Played out songs the masses love to dance to

Fuzrock

Silver Member
I’m in a cover band in Omaha, Nebraska. We play mostly modern rock but bounce around quite a bit between different genres. Our main goal is to keep people on the floor dancing as much as possible. We experimented quite a bit with different songs and I’m always amazed at how certain songs just work.
We recently replaced a guitar player and we only had 3 weeks to get him acclimated before our first weekend of shows. We ended up a little short on material and pulled some “Three Chord Mollys” out of our back pockets. We played Summer of 69 by Brian Adams, Keep Your Hands To Yourself by Georgia Satellites and Sweet Home Alabama by Lynard Skynard. These are not modern rock tunes by any stretch of the imagination but they all worked like a charm. The dance floor filled up for all three of these tunes.
Why do songs that you’d think are totally played out and/or lame pack the dance floor every time? I just don’t get it. I’m curious to hear what some of you have to say about this. What are some other songs that share this quality? I’d like to hear what songs pack the dance floor whether they’re lame or not, actually.
 
i've always been surprised at how much the crowd loves hackneyed, overplayed songs. for example, "brown eyed girl" by van morrison is a massive crowd pleaser despite the fact that it's probably the single most overplayed cover song of all time. we mostly avoid songs like that because we are not really a dance band, but sometimes we cave in and play those things and i'll be damned if people don't get up and dance to them. "honky tonk woman" is another hackneyed crowd pleaser. certain beatles songs are also sure fire winners, like "back in the ussr" or "i saw her standing there".
 
The Romantics, What Like About You
 
Brown Eyed Girl is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. What's funny is that it's usually twenty somethings who pack the floor for these songs that came out before they were even born.
 
i actually like some of those tired old songs, but i've heard them so many, many, many times, i want to move on. apparently, the crowd doesn't feel the same way. maybe they're all too young to be tired of them, like you say, and it's all exciting and new from their point of view.
 
Ugh...

Sweet Home Alabama. I hate that song, hate Lynard Skynard but am forced to play that or the (holding down vomit) Kid Rock version. The things we do for money. I'd almost rather drink pigs blood than continue to play those tunes, but i'm just a side man.

Mustang Sally... For some reason, there is something in human DNA that responds to that song. Garunteed dancers.

Brown Eyed Girl... Don't hate it, its a good song, and people always get up for that one.
 
I'd like people to post floor packing dance tunes whether they're old or new. Anyone? If another thread already exists for this, please let me know.
 
Ugh...

Sweet Home Alabama. I hate that song, hate Lynard Skynard but am forced to play that or the (holding down vomit) Kid Rock version. The things we do for money. I'd almost rather drink pigs blood than continue to play those tunes, but i'm just a side man.

I couldn't agree more. Bring on the pigs blood ;-)
 
"Play that funky music"

"Standing on Shaky Ground"

Always go over well. Granted, we are playing every Friday for a drunk crowd of vacationing skiers so we can get away with almost anything...

"Blue Suede Shoes"

"Messin' With the Kid" for some reason...

"Lowrider"

That's all... If I divulge any more of the crap tunes we play I might be forced into a self-imposed DW exile.
 
we also get a lot of response from the zz top songs "sharp dressed man" and "la grange". my old band used to play "rebel yell" by billy idol and that was popular, although we did a really wild, over-the-top version of it that wasn't much like the original.
 
"Play that funky music"

"Standing on Shaky Ground"

Always go over well. Granted, we are playing every Friday for a drunk crowd of vacationing skiers so we can get away with almost anything...

"Blue Suede Shoes"

"Messin' With the Kid" for some reason...

"Lowrider"

That's all... If I divulge any more of the crap tunes we play I might be forced into a self-imposed DW exile.

i'm a little shocked! i had you pegged as a highly accomplished, forward thinking drummer/percussionist! (that's true, but i'm teasing)
 
James Brown - I Feel Good / Lipps - Funkytown.
 
Fuzrock, I'm in agreement about some songs that younger folks dance to, blows my mind at times... "Moondance" being one of them. If we've got an older crowd, there always seems to be at least one couple who's "song" it is, but when the 20 somethings get in the groove, I'm always fascinated, we play a fairly true version of it which makes me even more curious as to why. Don't get me wrong, it's a good tune, but not something I previously expected to see the younger people dancing to.

"Superstition" always seems to get 'em, "Billie Jean", "Cecilia" and "After Midnight" all seem to work really well too. "Let's Stay Together" also does well depending on the mood of the crowd.
 
i'm a little shocked! i had you pegged as a highly accomplished, forward thinking drummer/percussionist! (that's true, but i'm teasing)

HAHA! Thanks for the backhanded compliment... In fact I was just given an ultimatum by another group I work with that I had to quit all my side projects in order to "commit to the band". It sucked because I would really rather play better music on kit, but not at the expense of an extra $1000 a month. And I'm certainly not giving up my festival dates with my percussion projects in order to rehearse slightly more obscure blues tunes.

I think the money gigs are good, but its also good to know I have two subs I can call if I feel like I just can't play another second of this stuff sometimes.
 
'Brick House'

'Sweet Caroline'

'Margaritaville'

Just about every John Cougar hit.

'Jenny Jenny (867.....)'

'Jessie's Girl'

'Monie Monie'


My current band has given up any shred dignity we used to have...we only play songs that make musicians want to vomit. We keep trying to break up, but people keep offering us stupid money to keep playing this cr*p. We're getting 3 grand to do a wedding, and we're not particularly good, we just play crowd pleasers and let people get on stage and dance around and sing along. Easy money, but a little embarrasing.
 
Brown Eyed Girl is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. What's funny is that it's usually twenty somethings who pack the floor for these songs that came out before they were even born.

It's testament to the fact that some music is timeless (just as some movies/TV/books/drums remain cross-generational long after they were new.) Whatever it is about the song that excited people 40 years ago, excites people today.

Also, I think the rock era has fairly consistent appeal over its 1955-present lifespan, so younger people find a familiarity with songs that are 30, 40 and 50 years old. It certainly wasn't the same when I grew up in the sixties & seventies... nothing could have been farther from my mind than music from 30 years prior!

But consider that pop & rock music hasn't changed that much over the decades. Yes, production has evolved and synths introduced new sounds, but the songs and grooves are pretty universal. Basically, rock is rock. It's not really such a stretch to play Roll Over Beethoven, Proud Mary, Jenny 867-5309, and You Get What You Give, and have the crowd love them all.

Bermuda
 
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My current band has given up any shred dignity we used to have...we only play songs that make musicians want to vomit... Easy money, but a little embarrasing.

jon e, never be embarrassed for making music and getting paid for it. The musicians you think might vomit would probably love to be in your shoes. Although you should watch out for the ones who want to vomit in your shoes.

I just like playing drums, and really don't qualify the music the guys standing next to me are playing. Maybe that's a blessing. I don't have any of the frustrations about certain songs or genres, and I have no regrets and make no apologies for the gigs I take. Obviously I have my musical preferences, but I do enjoy everything I play, simply because I like playing the drums.

Bermuda
 
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