essential songs
starrytru
guitarist should know, ready to hammer out that campfire, or other occasion?
Gunther Anderson
> can anyone help me out with a list -- like -- essential songs every
> guitarist should know, ready to hammer out that campfire, or other occasion?
There ain't no such animal. You need to tune your essentials list to
your audience. A bunch of 20-somthings is going to have a completely
different list of indispensible songs than 30- or 40-somethings. I run
into that all the time. My party book is full of stuff I like to play,
and I routinely have younger people unable to find much that they really
like in it. And my mother finds almost nothing at all.
So a necessary first step is always, what do you like to listen to?
Anyway, my web site is actually something like the list you want. It's
probably bigger than what you're looking for (1600-odd songs), but it's
what I like to play at that kind of gathering. You might flip through
it and see what you recognize, what you like to play, what your friends
like. It's all playable if you know the songs - I've played them all
myself, except for a few of the Broadway songs I put in for friends, and
the 50 or so songs I never could find chords for.
http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/index.htm
I also distilled that site down to about 200 songs I printed out and
carry with me. I can post that list if you like.
Gunther Anderson
SetItAlight
fantastic. I was amazed by the diversity of the songs -- from "Home by the Sea"
to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"; from "Paradise by the Dashboard Light"
to the Banana Splits Theme Song -- and by your generosity in sharing them with
the web community. Thanks very much! And I for one would very much like to see
the Gunther Anderson 200 List.
--Christine
<<...Anyway, my web site is actually something like the list you want. It's
Gunther Anderson
> fantastic. I was amazed by the diversity of the songs -- from "Home by the Sea"
> to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"; from "Paradise by the Dashboard Light"
> to the Banana Splits Theme Song -- and by your generosity in sharing them with
> the web community. Thanks very much! And I for one would very much like to see
> the Gunther Anderson 200 List.
Ya make me blush. But the web site is almost zero work for me, since
I'm collecting the stuff for myself anyway.
But since you asked for it, here's the table of contents of the party
book (259 songs - it used to be the top 100, but then the database got
larger, and we got less discriminating). Can you tell there are a few
children at these parties?
59th Street Bridge Song, Paul Simon
All the Young Dudes, David Bowie
American Pie, Don McLean
Amie, Pure Prairie League
Aquarius [Hair], James Rado
Are You Out There, Dar Williams
At Seventeen, Janis Ian
Authority Song, John Mellencamp
Bad Moon Rising, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, Jim Croce
Behind Blue Eyes, The Who
Black Water, The Doobie Brothers
Blue Bayou, Roy Orbison
Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
Box of Rain, The Grateful Dead
Brain Damage / Eclipse, Pink Floyd
Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel
Brown Eyed Girl, Van Morrison
Bus Stop, The Hollies
California Dreaming, The Mamas and the Papas
Candle in the Wind, Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Candy Man [Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory], Leslie Bricusse and
Anthony Newley
Casey Jones, The Grateful Dead
The Cat Came Back, Trad and Anon
Cat's in the Cradle, Harry Chapin
Cecilia, Simon and Garfunkel
Celluloid Heroes, The Kinks
Chim Chim Cher-ee [Mary Poppins], Richard and Robert Sherman
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Richard and Robert Sherman
Closer to Fine, Indigo Girls
Cold River Waltz, Christopher Shaw
Come Sail Away, Styx
Come, Come Sisterhood, Trad and Anon (N/C)
Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd
Coward of the County, Roger Bowling and Billy Edd Wheeler
Creeque Alley, The Mamas and the Papas
Crocodile Rock, Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Dancing Queen, ABBA
