I can sing pretty much any Pretenders song well. Not that I can have a particularly good voice but I spent so much of my teen years singing along with Chrissy Hynde that I end up doing a pretty good imitation of her. Sort of like chicks on American Idol that can rock the Janis Joplin but can’t sing a damned thing else.
As for fun, nothing beats singing along with a friend to Queen. It’s not pretty, but it sure is fun to “Freddy it up”
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Lady Marmalade - LaBelle
Copacabana - Barry Manilow
Dancing With Myself - Billy Idol
White Wedding - Billy Idol
(I Would Walk) 500 Miles - The Replacements(?)
One Singular Sensation - from A Chorus Linezz
All That Jazz - from Chicago
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls - from The Bohemian Girl (1843)
Carly Simon - That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be
(actually I enjoy singing alot of her songs since we share a contralto vocal range)
also:
David Bowie - Lady Grinning Soul, The Bewley Brothers & others
Roxy Music - Mother of Pearl, Amazona
REM - Losing My Religion
Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You
My “in concert in the car” song is Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Joe Jackson. Nice and simple in an easy key; it’s right in my wheelhouse. There are lots more that aren’t coming to me at the moment, but I can handle the Amy Ray part of the Indigo Girls catalog with style.
California - Joni Mitchell
All My Ex’s Live in Texas - George Strait
In The Arms of the Angel (might not be the title) - Sarah McLachlan
In The Shadow of the Clouds - Tiki King
Captain of Her Heart - Double
Am I In Heaven, Or Am I In Miami? - Martin Mull
Miami, My Amy - Keith Whitley - I like songs with “Miami” in them.
Vincent (Starry Starry Night) - Josh Groban
Wildfire - Michael Martin Murphy
Marble Halls - Enya
“Mercedes Benz” by Janis Joplin
“Main Street” by Bob Seeger
“It’s a Beautiful Morning” by the Young Rascals
“I know This Much is True” by Roxy Music
“Special Ed” by Stephen Lynch
“Candy Man” by Christina Aguilera
“Fields of Gold” by Sting
“Sara” by Stevie Nicks
“Keep on Growing” by Derek and the Dominos"
“Pony Boy” by the Allman Brothers
The Highwayman by Loreena Mckennitt, because it’s just so…nineteenth century. (Well, okay, technically early 20th, since the original poem was written in 1906, but eh, I think the label still fits.) I just love singing flowery drama.
I also like a bunch of Mediaeval Baebes’ stuff, particularly the Middle English phrases. Was it actually pronounced that way? We’ll probably never know. But it’s fun to say stuff like “erthe upon erthe is wonderly wroghte.”
I like
Movin’ Out, Only the Good Die Young, etc. by Billy Joel
Blue Bayou by Linda Ronstadt
Cool Change by the Little River Band
What’s Going On by 4 Non-Blondes Try it! You can not screw this up.
Come Back and Stay by Paul Young
Skid Row, etc. from the musical Little Shop of Horrors
Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles
Money Changes Everything, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, etc. by Cyndi Lauper
Walking in Memphis by Mark Cohn
Superstar, etc. by the Carpenters
Well, that’s more than ten already. I could think of lots.
My Mom used to sing this to me as a lullaby too! I can barely sing it without crying sometimes.
My go to karaoke song is Sweet Child O’Mine by Guns N’ Roses.
But there are quite a few muscial theatre songs that are just plain fun to sing. Pretty much anything from Chicago, Les Mizzle, Parade…shows with big ensemble numbers or brassy ladies.
If there’s a female in the band who can do a passable job, B52s Rock Lobster or Love Shack
When I’m in the car:
Apocalyptica - Not Strong Enough (actual performance of this kills my voice, which is why it’s relegated to car status)
I can go on and on, but I wont!
ETA: PS - if there are any singers here who can tell me how to scream and be scratchy without killing my voice, I’m all ears! (Oddly, I do fine with Alice in Chains, but not other stuff – haven’t figured out what the difference is)
The next two or three would be Doll by Doll songs which won’t mean anything to anyone else (Palace of Love, Perfect Romance, Bright Green Field) I can’t sing them well at all but it’s fun trying to emulate Jackie*
Wrote a list then noticed all the rest are a bit girly, oh well, it probably would make people laugh but there’s no way I’m going to be performing them.
The Motels: Total Control
Kate Bush: The Big Sky
Holly Beth Vincent: Honalu
Fill up the rest with Stevie Nicks stuff
*He may have a girly name but this Jackie is a bloke