to other dance styles. In essence, the term means that throughout a particular tune, the rhythm conforms to a precise regular timing & beat pattern & beat emphasis as required by the dance style. The actual speed (i.e. tempo as defined above) is therefore only a part of what dancers imply when using the term "strict tempo".

What this means in practice is that the more predictable & emphatic the beat (i.e. strict tempo), the easier the music is to dance to.

Music does not have to be strict tempo in order to apply a given dance style, but requires a high level of technical dance skill in order to maintain the necessary level of synchronisation.



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Bo pen nyang.

Thanx Bill

That's even more than I had hoped anyone would contribute. Look's like you and I do a lot of similar things. I noticed a few I haven't been thinking about which I will probably start doing again now and then.

There were a few that I didn't recognize the title. This could be some I never heard or would recognize it if I heard it. I will check them out.

This is very helpful to anyone reading this which is also what I thought the entire thread was going to be about. Until someone just dedided to get ridiculous.

There were several excellent answers among the posters here that answered along the lines of the question.

I like playing all kinds of music. BUT, I don't like listening to a lot of it. I hardly ever have listened to what's current on the radio. I almost always was listening to jazz, swing, dixie, big band, Bix Biederbecke, Bunny Berigan, Maynard Ferguson, Al Hirt, etc, etc, For the trumpet background.

Keys was Jimmy Smith, Brian Auger and many others.

So these kind of answers help me because I either didn't hear all of the stuff out, or I did hear it and it was the same old non-descript pop music that's been out there forever.

I'm better at it than that really sounded. I have found that I usually know what they are talking about unless someone requests a country song. If I don't recognize the song title or artist name I usually ask if that's a country song and almost all say yes. Not that all country is bad. I enjoy playing it. We just never allowed it in our homes when I was growing up, the channel was changed immediately. haha

You along with several others certainly answered along the lines I had hoped and I am thankful for that. I have been very busy so only have a couple minutes here and there and probably won't get to acknowledge everyone who mad a worthwhile post.

On tempos the thing I've found after doing years of swing, jazz, big band and even concert organ work that one needs to generally slow the songs down for dancing.

This is especially true for seniors and/or those learning to dance.

As I thought about "What songs are you playing to fill the dance floor?" I also thought about the difference between playing music that �gets them onto the dance floor� and music that engages the listener by helping him to enter a trance state (my definition of contemporary music)...which is what most young folks do nowadays with the music. Either that or it's solitary gymnastics on the dance floor masquerading as dancing.

In the mid-90�s, I gave up trying to keep up with learning new songs. Not only were they getting more difficult to reproduce, but, to make matters worse, by the time you learned it, it was already off the charts (about 24 hours from the time it first appeared in public). So I became a DJ and did a healthy mix of either live or DJ, and sometimes together. So I�m very familiar with music from all genres.

Looking back, I can see that I played (as a DJ) the latest hits only for KIDS events (usually 16 and under). They listened well, but didn�t dance. I dragged all that new music to adult events all those years for nothing. You had to have it handy, but I never played much of it.

So what filled the dance floor?

First, the songs listed mainly by:

BBBB
Scott L.
Bill /Dayton

Second, what we call �party songs� to break up the conventional dancing and move the party along. Those would be:

Electric Slide
Cha-cha slide
Jive Bunny Twist Medley
Chicken Dance
Macarena
YMCA
Limbo
Cotton-Eyed Joe (every kid on the planet seems to know this)
Greased Lightening
Hand Jive (from Grease)
Follow the Leader (Soca Boys)
Etc.

Then there are �ice breakers� like...

Thank Heaven for Little Girls (Dads dance with their daughters)
Dance contest ...everyone pick their own partner and do the following (to the music...about one minute of each):

�warm up� song to any well-known tune, then�
Waltz
Cha-cha
Swing
Polka
�and the list goes on as long as they�re still dancing

I carry 5,000 songs in my CD case on disc. Very rarely do I use more than a handful. (Easier now though� cause I bought an MP3 player with a hard drive that I can carry in a cigar box.)

My rule of thumb (as someone mentioned already) is �don�t play a song unless 90% of your audience recognizes it.� There�s enough music out there now so there�s no sweat digging them up.

In all fairness, my �routine� and �song selection� works because I also �work� the audience. The most important thing you can do to get them on the floor.

Diki...what is the Cuban Shuffle? It sounds interesting!

Donnie...you play well, but you DO have one heck of an ego.

Donnie...the link you posted to those songs is right on the money. Most of those songs were resting on the charts at some point in time. Most were recognized when played.

Btweengigs...Knees Up Mother Brown. That was a great song in it�s hey-day. I�m sure Diki�s played it more than once.

Finally, this would have been a great thread that Scott posted for gaining some new ideas had it not been for the inevitable �goin� south� routine! Thanks to those who put it back on course in between the bickering.

Lucky

Hi Lucky

Very good and interesting post. Yes, we are back on track thank goodness.