Top ten list of Must Know Cover Songs

[clifffclaven]

Matt is right. I grew up playing all the 80's stuff but there is very little market for now. It all depends if you want to be a popular band or play for the two dudes in the back with their arms crossed.

We play some 80's stuff in my band now but it's the Poison type songs that the girls like.

huh? I guess it depends on where you live. All we play is cheesy 80s hair stuff, and we always pull a good crowd. I also teach guitar, and everyone of my 13-16 year old students listens to 80s stuff. Theres a definite market for it, you just have to make sure your setlist is (mostly) big hits- sweet child, jungle, rock you like a hurricane, anything by ac/dc, ozzy, etc.

[Rsmacker]

Matt is right. I grew up playing all the 80's stuff but there is very little market for now. It all depends if you want to be a popular band or play for the two dudes in the back with their arms crossed.

We play some 80's stuff in my band now but it's the Poison type songs that the girls like.

Oh, I don't know. Depends on the gig, I suppose.
I did the PA for a very nice, prim and proper English country village outdoor festival last summer. Very posh thatched houses, very well-to-do folk - and then I roll up with a fucking massive PA that had been booked. I thought I'd get shot by some squire with his Purdey, but no, the show got under way and after a couple of kiddie bands (ie. the children of residents), a band of 40-somethings turned up and gave me their set-list.

At that point I was certain there's going to be a wicker man erected on the village green. They were playing late 70s early 80s punk/new wave stuff.
"Turning Japanese" - Vapors
"Gary Gilmore's Eyes" - Adverts
"Tommy Gun" -Clash
"Pretty Vacant" - Sex Pistols
"New Rose" - Damned
"Teenage Kicks" - Undertones
etc etc. You get the picture? The residents will kill all us "outsiders"..........

Well, I was wrong, no riot, no stoney silence,they actually went down a storm, the green was packed with dancing women, singing along. It was bizarre.

Now, to tie in with another thread about giving up the dream, that was the day my dream re-kindled. Maybe it's because I have a thing for nice respectable English country housewives, but all I could see was a sea of fizzing minge. You could smell it.

Those scrotes up on that stage could have fucked any of them! They were just playing the songs of these womens' youth, it made no difference to their social background, they were the hits that were on Top of the Pops back then, the band were guaranteed success.

Guess who went home and went through his punk/new wave records to find some to learn? (Yeah, they took longer to play on my record player than work out how to play on guitar, but meh)

To pick the hits of today which should be played tomorrow is harder, there's so much choice, the market is fractured. I have no clue what is No 1 in the charts today, I just listen to what I like on the radio. Back in the old days, there was no real choice - you heard what everyone else heard.

Actually, for those in the UK, look at how many adverts are on telly for "Club Classics" from Ministry of Sound etc. Unless you can play "Lola's Theme" on guitar (I'd fucking love to hear that), you'd better simply learn "Sweet Child o' Mine", there won't be much stuff in demand from a live band from today, not when dance tracks from 5 years ago are considered "well-loved, timeless classics".

Just to round off, some of my suggestions:

"Teenage Dirtbag"

"Tush"

"Creep" - Radiofuckingshithead

"Boys are Back in Town"

[tonemonster]

well, I guess this list can be looked at several ways. OUR favorite top 10, or more importantly, top 10 cover songs that are crowd pleasers for a bar band. If you want to please the crowd and really rock the house, you need to play to the people. Mostly, women because they react to the music. Most songs should be fast rockers, only 1 or two ballads at most. in that case, here are 10 tunes I think fit the bit for house rockin crowd pleasers.

Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top
Talk Dirty to me - Poison
Love Hurts - Nazareth version
Walk this Way - Aerosmith
Highway Star - Deep Purple
Thunderstruck- AC/DC
Tush - ZZ Top
Hot Blooded - Foreigner
Mony MOny - Billy Idol version
Rock of Ages - Def Leppard


and if those dont work, just play some Disco.

[lhrocker]

Any song that is on any of the guitar hero or rock band games...

[Musician78]

I think also it is ok to throw in a song or three that might not be very well known as long as they don't deviate too mch from the res of the music genre you are playing.

