Blues singalong suggestions?
April 17, 2019 12:11 PM Subscribe
A friend will be performing a 90-minute set of blues music at an upcoming street festival, and she's looking for songs the crowd can sing along with as she plays guitar. ("Do 'Come On in My Kitchen!' I said, and was reminded that there will be lots of kids present, so.) She's aware of the Blues chapter of "Rise Again." What else do you have for her?
Feel free to interpret blues loosely--she's looking for blues-y songs folks might know from movies and TV, or remember from their childhoods. Her son plays a little fiddle, so suggestions incorporating his skills are especially welcome, though not required. Crowd is not going to be particularly picky about defining blues music, as long as they can sing along. Thanks, all!
Feel free to interpret blues loosely--she's looking for blues-y songs folks might know from movies and TV, or remember from their childhoods. Her son plays a little fiddle, so suggestions incorporating his skills are especially welcome, though not required. Crowd is not going to be particularly picky about defining blues music, as long as they can sing along. Thanks, all!
Piano Man always gets people singing along, but it's not blues. How about One Whiskey, one Scotch, one Beer? Ain't Nobody's Business, by BB King?
posted by Enid Lareg at 12:43 PM on April 17, 2019
posted by Enid Lareg at 12:43 PM on April 17, 2019
Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker)
posted by Amy NM at 12:50 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Amy NM at 12:50 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
a lot of spirituals and other gospel were the ancestors or relatives of the blues, and they sometimes have easy refrains designed for easy repetition by a crowd.
A bunch of my friends sing this one, but with slightly different lyrics: http://www.allgospellyrics.com/?sec=listing&lyricid=2662
Keep in mind that spirituals and other old Black Gospel music aren't just Christian hymns, they're songs of resistance to slavery and degradation, and there's probably some baggage to unpack there if it's not your heritage.
posted by twoplussix at 1:23 PM on April 17, 2019
A bunch of my friends sing this one, but with slightly different lyrics: http://www.allgospellyrics.com/?sec=listing&lyricid=2662
Keep in mind that spirituals and other old Black Gospel music aren't just Christian hymns, they're songs of resistance to slavery and degradation, and there's probably some baggage to unpack there if it's not your heritage.
posted by twoplussix at 1:23 PM on April 17, 2019
Louis Jordan is often more jazz than blues, but he encompasses both, and is very singalongable.
Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens- Louis Jordan
Everybody Eats When They Come To My House - Cab Calloway
Minnie The Moocher - Cab Calloway (technically jazz I guess, but still.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 2:55 PM on April 17, 2019
Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens- Louis Jordan
Everybody Eats When They Come To My House - Cab Calloway
Minnie The Moocher - Cab Calloway (technically jazz I guess, but still.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 2:55 PM on April 17, 2019
Piece Of My Heart or Me and Bobby Mcgee - Janis Joplin (crossing the line into rock, but Janis was always a blueswoman at heart)
Go Ahead Buddy- Casey Bill Weldon (technically ragtime, but a good crowd-pleaser since the joke is that you don't sing the rude word that rhymes)
Proud Mary - Tina Turner
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:11 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
Go Ahead Buddy- Casey Bill Weldon (technically ragtime, but a good crowd-pleaser since the joke is that you don't sing the rude word that rhymes)
Proud Mary - Tina Turner
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:11 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
Chain of Fools - Aretha (more Motown than blues, but a blues musician could do it and a crowd sure would sing it)
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:14 PM on April 17, 2019
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:14 PM on April 17, 2019
Family friendly: One Meatball by Josh White.
posted by Botanizer at 3:31 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Botanizer at 3:31 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
Minnie the Moocher is fantastic but it’s about rampant drug use:
The lyrics are heavily laden with drug references. The character "Smokey" is described as "cokey", meaning a user of cocaine; the phrase "kick the gong around" was a slang reference to smoking opium.[6]
, so... I don’t know what counts as kid friendly but most all the bluesy songs I can think of that are well-known also feature some mix of: substance abuse, violence toward people, killing of people, and general mistreatment of people. It’s the blues, not exactly for kids, ya know?
I mean I like Folsom Prison Blues as sung by this very young lady, but I don’t know if it passes muster in terms of perceived safety.
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:48 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
The lyrics are heavily laden with drug references. The character "Smokey" is described as "cokey", meaning a user of cocaine; the phrase "kick the gong around" was a slang reference to smoking opium.[6]
, so... I don’t know what counts as kid friendly but most all the bluesy songs I can think of that are well-known also feature some mix of: substance abuse, violence toward people, killing of people, and general mistreatment of people. It’s the blues, not exactly for kids, ya know?
I mean I like Folsom Prison Blues as sung by this very young lady, but I don’t know if it passes muster in terms of perceived safety.
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:48 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
A lot of early rock is 12 bar blues and might work for this, e.g. Rock Around the Clock, Johnny B. Goode, Hound Dog, Tutti Frutti, I Got You (I Feel Good), etc.
Maybe some Ray Charles? Hit the Road, Jack, Hallelujah I Love Her So, Georgia on My Mind, Let the Good Times Roll, etc.
A little further away from blues: Ain't No Sunshine, Something's Got a Hold on Me, Stand By Me, (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay.
posted by clawsoon at 4:50 PM on April 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
Maybe some Ray Charles? Hit the Road, Jack, Hallelujah I Love Her So, Georgia on My Mind, Let the Good Times Roll, etc.
A little further away from blues: Ain't No Sunshine, Something's Got a Hold on Me, Stand By Me, (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay.
posted by clawsoon at 4:50 PM on April 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
No link but "Momma Don't Allow No..." can go as long as kids can make stuff up.
posted by Camofrog at 10:16 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Camofrog at 10:16 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
Led Zeppelin are the best blues thieves around, and Kashmir would love that fiddle. Stevie Ray Vaughan is completely sing along for those of us of a certain age. BB Kings the thrill is gone. Dominoes era Clapton. Alice in Chains would be a good grunge era pick to get people going -- look at the unplugged set. Hendrix.
posted by bfranklin at 4:45 AM on April 18, 2019
posted by bfranklin at 4:45 AM on April 18, 2019
A couple more blues-adjacent classics: St. James Infirmary, St. Louis Blues.
posted by clawsoon at 1:48 PM on April 18, 2019
posted by clawsoon at 1:48 PM on April 18, 2019
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