What is 'oldies' music...?

I remember, when I first started playing down in Florida in the early 80's, that 'Oldies' clubs used to feature 50's and 60's music... Elvis shows, Doo-wop, maybe some Beatles.

It's now 25 years later. Has anyone noticed a trend towards 'Oldies' clubs and bands playing 70's and 80's music yet? I STILL see clubs and acts that concentrate on 50's and 60's music, despite the obvious shrinking of the population that can actually remember those days (or afford to go out and party!) and that music...

Is it time for us to move on, and start to play the music of the 70's and 80's as 'oldies' music?

My duo plays primarily 70's stuff (acoustic folk-rock, reggae, pop artists like Fleetwood Mac and Elton John, etc.), but as of yet, no-one has labeled us as an 'oldies' band. How much longer do you think we have..?!

I can't wait to play 'Whole Lotta Love' or 'Born To Be Wild' in a tuxedo at a country club!

I might PAY to see that ... ...
t.

PS: 'oldies' still refers to late 50's early 60's music ...




[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 06-06-2007).]

I say that I play oldies and classic rock. Oldies are the songs of the 50's and 60's. Classic rock is from Woodstock thru the 80's (except disco). I don't know what you call that stuff from the 90's to now.

"What is 'oldies' music...?"

Anything you remember "like it was yesterday" (even though you can't remember what you had for lunch today).

chas

50s & 60s music...Classic Rock 70s...what came after doesn't really interest me that much...some good songs now and than but it sure ain't the Sixties and early Seventies...

Taike

My guess is that every era will just have its own name. 70s and 80's music will never be given the name "oldies' it will always be called classic rock. then they'll come out with retro-rock, and sucky rock, (ok, maybe it will never be classified as such, ).

This topic brings to mind a question I've been pondering for quite some time now. I'm 29 years old. What are nursing homes of my generation going to look like?
Every room has a computer with high speed internet connection. Every room has DVD player. We're all talking on cell phones or having skype conversations with our pals in the home across the ocean. People who come to entertain us will be up there trying to rap or play the old classic emo screamo music. Oy Vey.

They won't look like anything. Do the words "Soylent Green" ring a bell?

chas

A dinner bell?

Gosh darn, Diki. Is there no end to your knowledge? I'm glad there's someone around here old enough to remember that flick. Edward G. Robinson, right?

chas

That was quite the movie, not the way I care to think about living. Charlton Heston and Chuck "The Rifleman Connors were in that one too.



That era coined 50's 60s as "Oldies" just the way the brand name Kleenex became used to describe facial tissue. When was the last time someone asked for a facial tissue......? But you probably asked for a Kleenex? (At least in the States) Don't know whether that analogy really fits in this case ... IMHO "oldies" in my lifetime probably won't ever be used to describe 80s and 90s music.



[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 06-07-2007).]

I think if you play these oldies now with your arranger or todays instruments , it's mostly called mainstream. at least in europe it is.. Oldies is pre worldwar II

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldies

At last! You just beat me to this Freddy.
I was about to mail a similar letter about Oldies.
You are absolutely right. Oldies are the pre WW2 songs which stretch right back to the late 1800's (I still have some music sheets!)but mainly came in the early 1900's.
I have lots of this era music sheets and still enjoy the pure magic of its simple harmonies and lyrics of love and peace.
cheers
Eddie Johnson



------------------
Eddie from Rotherham
Skype:eddiefromrotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info

Seems you have longer memories in Europe than the States! I guess 90's music could be called contemporary over there?

I guess I started this one out more as a generalized 'oldies' question than a formal, capital 'O' 'Oldies', which, yes, often refers to 50's and 60's. I was just wondering if people in general had started to call 70's music 'oldies' yet...!!

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 06-08-2007).]

Soylent Green? You folks impress me with your knowledge of a lot of different things....a powerhouse, groundbreaking film. Way to go Chas and crew...I'm not surprised!

"Movie buff" Lay

In our area.."oldies" are the Doo Wop era..Pre world war2...no way..

Listen to an "oldies" radio station, and let me know how many pre WW2 tunes you hear

We don't have an oldies radio station, and you are right you don't hear pre WW2 tunes, which is probably one of the reasons we call these oldies.

We do have:
Classic rock radiostations
Classic Jazz radiostations

Funny though how one word (oldies) has different meanings on different continents.
In europe the oldies of the 50/60 are named by category like early pop, rock & roll, bebop etc...

Fred

It's always fun to see musicians pigeonhole music into different categories as precisely as they can, while the general public blithely ignores them completely, and calls it whatever they feel like... I've definitely heard a few kids refer to the Beatles as 'sort of oldies music'!

'Classic rock' really doesn't encompass the whole 70's thing very well. You wouldn't call Simon and Garfunkel 'classic rock', or Harry Chapin, or Carole King, or MANY 70's acts.

"Oldies' in the formal sense seems to include several fairly different types of music, it's not just doo-wop, but also Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, and many other artists from that couple of decades.

So what are the 70's and 80's going to get called? (Or are the 60's and 70's going to get lumped together instead?)

Sooner or later, I guess the general public (not us musicians!) is going to decide....