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Quote:
RE: Fun . . . the last line of my closing thank you remarks after every show is, "if you guys had half as much fun as I did we are OK".
Later,
I love that quote, Danny... mind If I use it too?
it shows an identification with and affection for your audience... I bet you have a lot of people who faithfully attend your performances
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DOING THE MATH ----------------- OK, assuming it's true that the impending tsunami of retiring boomers will create new musical opportunities, the next question is "How do I know which songs to prepare?" I've noticed that most peoples' musical taste is formed in high school, and they tend to retain a special affection for songs that were popular the year they graduated. Except for special cases like government workers who often get early retirement packages, the vast majority of Boomers will retire between ages 62 and 65 That means the group retiring this year probably graduated from high school between 1964 and 1967 Searching the web for the top 100 pop songs for those years, we find: http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1964.htmhttp://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1965.htmhttp://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1966.htmhttp://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1967.htmIf you pick your first batch of songs from these 4 lists, you'll probably be in the ballpark and able to offer songs that the current group of retirees wants to hear. Then each year, get the next list and learn another batch of songs from it. That way, you'll always stay current with the fresh crop of retired boomers. (A lot of these songs may already be on your song list since if you're reading this you're probably at or approaching retirement age too)
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While the majority of people enjoy the music of their high school years for the rest of their lives, many of them, especially with older siblings got into music earlier than that. I know I enjoy the music that my big sister listened to. Also, many of the keep listening to Top40 music through college years and beyond. I suspect most people keep up with pop music at least until their first child gets to the toddler stage.
Was that the case with you?
So when I play for baby-boomers, while the majority of music is from their era, I sprinkle in more modern tunes that I feel will appeal to them.
You try things, if it works you give them more, if not, you go immediately go back to something tried and true.
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Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
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Notes,
thanks again for sharing your acquired wisdom. I completely agree with all of the points you make. But its worth noting that you speak from the position of a guy who has been doing this for a lifetuime, and you have thousands of song to draw from.
My point in this thread wasn't so much to talk about my own goal, but to plant a seed in the minds of many BIAB users who are enjoying their music, but aren't performing because they believe the music scene has passed them by.
Many of them are like me, ready and willing, but lacking a set of songs. Speaking for myself, I suffer from "option paralysis" ... too many possibilities usually means I can't move in any direction. If I make the task too complicated, I won't succeed in breaking it down to small achievable steps.
So the focus in this thread has been to simply lay an uncluttered track to run on for anyone who looks at the evidence and thinks its worth a try.
Another tie in to many of your previous points about playing what the audience wants to hear rather than what *the musician* wants to play... I graduated in 1971, which puts my favored songs out of synch with what the current batch of retirees probably wants to hear. (In 1971 Led Zeppelin was the hot band, and we already know your thoughts on that... )
If not for a reasonably structured approach to zeroing in on my core audience's preferences, I would almost certainly learn a bunch of songs that could alienate the very group I want to win.
I agree that it would be better to bring EVERYTHING to the table and only serve up what the audience wants. But for those of us without that broad preparation, we have to start SOMEWHERE. The goal of accumulating the number and variety of songs you have at your disposal is too large a task for me and probably for many others.
Which partly explains why you stand head and shoulders over your competition. Bands come and go, and they usually learn enough songs to fill a niche. Your staying power has given you a head start that is virtually unassailable by most of the people who want to steal your gigs.
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If you are lacking in repertoire, HIT THE WOODSHED.
One song per day, spend the entire day on that tune and make it permanently yours.
--Mac
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Quote:
I graduated in 1971, which puts my favored songs out of synch with what the current batch of retirees probably wants to hear. (In 1971 Led Zeppelin was the hot band, and we already know your thoughts on that.
Don't be that quick to assume. I graduated in 1969 and I STILL hate Led Zeppelin. Plant can't sing, Page is WAY overrated, and Bonham was just loud and busy trying to become Keith Moon. Jones was the real musician in that band.
