Most requested songs.

[ekurburski]

Back when I was playing in the service and animal clubs the most requested tunes where, Proud Mary, Leroy Brown, Achy Breaky Heart, Fr the good times and Help me through the night. The where many more that went over very well but these where the ones most requested. It dawned on me that it would be good to know what where the most requested songs today and to be sure to have them in my repertoire before trying to book out today. So how about it guys? What is your most requested tunes today?

[travlin-easy]

Earl, the most requested country song of all time is George Jones He Stopped Loving Her Today. Please explore the Favorites section of the Music Finder Directory of your PSR-3000 that I custom made and you will find all of the most requested songs, and many are linked to custom style files that have the exact intros of the original songs, which really impressed my audiences over the years.

Good luck,

Gary

[ekurburski]

Once again, thank you Gary.  Checked out the favorites last night and found several I can and will use.  Also found a lot I will never use but we all have different tastes I guess.  I'm still working on it but my time has been cut severly due to having to take care of my wife.  She is getting better but last 6 months has been rough on me.  Things are getting a little better.  She can get around pretty good with her walker now.  I don't like leaving her alone for long so Iwon't be playing a lot of gigs in the near future.

[travlin-easy]

Earl,

I know the feeling. My wife has been bedridden for the past three weeks, consequently I am the caregiver here. I have to do the cooking, cleaning, wash the dishes, wash the clothes, cook the meals, you name it and I  do it.

Good luck, old friend,

Gary )

[mikf]

The most requested songs are very much a function of where you are in the world, what kind of venues you are playing and what kind of band you are. No-one in Europe, for example, would ever request the George Jones song Gary mentions.
Mike

[Toril S]

So true!

[DrakeM]

Elvis songs seem to always please the old timers.  .
The faster tempo the better

[travlin-easy]

My suggestion(s) were based upon where Earl resides and performs. If Earl was residing in Italy, I would suggest An Evening In Roma, which always went over big when I performed for Italian audiences.

Gary

[ekurburski]

Well folks, I agree.  Every place is different and for the post part I'm just going to have to go out and play.   My audiences will tell me in time what they want to hear.   

[travlin-easy]

Unfortunately,  Earl, they usually do now tell you the songs they wish to hear much of the time. Therefore, you must learn to read the audience, which in reality, is not that difficult.

First and foremost, play songs that the audience can dance to based upon their age. Songs that were popular when that audience was 15 to 35 years of age, which is the age most folks went out with their spouses and girlfriends and boyfriends to dance the night away. Before age 15, most folks were not interested in the opposite *** or dancing. After age 35 most had children to take care of, schooling, and trying to climb the corporate ladder, therefore, nite clubs, restaurants and dancing took a back seat.

The song selection, therefore, must be a bit selective. In my case, slow rock 6/8 songs were quite popular, along with 50s, 60s and 70s rock and roll filled the bill. Add in some Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Elvis, Patsy Cline and Jimmy Buffett to round out the program and you will have all the jobs you can handle. In the US, if you don't play some country, you will find it very difficult to find a lasting job.

Of course, you must be able to sing well and be set up in such as way to limit your dead space between songs to just a second or two. When you have a full dance floor, you need to smoothly transition from one song to the next or that dance floor will quickly empty. Granted, there are a few instrumentalist that manage to get lots of work, but arranger keyboard performers that have a great voice and can anticipate what that audience wants will have more work than they can handle.

Hope this helps,

Gary

[ekurburski]

Yes Gary, I agree with all of your points.  Being 76 I am right there with you.  I think I can pretty much rely on my own taste from the past.  I do country as well as all of the rest.  Somehow I did miss the Buffet period but I can relate to all of the rest.  What I was trying to do was go for the MOST popular as I was putting my initial play list together  What I have found out is that setting up the kb for each tune is very time consuming.  When i was doing the organ I played the tune with the same basic setup for everything.  I had 6 or 8 basic drum patterns that was used for everything.  There really was no previous setup.  You just played the tune and went on to the next one.  I used simple V7 modulations and basically played one long medley for a hour set.  There was no dead time what so ever.  The biggest drawback was I didn't reall talk much at all.  I was able to do 20-25 tunes per hour and sometimes would go 2-3 hours without a break.  But that was then and now is now.  I love the 3000 but I find it quite a bit more complex to play.  Not the notes, but all the other aspects of handing the monster.  I had my Story & Clark 76R for close to 15 years and I was able to wring every feature out of it.  I need 15 years of experience on the 3000.

[travlin-easy]

Earl, how I wish I were able to drive down south and provide you with some first hand instructions, but alas, I am on Death's Doorstep and driving to Mountain Home is out of the question at this stage of life.

Good luck, old friend,

Gary 

[mikf]

Ed
Many people push registrations as the perfect set up, but this is really takes a lot of pre organization like you say. Not only do you have to set up every section of a song, but you then need noted music that tells you where to change the registration. All a bit regimented.
A simpler and more flexible way is to pick a song and find a reasonable style and tempo very quickly, then save that as a new style with the song name. Someone once called these 'gig discs" and you can arrange them in sections like 'ballads, country .etc. It really doesn't take long, and you can even cheat by copying other people's gig discs that are posted here.  Don't worry about the perfect voices or OTS. Just set up a registration bank with your 8 favorite voices. Leave that bank up all the time and make little stickers to put under each button with the voice name. Now you can play the arranger pretty much like the organ. Select the voice you want on the fly.You might be surprised at how many pros actually set kinda like this. Its flexible because so many songs are pretty similar. So lets say someone asks you to play Moon River. You many not have the saved, but you know that the nice country waltz you use for 'are you lonesome tonight' will probably work.
Mike

[Toril S]

Very good advice Mike! This is exactly what I do!

[ekurburski]

Gary, thanks for the kind words but I really don't think a private session would be all that productive.  I think I really just need to quit whining about how complictated the OP is and set down and play 5-6 hours for the next 15 years!