Well, I’m making my song list…only I don’t know any songs. I have a bunch of oldies, but I need some more modern songs for my guests to dance to.
So are there any suggestions? Any style, age, genre, is fine. I’m open to everything
Anthracite already gave me a good start, but I need like 5 hrs worth of music.
(And BTW, I don’t have a DJ. I’m making my own CDs)
There’s a lovely country and Western song, by Tammy Wynette, called
"D-I-V-O-R-C-E"
and then there’s a song Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden used to sing,
“I Wish You Were Dead, You Rascal You”
and from that Fred Asataire/Jane Powell movie Royal Wedding,
“How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You, When You Know I’ve Been A Liar All My Life?”
Or have I misunderstood your enquiry…?
[sub]suddenly embarrassed, but decides to post anyway[/sub]
“Love Stinks” – J. Geils Band
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” – Joy Division
“Tainted Love” – Soft Cell
“You Say You Don’t Love Me” – Buzzcocks
“So You Think You’re In Love” – Robyn Hitchcock
“Breaking Us In Two” – Joe Jackson
“Ball and Chain” – Social Distortion
“You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” – Righteous Brothers
“I’m Not In Love” – 10cc
“Love Hurts” – Nazareth
Well, let’s see.
“At Last” by Etta James
“True” by Spandau Ballet
“Just the Two of Us” - I think Bill Withers
“Look what you’ve done to me” - Boz Skaggs
“Looking for love” - Johnny Lee
“Get out of my dreams” - Billy Ocean
You guys are mean.
How 'bout a mid-80s segment:
You Spin Me Right Round–Dead or Alive
Safety Dance–Men Without Hats
Come on Eileen–Dexy’s Midnight Runners
And my favorite dance song, the disco-licious Upside Down by Diana Ross.
People will dance to anything, if it’s fun and well known (and they’re drunk). If you stick to well-loved classics and a wide range of newer stuff that’s fairly radio-friendly, you’re going to get the maximum number of people on the dance floor. (There are a couple of songs in this list that not everyone’s going to know, but then again, who wants a whole evening of songs from Grease?)
Don’t forget to add in a couple of songs that only you and your close friends know. Put them on towards the end of the evening and… voila! Instant circle of drunken mates singing badly and hugging you for all you’re worth. (Or is that just me?)
“Song 2” - Blur (Guaranteed to get people jumping)
“Love Shack” - The B-52’s
“Tainted Love” - Soft Cell
“Beautiful Stranger”, “Like a Virgin”, or “Express Yourself” - Madonna
“Nutbush City Limits” - Ike & Tina Turner
“Just” - Radiohead
“Stuck in the Middle” - Stealers Wheel
“Summer Nights” - Grease
“Unfinished Sympathy” - Massive Attack
“Sweet Child o’ Mine” - Guns n Roses
“Hey Girl, Hey Boy” - The Chemical Brothers
“Atomic” - Blondie
“Wonderwall” - Oasis
“Manic Monday” - Bangles
“Debaser” - The Pixies
“Baby One More Time” - Brittney Spears [sub][sup](I can’t believe I just typed that)[/sup][/sub]
“Bohemian Rhapsody” - Queen
“Praise You” - Fatboy Slim
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” - Nirvana
“Need You Tonight” - INXS
“Natural Blues” - Moby
“Celebrity Skin” - Hole
“Black Steel” - Tricky
“Time Warp” - Rocky Horror Picture Show
“Birdhouse in Your Soul” - They Might Be Giants
“Satisfaction” - Rolling Stones
“Under the Bridge” - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
“Beautiful Day” - U2
…and so on an so forth. YMMV.
Nicko
[Sub](Veteran of FIVE weddings in the last year - what the hell is going on???)[/Sub]
Nicko’s on the right track… except, perhaps…
.The first two are a little dry…
.I’d replace that Blondie tune with “Heart of Glass”
.umm, not really a dance track, but I’d throw in “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights” by Meatloaf
.Hole? Depends on your crowd.
.And perhaps one of the remix versions of “Beautiful Day”, or play “One”
Other dance tracks:
-“September” by Earth, Wind & Fire
-“Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” by Michael Jackson
-“Brown Eyed Girl” Van Morrison
-“Can’t Help Myself” Four Tops
-“My Girl” Temptations
-“Lady” Modjo
-“Missing”(Todd Terry Mix) Everything But The Girl
-“She Bangs” (Ooh!)Ricky Martin :rolleyes)
-“I Will Survive” Gloria Gaynor
-“Hot Stuff” Donna Summer
-“The Gambler” Kenny Rogers
-“YMCA” Village People
-“Night Fever” or “Stayin’ Alive” BeeGees
-“Mr. Jones” Counting Crows
-“That Don’t Impress Me Much” Shania Twain
-“Shook Me All Night Long” AC/DC
-“Old Time R&R” Bob Seger
-“Son Of A Preacher Man” Dusty Springfield
-“Let’s Get Loud” Jennifer Lopez
-“Are You Gonna Go My Way” Lenny Kravitz
-“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” Cindy Lauper
-“Faith” George Michael
-“Sharp-Dressed Man” ZZTop
-“Been Caught Stealing” Jane’s Addiction
-“It Had To Be You” Harry Connick Jr.
