Oh, fellow guitar players! I seek your aid! :)
As I mentioned in my "Meet and Greet" post, I'm the guitarist for a 2-piece acoustic cover group. My girlfriend and I have been trying to make the transition from hobby to lucrative endeavor over the last few months. Vocally speaking, she is MUCH more comfortable singing country than any other genre, but as far as her skill as a singer goes, she can nail just about any "competition" song dead on. She's won a lot of karaoke competitions and that sort of thing. However I'm trying to keep the amount of country songs we do balanced with other genres so as to not get pigeon-holed as a country act. We've been really surprised and encouraged by the reaction we've gotten from unlikely crowds, and I'm trying to keep us as a "Jack of All Trades" type of act. I think it has a LOT to do with the fact that she's as good of a live performer as she is, and less to do with our song selections... but here's our current set list to give you an idea:
You Were Meant for Me - Jewel
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Gimme Sympathy - Metric
More Like Her - Miranda Lambert
She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5
When the Stars Go Blue - Ryan Adams version
Tim McGraw - Taylor Swift
^^ if you google the chords for a couple of those songs, you'll see what level of guitar player I am. I can play all of those songs very well, but none of them have any real difficulty.
When I google "crowd pleaser covers" and stuff like that, I primarily see Nirvana songs and the like. Nirvana is perfectly fine, but I don't want to flood our set list with any given artist, or make it too heavy in certain genres. With having Miranda Lambert, Ryan Adams, and Taylor Swift... I really need to get some more contemporary pop, classic rock, soft rock, and maybe even some creative covers.
So you've read enough of my coffee-fueled, over-explanatory ramblings ... here's my question:
What do you think are some good songs, from ANY genre, that someone of my rather novice guitar playing skills could learn fairly easily? ANY genre or time period is OK, as long as most people are generally familiar with the song. I don't want to overly alienate any particular age group or type of person.
Nice and un-complicated songs that sound a lot more complex than they really are - I use these in lessons
Angie - Rolling Stones
Man On The Moon - R.E.M.
A-Team - Ed Sheeran
More or less anything by The Eagles that isn't Hotel California or Life In The Fast Lane
Fast Car - Tracy Chapman
Everlong - Foo Fighters
and there are heaps of other good songs that fall into the "Good songs you can work with a single acoustic guitar" category. Get digging around...
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
Some of these may not be your cup of soup but I'm adding them because their easy to play and sing.
Rescue Blues - Ryan Adams
Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye - Black Crowes
Sister Luck - Black Crowes
No Rain - Blind Melon
Jolene - Ray LaMontagne <---Really easy and very good love song that has a country sound to it.
Signs - (the Tesla Version)
Teamwork- A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction.
I'm not sure these fit the tastes of your singer, but here are some to consider that I consider to be easy crowd favorites:
Tom Petty: Free Fallin', I Won't Back Down
Mellencamp: Lonely Ol' Night, Pink Houses
Alison Kraus: When You Say Nothing At All
Kristofferson/Joplin: Me and Bobby McGee
Johnny Cash: I Still Miss Someone
Patsy Cline: Walking After Midnight
CCR: Have You Ever Seen the Rain
Bob Dylan: Forever Young, I Shall Be Released
Angel from Montgomery
Some Melissa Etheridge - Come to My Window
OK here are a couple
Lonely Boy - Black Keys
Somebody that I used to know - Gotye
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Somebody that I used to know - Gotye
I sat down with this one to work it out, got the first 8 bars done and then a bucketload of new work landed on the desk.
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
If you're playing a hit by an artist in your first set, find something less-known from the same artist in the second or third. You're playing "Wish You Were Here," so look at "Money" or "Mother" or almost anything else by Pink Floyd. Do that up & down your set list if you need to. It's an easy way to get more tunes & maintains the overall texture of your act.
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
Some Bob Dylan maybe? His songs have so much potential with a female singer. Just listen to Girl From the North Country by Rosanne Cash. But do another song if you don't want any more countrysongs.
I would focus on the folkstuff he did in the beginning of his career, but I'm sure anything would work.
"Talent is luck. The important thing in life is courage."
To everyone! Thanks SO much for the input, I really appreciate it. You guys hit the nail on the head with your suggestions. I read the replies with my singer and she got pretty excited about some of them, too. It's like... you KNOW of the songs, but sometimes you just forget about them when you're in the "what next?" mind set.
I can't thank you guys enough - the responses were even more on point than I would have hoped for! :)
More or less anything by The Eagles that isn't Hotel California or Life In The Fast Lane
I just learned Hotel California the other day, actually. I got kind of frustrated by the switching between F# and Bm at first, but after giving it a break and coming back to it a week later it feels a lot more comfortable. Definitely gonna get Everlong in there. I love that song, learned to play it awhile back, and I had her try doing the vocals for it since reading that post and I think that's gonna be a hit with a variety of audiences.
Gonna check out the chords on some of those others, too.
