I'm talking with a restaurant owner who wants to add a piano bar. His vision includes a small sing-along component with songsheets for patrons to join in. If you google top piano bar songs you get selections like Brown Eye Girl, Imagine, American Pie, Beatles songs, NY-NY, Piano Man, and the like. However, this restaurateur would also like some Rat Pack period songs of the like of Sinatra, Dean Martin, ect.

What songs do you think I should add to the list to meet the owner's request?

'll Always Love You (Day After Day) - Dean Martin
Mr. Bojangles - Sammy Davis, Jr.
I'm Gonna Live Till I Die - Frank Sinatra
Rhythm Of Life - Sammy Davis, Jr. (excellent song : )
Ain't That A Kick In The Head - Dean Martin
Too Close For Comfort - Sammy Davis, Jr.
That Old Black Magic - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Somewhere There's A Someone - Dean Martin
Me And My Shadow - Frank Sinatra
Lady Is A Tramp - Sammy Davis, Jr. or the Sinatra version
Innamorata (Sweetheart) - Dean Martin
(Love Is) The Tender Trap - Frank Sinatra
Something's Gotta Give - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Volare - Dean Martin
Mr. Success - Frank Sinatra
A Lot Of Livin' To Do - Sammy Davis, Jr.
You Make Feel So Young - Frank Sinatra
Shelter of Your Arms - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sam's Song - Dean Martin
When You're Smiling - Dean Martin
My Shining Hour - Sammy Davis, Jr.
That's Amore - Dean Martin
My Shining Hour - Sammy Davis, Jr.
The Lady Is A Tramp - Frank Sinatra
Guys & Dolls - Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin
The Birth Of The Blues - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Little Ole Wine Drinker Me - Dean Martin
I've Gotta Be Me - Sammy Davis, Jr.
You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You - Dean Martin
Chicago - Frank Sinatra
This Guy's in Love with You - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Powder Your Face With Sunshine - Dean Martin
What Kind of Fool Am I? - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Hey There - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Witchcraft - Frank Sinatra
Have A Little Talk With Myself - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Eee-O Eleven - Sammy Davis, Jr.

Summer wind
Return to me
All of Me

Great songs so far. I just add these:

Fly Me to the Moon
L-O-V-E
New York New York
My Way

Thanks for the responses. It sets me on the right track.

Funny story about a song on Donny's list: "The Shelter of your Arms". Local Philly resident and former hitmaker, Jerry Samuels (Napoleon XIV - They're Coming to take me away, ha ha ..." wrote that song, and he told me how it came from an idea he heard at another session ... the rhythm of the words made him think of the title. Peter Nero has a terrific version too.

I am having a hard time pictureng patrons singing along with song sheets, especially the songs that have mentioned here on this thread. Is this something that anybody else is doing successfully? Is the idea to have only one person sing at a time or a bunch? I just can't imagine this coming off at all. It sounds like it would be worse than regular kareoke.

Scott: I'm glad you brought this up. Dave too when he said "I'd never expect to hear at a piano bar". I had the identical concerns that I have voiced with the owner. I even asked if he knew anyone else doing it. It's his place and his vision. I don't want to be so rigid as to not be willing to consider trying something new. However, I don't want to compromise on what I think I am able perform at my standards. He is also a realist and knows that if it doesn't make money, it doesn't matter what he likes, it's what his customers like that matters. It's a balance that I am trying to navigate succesfully.

I'd probably ask that, if the Rat Pack theme didn't pan out for him financially after whatever time frame he is willing to lose money over, that you be allowed to play that period of time doing what YOU think the audience wants, and see if it can be rescued.

Otherwise, I'd be cautious... There are many restaurant owners that think that whatever harebrained scheme they come up with is, of course, brilliant, and the only reason it didn't work was the poor musician forced to abide by it..!

Oh Lord, how true that is! I speak from recent experience!
DonM

OK Don... what happened? ...

Many of us have been there and done that! Some, like DonM, got the Tee Shirt, too.

Cheers,

Gary

Well it's a long story but has to do with force-feeding jazz and blues to a room full of Texas cowboys.
Yes, Gary, I spent a number of years at a piano bar (organ bar in my case). I think it may be an idea past its prime, particularly if you try to limit the music to the traditional piano bar fare.
There used to be a half-dozen or more in this area. Now there is one, and it is mostly background stuff with an occasional singer-a-longer.
Karaoke has replaced many piano bars and many bands.
DonM

their loss, no doubt... When you got a good thing going hold on to it...

Over the years I performed in a dozen or more similar locations, the owners all eventually went belly up, new owners came in, brought in new performers, mainly DJ/KJ guys, and the cycle continues. I still do an occasional restaurant/nite-club job, but only as a fill in for friends that find themselves a private party that pays three to five times as much as their nite-club job. I found the NH circuit a lot more rewarding, at least in my area, the payscale is considerably better, and the job security tends to be a lot more stable.

Gary

I had the best music job in the area for many years, and I miss it, but not as much as I thought I would. I really don't HAVE to have it at this point, and I'm sort of enjoying the "civilian" life.
I'm doing some nice private parties and may do a few nursing homes because I enjoy doing them. Returning to the supper club is an option, but not one I care to take at this time, given the current circumstances. Plus my wife doesn't WANT me to go back! I'm told their business has declined dramatically, and in fact it had even before I left. I hope they make a good comeback as the owner is a long-time friend.
I'm even thinking about opening a business with my youngest son, but that's far from certain. I may have enough energy left to get it off to a good start for him, but there is a lot of groundwork to be done before it could happen. However, if it SHOULD work out, I will have another sit-down music job, and to make this relevant to the thread, we may have an Arranger Keyboard Bar in it!
My late friend HankB had one for a while and it was pretty successful. I played there quite a lot to help him get it started. In fact Tom C. came down and sat in there. It was a lot of fun. We took the insides out of an old grand piano and built a shelf for the keyboard where the keys used to be. Mixer and cables all were hidden under the top and a PSR2000 stayed on the shelf. I would just take Hank's disk out and put mine in when I played. That keyboard went through hell because Hank enjoyed an occasional adult beverage and shared several of them with the Yamaha. We would just dry it out and fire it back up. It had to be the most abused keyboard in history, but it is still working today. In fact, I think Bill P. has it in the closet somewhere.
Sorry for the rambling; too much time on my hands!
DonM

Great post Don. I am sure Hank is looking down and chuckling with the rest of us after reading that.

I miss my buddy Hank RIP,...
We ALWAYS had GREAT TIMES GOOD FRIEND..

When my phone doesn't ring every morning at exactly 10:00, I know it's Hank.
DonM