Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner - Non Classical Looking for a few "Go-to" party songs

Hi all--

I was at a party the other day, they had a piano, and I played some classical stuff and it was very-well received. I would also like to be able to throw down some more liquor-oriented licks--stuff that's more sing-along or popular. I'd also like it if they were sticky--I don't need to practice them often in order to maintain them in the rep. Here's what I'm thinking about so far:

btw I can sing along passably but I'm not about to get signed by a major label--looking for songs that are crowd pleasers and might also induce sing-along and so forth.

Living on a Prayer
Ticket to Ride
Don't Stop Believing
Blister in the Sun
Mr Brightside
Piano Man

and as an iffy 'stretch goal' I might try Sheet Music Boss's Devil Went Down to Georgia--but it's somewhat technical and I'm no pro.

All of you who play for yourself for the most part, but also like some pop songs and like to share your ability at parties--what are some crowd pleasers?

A few popular sing-along Songs;

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Dancing Queen - Abba
Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond

I understand the most requested songs, at a piano bar for instance, are some of the standards. "Misty", " Georgia", "The Shadow of Your Smile", "As Time Goes By". That sort of thing. Or some of the movie/show tunes, ie: "Over the Rainbow".

Here comes the sun - George Harrison

Well, it would depend on the age group and crowd you are targeting. Really you are just looking for songs that are familiar to the people you play for. Playing for friends should make it easier to identify what's interesting. Just play covers that would be exciting to yourself pretty much since you likely have similar tastes as your friends and it's much more enjoyable to learn covers to songs you personally like.

It's really just about finding things that are familiar which also means really just play all the cliche stuff.

For me, there's songs from all genres that I would want to have in my repertoire at a party, including classical music. Stuff like Fur Elise, Rondo Alla Turca, and Moonlight Sonata 1st movement are all easy enough to maintain and have lots of exposure in pop culture.

For more classic rock covers, I think it's hard to go wrong with really any song from Journey. Other ideas include November Rain, Eye of the Tiger, Highway to heck, Sweet Home Alabama, Crazy Train, etc.
For modern pop songs, stuff like Dance Monkey or Despacito are sure to get people excited.
For TV/movie buffs, maybe something like The Godfather, Titanic, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, StarWars, etc all have iconic songs.
For anime, Cruel Angel's Thesis, Unravel, any of the Attack on Titan OPs, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, etc
For video games, any Final Fantasy song, any song from Nier Automata, Super Mario theme, Tetris theme, etc.

If people have heard the song, they will be excited when it pops up randomly on a piano.

Great suggestions, thank you.



Great points. The audience would be 'age 10-60' -ish, with emphasis on the 30-50 crowd. Songs should be recognizable and encourage singing along or dancing or just head-nodding. I would also have to like it if I'm going to try to set the mood. The showtune/anime ideas are great, I guess I should be explicit that I'm looking for a few pop/rock "go-to" pieces.


This has the feeling of someone who has an old-standby, and I can get behind this one.

An idea just occurred to me--is Safety Dance piano-able? That would be a fun one.

The In Crowd - as in 1965 Ramsey Lewis.

That sounds like the sort of stuff that I play.

Moon River, Amazing Grace, The Pink Panther, House of the Rising Sun, Danny Boy, Imagine, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Imagine, What a Wonderful World, Speak Softly Love, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, My Way, Could I Have This Dance, Concrete Angel, Knock Three Times, Rubber Ducky, Two out of Three Ain't Bad, The Rainbow Connection, White Wedding, Yesterday, I Write the Songs, Africa, Mr. Bo Jangles, Don't Take the Girl, I Cross My Heart....

Joy to the World- three dog night

Hornsby's, The Way it Is (gotta work on a flourishing solo for the end)
Doby Grey's Drift Away
Patsy Kline/Willie Nelson, Crazy
Jim Croce's, LeRoy Brown
Everybody, Stagger Lee
Everybody, 12 bar Blues (make up words)
E.J.s, Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, & Your Song
Already mentioned, Don't Stop Believing, and Piano Man

Oh man. THIS guy^^. He gets me!



Dude. This is exactly what I'm talking about. Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, LeRoy Brown...Crazy. Yep. They are losing their contemporary appeal as we all approach our graves but they are the exact type of song I mean.

You aren't in CO are you?

Here's ten that go over pretty well for me, with a crowd of a certain age:
Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison
My Girl - Temptations
Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino
Hey Jude - Beatles
Sway - Dean Martin, Michael Buble
Save the Last Dance for Me - Doc Pomus
Another Saturday Night - Sam Cooke, Cat Stevens
The Rose - Bette Midler
Summertime - Everybody
Every Breath You Take - Sting

Is that the Mungo Jerry Summertime? Or a different version. I like that list.

Thanks
If they aren't fun for me, i don't play it.
Also, Speedwagon's, Roll with the Changes
Beatles' She Came in Thru the Bathroom Window
Sorry, not CO. I'm in IA.

Hi,

It's Summertime by Gershwin. Two more to add to the list:

Moondance by Van Morrison, Michael Buble
Dream A Little Dream of Me Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Shore and Mama Cass

I don't play for others much, but I know where you're coming from, so I'll share some that I always keep in my back pocket:

Sloop John B.
Hey Jude/Let It Be
Nights in White Satin
Me and Bobby McGee
Desperado
You'll Be Back (from Hamilton)
Vincent (Starry Starry Night)
Imagine
Southern Cross
The Sounds of Silence/Mrs. Robinson
Something
Some TV themes: M*A*S*H, The Office, Cheers
Morning Has Broken

Nice selection. Heavy on the Beatles, and that suites me fine. I also like the TV themes. I've been toying with the idea of having Linus and Lucy on tap. Desperado is a killer choice too. Nights in White Satin I never listened to (by quirk of fate) but is such a singularly outstanding song. I wonder how it would sound with piano and voice.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Hi Hawgdriver

Many great suggestions already.

I'd also suggest some boogie-woogie. One of my party pieces (not that I actually go to parties these days) is Honky Tonk Train Blues. Most people enjoy a bit of a boogie.

Additionally:
Honky Tonk Women - Rolling Stones
Emily - Johnny Mandel (a beautiful tune)
New York State of Mind - Billy Joel
Just the Way You Are - Billy Joel
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
Bennie & the Jets - Elton John
Songs (Maria etc) from West Side Story

I think you probably had enough already!

Cheers

Check out Grace Potter's song library for someone who isn't very well known but is a pretty decent writer and plays keys pretty well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nrpwng09f8

O_O