Valentine's Day I filled in at a restaurant for an act that had cancelled. Since I play mostly for seniors, I realized my music was dated for this under 45 crowd that showed up.
I even learned(well actually am learning..Don wish I could get some help)) Lay Down Sally....but even this song is 40 years old. The 45 year olds were around 5 when this song came out.
Sometimes I feel like I'm caught in the middle. I'm a baby boomer at 68. But my music is way too old to play for the under 50 crowd and too young to embrace all the music of the 85 - 95 year olds I find at most of the places I play.
Thoughts?
What type of music did the other group play? Since it was a restaurant, were they expecting dance music? There is a lot of music from Billy Joel, Elton John, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, etc.that can be played, and in a restaurant setting I don't think it has to 'sound like the record' ... this past week I did a version of "Can't Buy Me Love" using a Big Band shuffle style and it went over well ...
Plus, with the recent popularity of 'duets' - Sinatra & others, Tony Bennett & others - and re-releases of standard songs by Michael Buble, rock stars like Rod Stewart recording American Standards, there is a lot more exposure to standards than there has been in a long time ...
HOWEVER, if it IS a 'DANCE' setting, then obviously newer songs are needed ...
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