Help me find some tribute songs for fathers

Cafe Society
1

My mother-in-law is planning a family reunion this summer and is having a program about her (now departed) father. She wants her grandchildren to sing a popular song about fathers and suggested Love Without End, Amen by George Strait. Normally, I like George, but this song in particular grates on me (at least partially by being overplayed). Help me find some alternatives.
Ground rules:

  1. It should be about fathers or grandfathers or other patriarch-types.
  2. It should be mostly complimentary - no “my dad screwed up my life” songs.
  3. Any singable genre will do - country, rock, pop, etc.

Thanks

2

Dan Fogelberg - “The Leader of the Band”. Might be too topical, and it’s aldo pretty schmalzy.

3

My Father by Judy Collins is a beautiful song.

4

Father and Son by Cat Stevens

5

Whatever you do, don’t succumb to “Butterfly Kisses,” possibly the worst song ever written. Everyone uses it for the father-daughter dance at their weddings, which just proves to me that there are still a lot of people out there who like that song…enought to use it at their own weddings! Unacceptable!

6

A boy named Sue of course.

7

How about Peter Gabriel’s Father, Son?

8

Complimentary, eh? I guess that leaves off Papa Was A Rolling Stone. And for God’s sake, stay away from Father Figure!

  • Color Him Father by The Winstons, although the Gil-Scott Heron cover’s nice too.

  • Just The Two of Us; either the Bill Withers/Grover Washington original or the Will Smith cover

Natalie Cole’s remastered duet with her father, Unforgettable, but more for the two singing together than the lyrics-- which, if you think about them too much, are kindy icky.

9

Ack. Not Gil Scott-Heron, Bobby Womack. My father would be appalled.

10

Dunno what would qualify here as a “popular” song, but the one that comes to my mind reached #6 on the Billboard Top 40 chart for 1963:

My Dad by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, sung by Paul Petersen*

It’s reasonably short and mostly complimentary. My own dad liked it.

*“Jeff Stone” from The Donna Reed Show

11

How about Daddy’s Hands by Holly Dunn?

12

Don’t forget “Cat’s in the Cradle” (Harry Chapin), “For You” (Staind), and “Daddy” (Korn).

Seriously though, “The Living Years” (Mike & the Mechanics).

13

“Hold Me My Daddy” by XTC.

14

Paul Simon did a song ‘Father and Daughter’; it’s most everything a daughter could want from her dad.

15

No relation to “Mother and Child Reunion”?

16

“People, let me tell you 'bout my best friend . . .”

“Best Friend,” by Harry Nilsson
(theme song for The Courtship of Eddie’s Father)

17

How about Luther Vandross’s “Dance with my Father”?

18

I thought of that when I posted. :slight_smile:
It’s a song from a kid’s movie, The Wild Thornberrys, which I haven’t seen. To me, it’s a really tender song, though it might veer into saccharine territory for others.

19

Captain AMazing - wow, my boss just suggested a copy of Mr. Vandoss’s song. Good choice.

I appreciate all the help - I also have suggestions for My Father’s Eyes by Eric Clapton and The Best Day by George Strait. Someone suggested When You Come Back To Me Again, but it seems you would have to have seen the movie Frequency for that to have any Father-Sons significance.

I’m a little surprised, I have just shy of 15,000 MP3’s (all legally obtained as part of a DJ service I used to belong to), and I could find more songs about loving fast food than about parental love. I’m sure its significant/Fruedian somehow.

Thank you all again, and keep up the suggestions.

20

Reba McEntire’s The Greatest Man, although that’s a bit depressing.

Celine Dion’s Because You Loved Me (I think that’s it) doesn’t specifically mention fathers, but it does talk about “Holding me up when I couldn’t reach” and “You were my voice when I couldn’t speak.” I always thought that would be a nice Father/Daughter wedding dance song.