Recommend some old-timey songs for me

[EmilyG]

I often play music in seniors' homes. By now I can usually tell what sort of music they'll generally like.
At a recent concert, someone else playing in the concert played some old-ish songs on the violin, and the senoirs liked them, and could sing along to most of them.

What are some old-timey songs that seniors might like if I played them?

[ExTank]

Big Band and Swing. Glenn Miller is one of the larger names from that genre/era, but there are plenty others just as popular.

[ExTank]

Doh! Hit Submit before I was ready!

Anyway, if you're on iTunes, you can put a year into the search field and get results like "Best of 1942" or somesuch. For 1942, I get hits on Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, The Andrew Sisters, Tommy Dorsey, etc.

[Jackmannii]

They'd have to be relatively ancient (well up in their '80s) for songs of 1942 to be relevant.

I now have this rather dreadful image of the oldsters in another ten years wanting to hear "It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To".

[don't ask]

If they are in their 80s they would be familiar with the Beatles from their 40s.

A friend of mine was recently discussing a guy he knows who has been doing free Sunday shows at retirement homes for 40 years. "He's nearly as old as the people he started out entertaining years ago, but he's playing the same songs. The people who grew up with those songs are dead."

[drewtwo99]

Tangerine, Jukebox Saturday Night, Chattanooga Choo-Choo, Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree, Stardust, Boogie Woogie, El Paso, My Woman My Woman My Wife...

These are all songs my grandparents (who are in their 80's and 90's) got me into, so there you go! Good luck and have fun.

[ioioio]

A friend did a well-received Old Timey Singalong at a nursing home. Some of the songs were You Are My Sunshine, Bicycle Built for Two (Daisy Daisy), Home on the Range, and Happy Trails to You.

[ExTank]

Originally Posted by Jackmannii

They'd have to be relatively ancient (well up in their '80s) for songs of 1942 to be relevant.

I now have this rather dreadful image of the oldsters in another ten years wanting to hear "It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To".

So, what's your point? My Dad is 85 y/o, and likes everything I listed. My Mom died at 70 y/o in 2004 and liked everything I listed. She was only 9 in 1942.

My point wasn't necessarily to target a specific year, but to aid the OP in searching for music from certain time periods, with examples of the kind of results I obtained from iTunes. I chose 1942 to appeal to the 70-80 y/o folks, but I in no way implied that 70-80 y/o people could only like music from 1942; my Dad likes Blue Oyster Cult and Pink Floyd (stuff from their post-Barrett acid trip/psychadelic years).

[ExTank]

I really need to stop hitting Submit when I intend to hit Preview.

But I meant to say WRT my Dad's liking for BoC and PF: I don't think too many people would look at an 80+ y/o man, who ordinarily dresses in a manner most people would associate with "rural," and figure that he'd like rock music from the 70's.

[OtakuLoki]

A couple of other suggestions: Look to show tunes from the 40s and 50s. Rogers and Hammerstein, in particular, I think would be well recognized and remembered by that audience.

[sisu]

Wizard of Oz is a big hit, look at musicals from the era also anything Bing C is good.

[ioioio]

ExTank, I now have a picture in my head of a bunch of wheelchair-bound octogenarians singing "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun. Shine on, you crazy diamond".

I'm trying to suppress the mental image of myself at 90 singing along to Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.

[johnpost]

Mitch Miller is a musician that did a sing along show on TV in the USA in the 60s. all the songs were popular hits. any songs he featured would be good.

[ExTank]

Originally Posted by laina_f

ExTank, I now have a picture in my head of a bunch of wheelchair-bound octogenarians singing "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun. Shine on, you crazy diamond".

I'm trying to suppress the mental image of myself at 90 singing along to Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.

If you've seen Raising Arizona, remember the bank robbery scene where the old timer asks Gale and Evelle, "Well which is it young feller? You want I should freeze, or hit the ground?" That's pretty much my Dad.

Now picture him humming along (he can't sing, and knows it, and gratefully he spares the world the torment of his singing voice) to Don't Fear the Reaper, or grooving to Veteran of the Psychic Wars.

[salinqmind]

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Al Martino, Tony Bennett, Judy Garland, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day....they all had hit songs that still float the boats of oldsters I know.

Strangers In The Night, That's Amore, Spanish Eyes, I Left My Heart In San Fran., The Trolley Song, Come On-A My House, Que Sera Sera.

[Equipoise]

In this thread I posted several links to YouTube songs they might like, though don't, for the love of god and potential heart attacks, play the dirty and explicit Lucille Bogan song "Shave 'em Dry." Some will get a kick out of it, but others will have a stroke. It's just as shocking today as it must have been back then.

Guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone, any age:

The Boswell Sisters - "(We've got to) Put that sun back in the sky"
The Boswell Sisters - "Was that the human thing to do?" (gets VERY cool at about the 2:00 mark) (an alternate take)
The Boswell Sisters - "Shine On Harvest Moon" (iffy, but included because not only do I love the Boswell Sisters, but my gal Happy Rhodes's grandfather wrote it so it's a thrill to hear them sing it)

Those are probably too old for even these seniors, though they might enjoy them anyway. Getting more into the songs they would have played (the older ones) or heard their parents play a lot, anything from WWII-era might bring a lot of smiles. The selection is vast, but here are a few classic gems.

Benny Goodman and his Orchestra - "Sing Sing Sing"
Benny Goodman - "Minne's In The Money"
Glenn Miller - "In The Mood"
Glenn Miller - "Moonlight Serenade"
Glenn Miller - "A String of Pearls"
Duke Ellington - "It Don't Mean A Thing If You Ain't Got That Swing"
Duke Ellington - "Take The A Train"

You can't go wrong with the Andrews Sisters.

"Rum and Coca Cola"
"Bei Mir Bistu Shein"
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B"
"Chattanooga Choo Choo"

Or Edith Piaf, for the more world-savvy.

"La Vie En Rose"
"Non, je ne regrette rien"


For the younger seniors, just play the soundtrack to American Graffiti.

You could also play the soundtrack to the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? I don't know of anyone of any age who doesn't like that.

[ioioio]

Originally Posted by ExTank

If you've seen Raising Arizona, remember the bank robbery scene where the old timer asks Gale and Evelle, "Well which is it young feller? You want I should freeze, or hit the ground?" That's pretty much my Dad.

Now picture him humming along (he can't sing, and knows it, and gratefully he spares the world the torment of his singing voice) to Don't Fear the Reaper, or grooving to Veteran of the Psychic Wars.

Oh Lord, ExTank, now I'm picturing the old folks singing Don't Fear the Reaper.

[rowrrbazzle]

A YouTube user has uploaded a lot of songs from vinyl albums sung by the men of the Robert Shaw Chorale. Many of the songs date from just before the Civil War! Here are a few samples.

Wait for the Wagon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrNLX...feature=relmfu
Aura Lee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GatVk...feature=relmfu
Just a Song At Twilight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5hnn...feature=relmfu
When You and I Were Young, Maggie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxmlO...feature=relmfu
Sweet Genevieve http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJGFs...feature=relmfu
Lorena http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6v28sO5mX0
Seeing Nellie Home http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVtlEN_UiS8
Good Night, Ladies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZwEJitN7SU

[bahia hombre]

Stephen Foster songs, if you want real old-timey but still fun. Swanee River, Camptown Races, etc...seniors would know 'em and love 'em.

[panache45]

Originally Posted by laina_f

A friend did a well-received Old Timey Singalong at a nursing home. Some of the songs were You Are My Sunshine, Bicycle Built for Two (Daisy Daisy), Home on the Range, and Happy Trails to You.

Honestly, were these people exclusively in the "over-110" demographics? If my parents were still alive, they'd be 99 this year, and they'd consider these songs very old-fashioned.

[K364]

Actually, the Old Timey Singalongs do very well at the Seniors Home. Not everyone was hip to Gershwin in that era.

[Zeldar]

For the 70-75 crowd (my group) it would probably hit closer to their heyday if you focus on the 50's instead of the 40's. The early years of RnR, early doo-wop, late big band, and maybe even the early 60's and pre-Beatle times.

As I see it, the 40's were more for my parents' generation. They've been dead since the 90's. The gap generation between my parents and me (80's-90's) might prefer WWII-era tunes, but it would be safer and more generally appealing to come forward in time to the Eisenhower years for a place to get your playlist.

And for me personally I would listen to covers of things up to and including Funk, Disco, Bossa Nova, and other late 60's and early 70's stuff. My tastes didn't stagnate in high school. And I don't think a lot of folks my age would object to more recent stuff, either. I might suggest slowing down with Rap, though.

One more thing: Country from that period plays well with most audiences. Ray Price, Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, Sonny James, Marty Robbins, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn.

[ioioio]

Originally Posted by panache45

Honestly, were these people exclusively in the "over-110" demographics? If my parents were still alive, they'd be 99 this year, and they'd consider these songs very old-fashioned.

My dad (86 years old, born 1926) is in a nursing home, so I know the crowd. The staff is grateful for entertainment for the residents, who are old and usually physically and mentally impaired. To get them to sing along, the songs have to be easy to sing, with words everybody knows; this is more important than the age of the songs.

My mom (90, born 1922) came of age in the 1940s and relates best to music of that era. She’s been complaining about the new-fangled music since the 1950s: Dinah Shore could sing, Mariah Carey is just caterwauling.

[cjepson]

The Great American Songbook.