Daniel, Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Daydream, Lovin' Spoonful
Daydream Believer, John Stewart
Delta Dawn, Alex Harvey and Larry Collins
Different Drum, Mike Nesmith
Do You Believe in Magic, Lovin' Spoonful
Doctor My Eyes, Jackson Browne
Don't Stop, Fleetwood Mac
Down on the Corner, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Drift Away, Mentor Williams
Drops of Jupiter, Train
Dust in the Wind, Kansas
El Condor Pasa, Simon and Garfunkel
Every Breath You Take, The Police
Faith of the Heart [Television Theme Song], Rod Stewart and Dianne Warren
Fame [Fame], Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford
Feelin' Alright, Dave Mason
Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover, Paul Simon
For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield
Friend of the Devil, The Grateful Dead
Fun, Fun, Fun, The Beach Boys
Galileo, Indigo Girls
The Gambler, Don Schlitz
Gasoline Alley, Rod Stewart
Give a Little Bit, Supertramp
Give Me One Reason, Tracy Chapman
Good Morning Starshine [Hair], James Rado
Grandma's Feather Bed, Jim Connor
Green Grass and High Tides, The Outlaws
Happy Together, The Turtles
Help, The Beatles
Helplessly Hoping, Stephen Stills
Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles
Hey Jude, The Beatles
Hey, Little Minivan, Austin Lounge Lizards
A Horse with No Name, America
Hotel California, The Eagles
How Sweet It Is, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland
I Am a Rock, Simon and Garfunkel
I Can See Clearly Now, Johnny Nash
I Don't Like Mondays, The Boomtown Rats
I Hope You Dance, Lee Ann Womack
I Love Onions, Donald Cochrane and John Hill
I Love Trash, Jeffrey Moss
I Saw Her Standing There, The Beatles
I Sing the Body Electric [Fame], Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford
I Wanna Be Sedated, Ramones
I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor
I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Bill Backer, Billy Davis, Roger
Cook and Roger Greenaway
I'll Be There for You [Television Theme Song], Allee Willis and Michael
Skloff
I'm a Believer, Neil Diamond
I'm a Lumberjack, Monty Python
I've Just Seen a Face, The Beatles
If I Had a Million Dollars, Barenaked Ladies
Iko Iko, Trad and Anon
In the Living Years, Mike Rutherford
In the Year 2525, Zager and Evans
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me, Billy Joel
It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine), REM
Jack and Diane, John Mellencamp
Jailhouse Rock, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jet Airliner, Steve Miller
Jet Plane, John Denver
Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
Joy to the World, Hoyt Axton
Just the Two of Us, Bill Withers
Keys to the Kingdom, The Nields
Kid Fears, Indigo Girls
Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Bob Dylan
Kodachrome, Paul Simon
The Last Train to Clarksville, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart
Lay Down Sally, Eric Clapton
Lemon Tree, Will Holt
Let It Grow, Eric Clapton
Let It Rain, Eric Clapton
Let Your Love Flow, Larry E. Williams
Lido Shuffle, Boz Scaggs
Listen to the Music, The Doobie Brothers
The Load Out / Stay, Jackson Browne
Lola, The Kinks
The Lonely Goatherd [Sound of Music], Rodgers and Hammerstein
Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, The Hollies
Lookin' Out My Back Door, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Losing My Religion, REM
Love Me Like a Rock, Paul Simon
Love the One You're With, Stephen Stills
Lovers in a Dangerous Time, Bruce Cockburn
Lucky Man, Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, The Beatles
Lyin' Eyes, The Eagles
Mad Fiddler of the North Country, Christopher Shaw
Maggie May, Rod Stewart
Magic, Trad and Anon
Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett
Maxwell's Silver Hammer, The Beatles
Me and Bobby McGee, Kris Kristofferson
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, Paul Simon
Midnight Special, Huddie Ledbetter
The Mighty Quinn, Bob Dylan
Monkees Theme [Television Theme Song], Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart
The Monster Mash, Bobby (Boris) Pickett
Moondance, Van Morrison
Mother's Little Helper, The Rolling Stones
Movin' Out, Billy Joel
Mrs. Robinson, Simon and Garfunkel
Must of Got Lost, J. Geils Band
My Sweet Lord, George Harrison
Never Set the Cat on Fire, Frank Hayes
New York State of Mind, Billy Joel
Night Moves, Bob Seger
Nights in White Satin, The Moody Blues
No Mermaid, Sinéad Lohan
Nobody Told Me, John Lennon
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), The Beatles
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, The Beatles
Ohio, Neil Young
Old Dominion, Eddie From Ohio
Old Fashioned Love Song, Paul Williams
Old Time Rock 'N' Roll, Bob Seger
One Tin Soldier, Coven
Only the Good Die Young, Billy Joel
The Oompa Loompa Songs [Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory], Leslie
Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Paint It Black, The Rolling Stones
Passionate Kisses, Lucinda Williams
Peaceful Easy Feeling, The Eagles
Photograph, Ringo Starr and George Harrison
Piano Man, Billy Joel
Pinball Wizard, The Who
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything [Veggie Tales], Mike Nawrocki
Pleasant Valley Sunday, Carole King and Gerry Goffin
Potato, Cheryl Wheeler
Prince of Darkness, Indigo Girls
Promises, Eric Clapton
Proud Mary, Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Purple People Eater, Sheb Wooley
The Rainbow Connection [Muppet Movie], Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher
Ramblin' Man, The Allman Brothers
Rhiannon, Fleetwood Mac
Ride Captain Ride, Blues Image
Road to Nowhere, Talking Heads
Rock 'n' Roll Music, Chuck Berry
Rock and Roll Never Forgets, Bob Seger
Rock Around the Clock, Max C. Friedman and Jimmy DeKnight
Rock This Town, Stray Cats
(Don't Go Back to) Rockville, REM
Rocky Raccoon, The Beatles
Rocky Top, Boudleaux and Felice Bryant
Rosie, The Mollys
Running on Empty, Jackson Browne
"The Saga Begins, ""Weird Al"" Yankovic"
Scarborough Fair, Simon and Garfunkel
Science Fiction - Double Feature [Rocky Horror Picture Show], Richard
O'Brien
The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss), Rudy Clark
Should I Stay or Should I Go, The Clash
Signs, Arthur Thomas
Silly Love Songs, Paul McCartney
Sister Golden Hair, America
Smokin' in the Boy's Room, Brownsville Station
So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star, The Byrds
Solsbury Hill, Peter Gabriel
Something, The Beatles
Something to Talk About, Bonnie Raitt
Southern Cross, Stephen Stills
Space Oddity, David Bowie
Spirit in the Sky, Norman Greenbaum
Squeeze Box, The Who
Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
Stand By Me, Ben E. King
Still the One, Orleans
The Story in Your Eyes, The Moody Blues
The Stranger, Billy Joel
Strawberry Fields Forever, The Beatles
Stray Cat Strut, Stray Cats
Stuck in the Middle with You, Stealer's Wheel
Suicide Is Painless, Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman
Sundown, Gordon Lightfoot
Sunshine, Jonathan Edwards
Sunshine on My Shoulders, John Denver
Surfin' U.S.A., The Beach Boys
Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Swimming to the Other Side, Pat Humphries
Take It Easy, The Eagles
Teach Your Children, Graham Nash
Tequila Sunrise, The Eagles
That'll Be the Day, Buddy Holly
The Things We Do for Love, 10 CC
Time Between Trains, Susan Werner
Time in a Bottle, Jim Croce
Top of the World, The Carpenters
Total Eclipse of the Heart, Jim Steinman
Turn the Page, Bob Seger
Uncle John's Band, The Grateful Dead
Uptown Girl, Billy Joel
Ventura Highway, America
Vincent, Don McLean
Walking on Sunshine, Katrina and the Waves
Walter, Christopher Shaw
Wasted on the Way, Graham Nash
We All Come from the Mother, Trad and Anon (N/C)
We Will All Go Together When We Go, Tom Lehrer
We've Got Tonight, Bob Seger
The Weight, The Band
What I Like About You, The Romantics
White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplane
Who'll Stop the Rain, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Wild World, Cat Stevens
Wildflower Song, Lui Collins
Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd
Witch Doctor, Ross Bagdaserian, Jr.
