Good Dance Songs w/o Much Lead Guitar

[mcdonaldkd]

Looks like we are going to lose our lead guitarist. I am the lead singer and not prepared to play lead guitar and sing, so I am looking for danceable songs women will like with little to no lead work. Fortunately, we have a keyboard player. That will help a lot, but I need suggestions.

Please keep the usual cover band hostilities to yourself. I am looking for song suggestions, not advice or criticism on the perils of playing in a bar cover band catering to women. Think of this as music for MILFs, if that helps.

Thanks.

 

[A-Bone]

 

[tsar nicholas]

"Sex Machine"

"Love Shack"

"Groove Is In The Heart"

 

[stevel]

Looks like we are going to lose our lead guitarist. I am the lead singer and not prepared to play lead guitar and sing, so I am looking for danceable songs women will like with little to no lead work. Fortunately, we have a keyboard player. That will help a lot, but I need suggestions.

Please keep the usual cover band hostilities to yourself. I am looking for song suggestions, not advice or criticism on the perils of playing in a bar cover band catering to women. Think of this as music for MILFs, if that helps.

Thanks.

The 80s ("new wave") was laden with Synth songs that had little or no guitar in them - it was, in general, a "dance" genre. I suggest you start there. Plus, if your target audience is MILFs (well, some are cougars by now), this is the decade they grew up in.

A lot of Disco also has minimal to non-existent guitar parts. I had a friend in a band who told me I could sub for his disco band. The only guitar parts I needed to have down were the main lick in Stayin Alive, the opening to My Girl, and something else. That was it. The rest of it they covered with keys and horns. Superstition (Stevie Wonder). Clavinet, no guitar necessary.

Obviously a lot of the new "techno" type dance genres also have a lot of synth or computer production, much of which has little to no guitar. Much of this doesn't lend itself well to a typical band format though (though some of it does).

You might want to go out to a "Piano Bar" and there might be some ideas there to "re-arrange" (or "water down") other songs. For example, many of those kinds of songs where the guitar just "chords along" with the piano or organ convert easily - as long as you can cover the solos (or are happy leaving them out) you can certainly do stuff like Old Time Rock and Roll, Mustang Sally, Bad Leroy Brown, junk like that. Likewise, some of them that are only guitar could be re-arranged - you could easily pull off something like Proud Mary with piano instead of guitar. It's when the guitar becomes "riffy" that it becomes harder to pull off. I wouldn't want to try Life in the Fast Lane on piano only, but Desperado would certainly work, and something like Peaceful Easy Feeling or Tequila Sunrise would probably translate OK.

You might also look to "piano-based" bands. Elton John, Billy Joel, Ben Folds Five, etc.

Good Luck,

Steve

 

[stevel]

I'll add something - on many guitar-based songs I don't like to change the key when it does something like use a lot of open position chords. Like even though no one can sing House of the Rising Sun in the original Am, I wouldn't transpose it to Gm or else it loses all of its open string goodness.

But when you arrange these kinds of songs for keys (piano) it no longer makes a difference. So you might be able to consider some songs that might be out of your range that you wouldn't change key on for guitar, but for keys it would be ok.

Steve

 

[tsar nicholas]

Oh yeah, and a bunch of Talking Heads songs like the wonderful, two-chord "Burning Down The House"

 

[phillygtr]

 

[Sweetfinger]

Steve Miller Band- Take the money and Run, Keep on Rockin' me, and Jet Airliner.

 

[mcdonaldkd]

Thanks! All good ideas.

 

[2HBStrat]

Steve Miller Band- Take the money and Run, Keep on Rockin' me, and Jet Airliner.

What? Those are ALL guitar songs!

 

[HoboMan]

J-Geils band - Centerfold
John Cougar - Hurts so good
Romantics - What I like about you
Mony Mony

 

[weshunter]

brick house ftw! milfs love brick house.

 

[Sweetfinger]

What? Those are ALL guitar songs!

...and nary a solo to be found! It boggles the mind. What kind of fiend would write guitar songs without solos?

 

[GFR4LYF]

The Locomotion, by Little Eva
The Locomotion , Grand Funk's Remake

 

[Dark Helmet]

Like even though no one can sing House of the Rising Sun in the original Am

really? I can...

 

[stevel]

really? I can...

Then, you're lucky. Most people don't have that range - low A to high A.

I can do the low A but I can only get up to E or F comfortably (I can scream an A but not "sing" and A). Most people I know who can get up to G and A can't get DOWN to the low A.

Even if I can find a person with that kind of range, they're usually not interested in singing the same type of music I'm interested in playing, so...


Steve

 

[stevel]

The Locomotion, by Little Eva
The Locomotion , Grand Funk's Remake

Or, The Locomotion, by Kylie Minogue which is, IIRC, all synth based

 

[Dark Helmet]

Then, you're lucky. Most people don't have that range - low A to high A.

I can do the low A but I can only get up to E or F comfortably (I can scream an A but not "sing" and A). Most people I know who can get up to G and A can't get DOWN to the low A.

Even if I can find a person with that kind of range, they're usually not interested in singing the same type of music I'm interested in playing, so...


Steve

that sucks, for any self-respecting tenor that song should be doable...

you have to learn to "throw" the really low pitches... its cheating, but it works and an audience won't know the difference sober, much less half in-the-can.

 

[tsar nicholas]

Prince - "Kiss" (just skip the solo, nobody cares)

Seal - "Killer"

 

[ErikR]

Third Eye Blind - Semi Charmed Life