[terentii]

Something I've discovered: the older people get, the more eclectic their musical tastes become. I'm now 57, and find that I like most styles and genres of music, all the way from classical to big band to the '60s and beyond. I even have a soft spot for those corny sing-a-longs from the turn of the last century because I grew up hearing them in Harveytoons on TV.

The more you're exposed to different styles and genres, the more you come to appreciate them, especially when they remind you of a certain time and place. When Saturday Night Fever came out, I hated the soundtrack. Now I look back on it with pure nostalgia.

I think it'd be great for you to do a musical tour of the 20th century. By the time you get to the Disco Era, those old folks will be out of their chairs cuttin' a rug!

[Sigmagirl]

Look at barbershop favorites, and also Mel Tormé/Rat Pack-type stuff.

[Chefguy]

Bye Bye Blackbird is always a hit. Second La Vie en Rose. Summertime and Swanee River. Stormy Weather is one of Holiday's that everybody knows. Try some of Nat King Cole's songs for livelier tunes, and perhaps some Ray Charles.

[AuntiePam]

Originally Posted by Chefguy

Bye Bye Blackbird is always a hit. Second La Vie en Rose. Summertime and Swanee River. Stormy Weather is one of Holiday's that everybody knows. Try some of Nat King Cole's songs for livelier tunes, and perhaps some Ray Charles.

Bye Bye Blackbird was my first thought. And Mockingbird Hill.

One thing to remember about people my age (mid 60's) is that while we grew up with Elvis and the Beatles, we also have fond memories of music our parents and grandparents enjoyed. My grandma loved Guy Mitchell and Frankie Laine and Johnny Ray.

[gallows fodder]

I made my grandfather a CD of his favorite music a few years ago when he was in his late 90s (he was born in 1910). He requested Duke Ellington, Ben Bernie & His Orchestra, Paul Whiteman & His Ambassador Orchestra, Hoagy Carmichael, and Vincent Lopez & His Orchestra, among others.

My grandfather was from New York City and I don't know if this was peculiar to him or if this was the way things were regarding music back then, but he only liked band leaders that were from the East Coast. I had suggested putting Ted Fio Rito & His Orchestra on the CD, but my grandfather turned up his nose at him for being a West Coast band leader.

[Max Torque]

Did someone say "sing-along"? Don't Dilly-Dally On The Way!

I also cast a vote for The Log-Driver's Waltz.

[Chefguy]

Bobby Darin's songs are catchy and memorable, even if not written by him. Mack The Knife and La Mer (Beyond the Sea) come readily to mind.

[AuntiePam]

A couple more -- Side by Side and Sparrow in the Treetop. I sang these songs with my friends in the 50's, but I think the songs are from the 30's and 40's. Midwestern oldsters will know these -- not sure about Coastal oldsters (might be too sophisticated).

[EmilyG]

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions

Originally Posted by Max Torque

Did someone say "sing-along"? Don't Dilly-Dally On The Way!

I also cast a vote for The Log-Driver's Waltz.

I think everyone in Canada knows the Log-Driver's Waltz. Hehe. I actually have its composer's autograph.

[Jeff Lichtman]

When you say you play music, do you mean you perform it yourself or you play recorded music?

[EmilyG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lichtman

When you say you play music, do you mean you perform it yourself or you play recorded music?

I perform music. I mostly play tunes unaccompanied on the clarinet (I try to find music that'll work for just clarinet.) I sometimes play with a pianist (accompanied by a pianist), and sometimes I play ukulele and sing (though I'm not that great at the ukulele.)

[Jeff Lichtman]

Originally Posted by EmilyG

I perform music. . .

OK. I think this means that things like big band swing wouldn't work for you. It would probably be better to stick to songs.

One approach you could take is to play popular hits from the time your target audience was young. Most people form their tastes in popular music when they are between fourteen and twenty-five years old. Someone who is eighty today would have been fourteen in 1946 and twenty-five in 1957. Here are some songs from those years:

1946
Beware (Brother, Beware) (Louis Jordan)
Let the Good Times Roll (also Jordan)
Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin' (also Jordan)
Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens (also Jordan)
Choo Choo Ch'Boogie (also Jordan)
Oh, but I Do (Nat "King" Cole)
I'm in the Mood for Love
(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66
You Call It Madness (but I Call It Love)
The Frim Fram Sauce
I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?

1947
Almost Like Being in Love
Beyond the Sea
Heartaches
Move It on Over (Hank Williams)
Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)

1948
Baby Face (this song had a revival that year)
Cool Water
A Couple of Swells
I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover (also revived that year)
Life Gets Tee-just, Don't It
On a Slow Boat to China
Put 'Em in a Box, Tie 'Em with a Ribbon, and Throw 'Em in the Deep Blue Sea
St. James Infirmary (Louis Armstrong had a hit with this in 1948)
Steppin' Out with My Baby
The Streets of Laredo

1949
Always True to You in My Fashion
Another Op'nin', Another Show
Baby, It's Cold Outside
Bali Ha'i
A Cock-Eyed Optimist
Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?
Happy Talk
I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams)
I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts
Johnson Rag
Mule Train
Red Roses for a Blue Lady
Riders in the Sky (AKA Ghost Riders in the Sky)
Saturday Night Fish Fry (Louis Jordan)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (revived that year by the movie of the same name)
Some Enchanted Evening
That Lucky Old Sun
There Is Nothin' Like a Dame
Too Darn Hot
A Wonderful Guy
You've Got to Be Carefully Taught

I'll post some more titles shortly.