[Endrik]

and if those dont work, just play some Disco.

most disco is hard to pull of without a huge band but doing some nasty funk (and there's plenty of it with upfront guitar... George Clinton/P-funk, TM Stevens, The Meters etc.) it's fucking fun to play and everyone starts shaking their asses and sing along... the whole house goes wild.

[OnlineStageGear]

I think also it is ok to throw in a song or three that might not be very well known as long as they don't deviate too mch from the res of the music genre you are playing.

You can, but it really depends on the crowd. If they came to see you, then they will be a lot more tolerant of an occasional song they don't know very well. 80's stuff actually does good here too and it is reflected in the radio stations as well. The 3/4 modern station here slaps in the 80's stuff (Kiss, Priest, Crue) as well as the classic rock channel.

Ya gotta compromise, but not too much. Our band would probably do better if we did a bunch of Guns & Roses tunes, but they would have to do them without me.

Matt

[Rsmacker]

. Our band would probably do better if we did a bunch of Guns & Roses tunes, but they would have to do them without me.

Why-aye-ayeeayee?


Sorry, couldn't resist.

[horns666]

Love will keep us together - Captain and Tennille
Physical - Olivia Newton John
Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
Hot Child In The city - Nick Gilder
Tie a Yellow Ribbon - Tony Orlando & Dawn
I Got you Babe - Sonny & Cher
Convoy - C W McCall
Sugar Sugar - The Archies
Hot Summer Nights - Walter Egan
All out of love - Air Supply

[Jayster]

Love will keep us together - Captain and Tennille
Physical - Olivia Newton John
Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
Hot Child In The city - Nick Gilder
Tie a Yellow Ribbon - Tony Orlando & Dawn
I Got you Babe - Sonny & Cher
Convoy - C W McCall
Sugar Sugar - The Archies
Hot Summer Nights - Walter Egan
All out of love - Air Supply

Awesome set list, you can never go wrong with air supply!
I might add;
Muskrat love - America
Safety Dance - Men without Hats
My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
I'm too sexy - Right Said Fred
Hanging Tough - Back Street Boys
And anything from Wham's great catalog!

[Flatpicker]

Covers that the bar goers know?
Usually our list was like this.

Black Dog - Zep
Crazy Train - Ozzy
Rock n Roll all night - Kiss
Thank you - Zep (always got the girls going along with us)
All along the Watchtower - Hendrix
Pour Some Sugar on me - DL
Barracuda - Heart
Bad to the Bone/One Burbon, one Scotch, one Beer- George T. (swap em or mash em depending on how drunk the place was)
Keep you Hands to yourself - Georgia Sat's
Brown Sugar, Honky Tonk Woman, Satisfaction or, Paint it Black (we would rotate those)

Years ago, I would have added "Shout at the Devil", "Living on a Prayer" and Possibly "Girls Girls Girls" depending on the venue.
Oh, and if it was a sausage factory that night, we'd add "Used to Love her, but had to Kill Her" for laughs.

[Flatpicker]

Awesome set list, you can never go wrong with air supply!
I might add;
Muskrat love - America
Safety Dance - Men without Hats
My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
I'm too sexy - Right Said Fred
Hanging Tough - Back Street Boys
And anything from Wham's great catalog!

You have to add:
Danger Zone and Smugglers Blues -Kenny Loggins
Anything from "Bat out of Hell 2" Meatloaf
And some Toto and Loverboy for the pure awesomeness they brought to the table.

[SEEGERMANY]

How can you do Safety Dance and not do Come On Eileen?

[tonemonster]

Alright, you guys wanna get goofy, we will get goofy.

do you really want to hurt me - Culture club
Careless Whisper - Wham
You spin me round like a record - some gay band that I dont know the name of
The macarana
any milli vanilli song
stayin' alive -the bee gees
the electric slide
cotten eye joe
the hokey pokey
Mickey - tony Basil

[horns666]

Me, Jay, Tonemonsta and SG would be the ultimate party band IMO!!!

We would be huger than the Beatles!!!