I suggest you spend a few nights bar hopping (drinking optional - for me it is cranberry and soda) and see what the local bands are playing. If they are getting work, by extension, they are pleasing the crowds. Not to say copy what they do, but Joe's Happy Place like Beatles music, take your British Invasion show there. If Jake's House of Jello Shots likes the Zep, take the harder set there. You may end up doing a medley of hits by The Starland Vocal Band (that would be a short show) but it comes down to how much you really want the gig. My pal is a HARD NOSED rocker and he plays country clubs with prerecorded backup and he plays 2 mellow sets, and the third is not that much more raucous with his hardest stuff Earth Wind & Fire. And always closes with Maggie Mae.
Hard for us to know your area. You are probably in a location where you have your choice of genre,. Up where I live a good country band works 3 times per month. Bad blues bands work 8 times per month. Here we have too many "jam nights" were musicians give clubs free music. I have never been to a jam night and will never go. I get paid when I play.
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quoted from a boomer web site: Quote:
Stated very simply, the demographers, sociologists and the media define baby boomers as those born between (and including) 1946 and 1964. (There is no law or constitutional amendment so stating; and other boundaries have been suggested. But this is the time frame most commonly used.) In 2011, that would make us between 46 and 64 years old. There are about 75 million boomers in the U.S.; we currently represent about 29% of the U.S. population.
several points worth making...
1) musically speaking, that's a pretty long and diverse time... 18 years
2) the wave of retirements is near the beginning. Some have retired already, most are still working... but the wave is coming
3) Most of us on this forum are boomers, but I have noticed a wide disparity in musical taste here (many similarities too)
4) I'm trying to avoid making statements that are too specific and limiting, except to say that the wave is coming, and I expect this group to start seeking entertainment in numbers we haven't seen in about 40 years
he who has ears to hear, let him hear. Get ready, or don't. Your call.
I've already made my decision. If your view is different, then do that.
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What is commercial to your area depends on the people in your area and the particular gig. When we play for the retirees at our normal Tuesday crowd, Led Z, The Romantics, Steppenwolf, Garth Brooks, Bob Marley, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Harry Belefonte, Bobby Darin, Robert Johnson, Michael Buble, Jimmy Buffett, Bob Seger, The Drifters, Jethro Tull, Etta James, etc. all work. But it's a listening gig, not a dancing gig nor a dinner gig. In the Yacht Club we get about an hour of playing high energy music and two hours of low-level to moderate music. Zep, Steppenwolf, Romantics etc., won't work there. But there are things that always seem to work everywhere, old middle-of-the-road Top40. Personally, I love Led Z, Vanilla Fudge, King Crimson, and other "acid rock" groups, but I don't play any. We used to do "Stairway" but people got tired of it. I'd love to do "Dazed And Confused" but most of the audience wouldn't want to hear it. Yes the musical menu is extremely large. Between 1955 and the present, there must be at least 10,000 Top40 songs. You can't learn them all. Start with the most popular and the most MOR. You can't go too wrong with songs that made it to number 1 on Billboard. Then while you are gigging, pay attention to the requests. If you stay on stage long enough, the audience will tell you what they want to hear. Need help with Top40 songs, this is a great reference book, I use it myself. Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Quote:
Need help with Top40 songs, this is a great reference book, I use it myself.
Notes
Interesting you should mention this book... a friend at work just gave me a copy of it last week.
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Quote:
Start with the most popular and the most MOR. You can't go too wrong with songs that made it to number 1 on Billboard.
which is pretty much why I posted the links to the top 100 songs for the 4 year period that probably influenced the musical taste of the group that's retiring this year.
(To see other years top 100 list, all you have to do is edit the year in the link.)
I saved the lists from 1963 to present so I can put the songs I learn in folders by year (in addition to other ways of storing them) That way, if I play for a class reunion, I can go straight to the folder of songs that were popular during the high school years, and not have to search.
I also created a spreadsheet of the songs, tabbed by year and sortable by ranking, song name, artist and some other factors important to me (acoustic vs electric, danceable vs easy listening etc). I will post this spreadsheet to the Yahoo BIAB forum file archive when its finished, in case anybody else may find it useful.
Last edited by Pat Marr; 09/07/11 02:50 AM.
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