[Ludovic]

Originally Posted by Jackmannii

They'd have to be relatively ancient (well up in their '80s) for songs of 1942 to be relevant.

I now have this rather dreadful image of the oldsters in another ten years wanting to hear "It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To".

I'm shuddering myself at being in my 80s and everywhere I go that panders to my demographic playing the hell out of some soul pop <-- at marketers not you

[Jeff Lichtman]

Here are some more:

1950:
Adelaide's Lament
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo
C'est Si Bon
Goodnight, Irene
Guys and Dolls
If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake
If I Were a Bell
If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)
I've Never Been in Love Before
La Vie en Rose
Life Is So Peculiar (Louis Jordan)
Luck Be a Lady
Mona Lisa
Music! Music! Music!
My Time of Day
Rag Mop
Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat
So Long, It's Been Good to Know You
Tennessee Waltz
Tzena, Tzena, Tzena

1951
Blue Velvet (first made popular by Tony Bennett that year)
Cold, Cold Heart (Hank Williams)
Come on-a My House
Hey, Good Lookin'
Hot Rod Race
How High the Moon
In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening
I Whistle a Happy Tune
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
A Kiss to Build a Dream on
On Top of Old Smoky (the Weavers had a hit with it that year)
Rocket "88"
Shall We Dance?
They Call the Wind Maria
Unforgettable

1952
Bourbon Street Parade
The Glow-Worm (the Mills Brothers revived it that year)
High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)
Jambalaya
Lullaby of Birdland
Walkin' My Baby Back Home (Johnny Ray revived it that year)
Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
Your Cheatin' Heart

More later. . .

[EmilyG]

Thanks!

[Jeff Lichtman]

Continuing:

1953 (This was a bad year for pop music in the U.S.):

Doggie in the Window (I hate this song, but your audience might like it)
Eh, Cumpari!
Hound Dog (the Big Mama Thornton version - Elvis's version came three years later)
Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
Matilda, Matilda (Harry Belafonte)
Rags to Riches (Tony Bennett)
Stranger in Paradise
That's Amore
That's Entertainment
Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)

1954 (another thin year):

Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)
Hey There (Rosemary Clooney)
Mister Sandman
Misty
Papa Loves Mambo (I hate this one, too, but. . .)
Shake, Rattle and Roll
Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)
Three Coins in the Fountain

1955:

Ain't That a Shame
Arrivederci, Roma
Autumn Leaves
The Ballad of Davy Crockett
Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots
Bo Diddley (by the artist of the same name)
Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)
Flip Flop and Fly (Big Joe Turner)
Love and Marriage
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Maybellene
Rock Around the Clock
Sixteen Tons
Unchained Melody
The Yellow Rose of Texas

I'll finish up on the next posting.

[Jeff Lichtman]

Here's the last of the time period:

1956:

Blueberry Hill
Blue Suede Shoes
Chain Gang
Don't Be Cruel
Fever (the Little Willie John version - Peggy Lee's version came two years later)
Folsom Prison Blues
Get Me to the Church on Time
The Great Pretender
Heartbreak Hotel
Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)
I Could Have Danced All Night
I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face
I Walk the Line
Long Tall Sally
Love Me, Tender
Mack the Knife
Moonglow (revived that year for the movie "Picnic")
On the Street Where You Live
The Party's Over
Que Sera Sera
The Rain in Spain
Rock Island Line
Roll Over Beethoven
This Land Is Your Land
The Wayward Wind
With a Little Bit of Luck

1957:
All Shook Up
All the Way (Sinatra)
America (West Side Story)
The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)
Diana (Paul Anka)
Gee, Officer Krupke
Goodnight My Someone (The Music Man)
Great Balls of Fire
Honeycomb (Jimmie Rodgers)
I Feel Pretty
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter (Billy Williams revived it that year)
I'm Walking (Fats Domino)
Jailhouse Rock
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
Marian the Librarian
Peggy Sue
Seventy-Six Trombones (really the same melody as Goodnight My Someone)
Silhouettes (The Rays)
Susie-Q
(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
That'll Be the Day
Wake up Little Susie
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

That's it!

[BrainGlutton]

Pig Foot Pete.

[BrainGlutton]

Nagasaki! (Warning: Not too PC . . .)