-“Personal Jesus” Depeche Mode
-“Phenomenon” LLCoolJ
-“Lovely Day” Bill Withers
-“The First, The Last, My Everything” Barry White
-“Kiss From A Rose” (Great Waltz!) Seal
-“Smooth”/“Maria Maria” Santana
-“Blue” Eiffel 65
-“Mambo #5” Lou Bega
-“Bailamos” Enrique Iglesias
-“Miami” Will Smith
-“Red Red Wine” UB40
-“Banana Boat Song”/“Jump In The Line” Harry Belafonte
-“Return Of The Mac” Mark Morrison
-“Come Out & Play” Offspring
-“Twist & Shout” Beatles
-“Seven Days” Craig David
-“Dance & Shout” Shaggy
-“Don’t You Want Me” Human League
-“Dancing Queen” Abba
-“Groove Is In The Heart” DeeLite
-“What Is Love” Haddaway
-“I Feel Good” James Brown
-“You Don’t Know Me” Armand van Helden & Duane Harden
-“Believe” Cher
-“Total Eclipse Of The Heart” Nikki French
-…I try and hold off the “Macarena” or the “Electric Slide” until I get at least two requests for either
Some of that stuff up there is old, but various movies and shows (Pulp Fiction, Ally McBeal, etc) have made them “new” again. That list should tie you iver, I’m certain. If you go with the whole list, let me know how it turns out (it’ll be the second wedding I’ve DJed blind!)
Congrats, and have fun!
“Jump Jive & Wail” Brian Setzer Orchestra
…there’re others I’ve probably forgotten, but if you need more, you can always email me.
Thank you Nicko and Darqangellefor your suggestions. Those are some excellent songs and I never even thought about them!!!
And Darqanelle, I probably will be emailing you for more suggestions in the future…
Short but sappy:
“I Think I Love You” by The Partridge Family
“Magic Bus” (By the Monkees? I’m not sure)
“Happy Together” by the Turtles
“That’s What I Like About You,” by Trisha Yearwood (written by John Hadley, Kevin Welch, and Wally Wilson)
“Can’t help falling in love with you” - Elvis
“Head Over Feet” – Alanis Morissette
a few more…
“What A Wonderful World This Would Be” by Sam Cooke (Don’t know much about history, the song from Witness)
“Dream a Little Dream of Me” – Louis Armstrong
“What a wonderful world it would be” – Louis Armstrong (used in Good Morning Vietnam)
“You Better, You Bet” - The Who
KLF- What time is Love, 3am Eternal
Front242- Happiness(underworld mix)
Pet Shop Boys- Go West
Depeche Mode- People are People, Master and Servant, Enjoy the Silence, Personal Jesus, Behind the Wheel
Prodigy- Vodoo People
New Order- True Faith, Bizzare Love Triangles, Temptation
Wolfsheim- Once in a Lifetime, I don’t love you anymore
Beborn Beton- Another World, Peach
Mesh- Trust You
God Module- Desire
Covenant- Dead Stars
Bigod20- Carpe Diem
VnV nation- Savior, Standing
Kraftwerk- We are the Robots, TransEurope-express
Ummm…
Butterfly Kisses- Bob Carlisle
At the Beginning- Anastasia Soundtrack
Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman- Bryan Adams
Suavemente or Pintame- Elvis Crespo
I’m a Believer - The Monkees
One Week- Bare Naked Ladies
A Puro Dolor(Spanish) Purest of Pain(English)- Son by 4
Arms Wide Open or Higher- Creed
1, 2, 3- El Simbolo
Always and Forever- Luther Vandross
Truly Madly Deeply or Affirmation- Savage Garden
Boom Boom Boom- The Venga Boys
Kitty
Aw, come on people! You can’t have a wedding without playing “Conga” by The Miami Sound Machine. It just wouldn’t be right. Also, anything by CCR is pretty cool, too, if you’re into the older stuff. I’d recommend “Proud Mary”. K.C. and the Sunshine Band always seems to play at every wedding that I’ve ever been to. My personal favorite would have to be “Shake Your Ass” by Mystical, though. You might want to wait until later in the night to play that one, though. Oh yeah, “Stayin’ Alive” the Bee Gees.
Dear Pepperlandgirl,
I am so glad some decent folk showed up and left reasonable suggestions for wedding music. I’ve been feeling so MEAN since the other day, but I couldn’t resist it - I love to be naughty.
Hope you have a great day and a terrific marriage.
R
Hey! Congrats on the wedding, etc, etc.
But…its positively de rigueur to play “I knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll” by Nick Lowe.
All the best.
Dave
Unchained Melody - the Righteous Brothers (for those who are uncultured, it’s the one they used in “Ghost”)
Just about any other song by the Righteous Brothers
All I Want is You - U2
Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash (if you guys are country fans and want something classic and easy to dance to)
Hazy Shade of Winter - Bangles
Cant Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley
When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge
For the Love of a Princess - from the BRAVEHEART soundtrack (maybe)
Storybook Love - from the Princess Bride soundtrack
Georgia On My Mind - Ray Charles
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
Fields of Gold - Sting
Oh, and threaten the DJ with death if hey plays an oldies “dance mix” - if you want oldies have him play the ACTUAL SONGS in their ENTIRETY - it’s much cooler that way, and those mixes drive a majority of the population insane. Some friends were able to withhold half of the DJ’s fee for their reception because they got him to put in black and white that there would be no oldies mixes, then he played 5 back to back at the reception.
Thank you all so much for your excellent suggestions.
I had no idea how tough this job was going to be until I took it on…
pepper-
What song do you have planned for your first dance? May I suggest:
“I Will” - The Beatles
“Something” - The Beatles
(how could could pepperlandgirl get married without them?!)
And as for dancing music, maybe you should look into some of those compilation CDs. You could also rummage through your CDs (and by “your” I mean yours and the lucky groom’s…“what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine” and all that 
) Oldies are good at a wedding - all fun songs.
How about two greats from the Dead Milkmen:
“You’ll Dance to Anything” just to see if they do.
“Punk Rock Girl” which isn’t just funny, it’s also quite danceable.
Anything and everything by They Might Be Giants, up to and definitely including “You’re Not the Boss of Me Now.”