Wonderful World (Don't Know Much), Sam Cooke
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Gordon Lightfoot
Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me), George Bruns and Xavier Atencio
Yoda, "Weird Al" Yankovic
You Can't Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones
You May Be Right, Billy Joel
You're So Vain, Carly Simon
You're the One that I Want [Grease], John Farrar
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, The Beatles
Your Smiling Face, James Taylor
Your Song, Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie
starrytru
i understand how difficult it is to narrow it down like that... an
impossible request, I suppose. How about this: when you're playing... what
songs are most requested over all age groups... like staple songs...
someone, no matter what the age group, always ask if i'll play stairway to
heaven... you get that?
thanks,
starrytru
"Gunther Anderson" <gun...@guntheranderson.com> wrote in message
news:40fe70f5$0$5645$61fe...@news.rcn.com...
starrytru
across it. really you're genorosity *is* amazing. thanks again.news:40febdf5$0$5626$61fe...@news.rcn.com...
Lawrence Lucier
> I Wanna Be Sedated, Ramones
John Hiatt..... :-)
Doug Cunningly
I do what Gunther does (I sent you about 600 songs in two zips already).
Keep a book and take it down to the park where I play, and leave it out.
People look through and pick what they like.
I can play the majority of the songs without checking the
chords....UNLESS they want them in another key. I play open and usually
pick the key that falls best with the chord sequences used.
I have about 150 songs in the book, could get a bigger one, but this
helps keep it manageable. And I'm always looking on this list for
suggestions.
And you can NEVER go wrong with the Beatles... Doug
SetItAlight
missing -- the list reminds me of cool songs I wouldn't normally think to look
for.
BTW, is there a page on your site for new song additions?
Chordially,
--Christine
P.S. I can't believe your mother doesn't at least rock out to "I Wanna Be
Sedated"! ;)
SetItAlight
Keep a book and take it down to the park where I play, and leave it out. People
look through and pick what they like. >>
Hi Doug -- I know you've probably received several such requests, but could I
trouble you to e-me your zipped songs?
Chordially,
Christine
Gunther Anderson
> BTW, is there a page on your site for new song additions?
Not any more. I found many people who would only post if they wanted a
soap box for their favorite obscure artist. I've had a few entertaining
arguments over the years with people who just didn't get the concept
that if they really wanted their favorite person on the web, they could
darned well put up their own site...
Nowadays, I just put up songs I find I like. There are some large
strategic omissions, too. At my singing circle (and in my party bag) we
have lots of copies of the great folk fake book Rise Up Singing. I find
there's no reason for my book to duplicate what we've already got, so I
don't (except for a handful of odd exceptions) have any songs that are
already in R.U.S. (not to be confused with Rodents of Unusual Size).
This means a lot of stuff like Simon and Garfunkel, random Dylan, Joan
Baez, and other such songs that might seem to fit perfectly aren't in my
book.
So, no, I don't bother trying to take submissions any more. If it's a
cool song, I'll find out about it. And if I think it's good enough to
play at parties, it'll find its way into the site.
> P.S. I can't believe your mother doesn't at least rock out to "I Wanna Be
> Sedated"! ;)
Well, that's the net effect of an evening of her listening to songs that
came out after she'd already had a passel of kids: puts her right to
sleep. Sadly, I don't have nearly enough stuff from her era, and no
Patsy Cline at all. That's a serious omission, actually, which I need
to remedy eventually. But first I need to listen to the songs a lot,
which means it's time to go buy a few CDs.
Gunther Anderson
blueorange
Mind sending those files this way, too.
If you don't, thanks so much. If you do... well. Thanks anyway? Lol. It'd
be cool if you could.
Hypnagogue
site, so that visitors who have already gone through the list in a blissfully
exhaustive mini-OLGA-type lost weekend know which ones they haven't already
perused.
~Christine
Gunther Anderson
> Hi Gunther -- actually, I meant a page that lists new songs you've added to the
> site, so that visitors who have already gone through the list in a blissfully
> exhaustive mini-OLGA-type lost weekend know which ones they haven't already
> perused.
Nope. I did eight years ago, but I got lazy. And honestly, new
additions happen so rarely that I wouldn't sweat it. I'm indexed pretty
consistently on google.com, so if you're looking for something and
wonder if I have it, just go to google.com, and then you can see lots of
pther places that have it, too.
Gunther Anderson
