Not talking piano here, but keyboard - access to organ, clavinet, sawtooth, or whatever is a button away. What are the songs that EVERY keyboardist should have memorized, should the occasion to jam or show off arise?
To get things started, with some songs I just played:
Europe - The Final Countdown (if anyone ever asks what a sawtooth is, this is what you throw at them)
The Doors - Light My Fire
The Who - the Baba O’Riley intro (helps if you know how to program an arpeggio)
Your’re kidding, right? That’s got to be one of the most boring keyboard “solos” of one of the most boring songs I’ve ever heard. (I’m a piano player and guitarist.)
Well, granted the keyboard solo in Light My Fire is rather tedious, but the organ riff that is the song’s instrumental hook is pretty cool, IMO.
As a keyboardist, here are some things I do that get smiles from listeners or bandmates:
Fire up the Mellotron flutes and play the intro to Strawberry Fields Forever. (Or for more geek credit, Mellotron strings and Watcher Of The Skies.)
Pull out the Rhodes for Riders On The Storm. (Another good Rhodes tune is Babylon Sisters; regular listeners may yawn, but you’ll probably get an approving eyebrow from at least one bandmember, possibly the drummer.)
Got pizzicato strings? Try the theme from The Simpsons or maybe Holiday For Strings.
Those Endearing Young Charms a la Warner Brothers is always good for a laugh.