Song medley/blending ideas??? please share

[page]

I once thought of doing a bunch of songs from Rocky Horror Picture Show in a medley.

 

[Thor]

Back in the 80's we did a 'Dance Medley'

Every song was a 'dance' except the first one, which the
singer insisted on, hey everybody gets something they
need ... All segued together. We liked the nonstop music
thing.

Glory Days > Dancin' in the Dark, Dancing in the Street,
Harlem Shuffle > Dance Little Sister, Dance.

Harlem Shuffle had a very interesting Am7 to Bb feel, then
modulated up to Bbm7 to B in the second half of the song.

We took the outro in C, C#m to Dm and resolved into an
A to start the last song.

A lot depends on the song selection, and how fluid and
natural the segue is.

We actually wrote a full intro and outro that reprised all the
segues and that really demanded that the naturalness and
fluidity be there, everyone be on time perfectly, that the
rhythm section lead the charge.

It was fun to do.

 

[cheezewiz]

All cool ideas, but as a previous poster said, doing more than one or two a night gets lame really quick.

 

[DrewBud]

Here's a cool medley that we did a bunch.

Give it to me (Rick James) into Billie Jean into Long train Runnin (Doobie Brothers).

There's a really cool wat to transition into billie jean....we had a guitar solo at the end and did you ever notice that the Give it to me bassline is really close to Thriller...well he had the guitar player quote thriller at the end of his solo to lead into billie jean...people went freakin nuts every time we did it.

 

[ModulusFan]

All cool ideas, but as a previous poster said, doing more than one or two a night gets lame really quick.

Really depends on the type of band, and gig you are doing, but for the most part I have to disagree. If you are doing any kind of music in hopes of filling a dance floor, I am sure you will notice keeping them up there is even more of a challenge than getting them up there in the first place. Most of the time, they are leaving the floor before the song they got up to dance to is even over. This is where the medleys are nice....hit them with another before they even get the chance to go sit down. After you have them up for 4-5 straight, entertaining them the rest of the night is a breeze.

 

[Thor]

Here's a cool medley that we did a bunch.

Give it to me (Rick James) into Billie Jean into Long train Runnin (Doobie Brothers).

There's a really cool wat to transition into billie jean....we had a guitar solo at the end and did you ever notice that the Give it to me bassline is really close to Thriller...well he had the guitar player quote thriller at the end of his solo to lead into billie jean...people went freakin nuts every time we did it.

You MJ'ed them into a fugue state? That's great!

 

[patrickj]

Last Dance of Mary Jane -> Stairway To Heaven

(the last 1/3rd or so - just the soloing to the end)

 

[Maneman]

You could always try
Under the Bridge to When i come around to Since you been Gone to no woman no cry

 

[JTE]

Hmm... a couple my last band did that worked great...

"Nowhere To Run" (Martha & The Vandellas) into "Cover Me" (Bruce Springsteen)

"Life In The Fast Lane" (Eagles) to "Give Up The Funk (P-Funk) to "Thank You (Falletine Me Be Mice Elf, Again)" (Sly & The Family Stone)

"Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad" (Derek & The Dominoes) to "Dear Mr. Fantasy" (Traffic)

"Pinball Wizard" (The Who) to "Magical Mystery Tour" (The Beatles)

"Cry Baby" into "Piece of My Heart" both by Janis Joplin

John

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

If you are into pleasing the average crowd, you need a late 70s disco/funk medley. Think KC and The Sunshine Band, Earth Wind And Fire, Commodores, Rick James, Average White Band, etc. This will get ALL of the women on the floor and many of the drunk men. Guaranteed.

Big +1. Folks *love* to dance for 15 min straight, so if you can morph 3 or 4 tunes together, it's very fun. Lord knows I never, EVER listen to Disco, but playing it is da bomb!

 

[viper4000]

Whole Lotta Love (full)>>Eruption (our guitar player's version, which is killer) >>Smokin by Boston

good way to end a set.

 

[Erik the Red]

I had a strange cover band going for a while.
We had a pretty funny medley we did a few times.
Miserlou > Tequila > la Bamba > Twist and Shout
Our drummer sang a couple verses of la Bamba, despite not speaking a word of spanish.
It was a riot.

 

[Highway27]

We do one of What I Like About You > R.O.C.K. In The USA and then back.

 

[duff beer]

I can't believe no one's done "Werewolves of London-Sweet Home Alabama-All Summer Long"

 

[Depth_Charge]

Metallica's Four Horsemen into Megadeths The Mechanix

 

[EduardoJoel]

Just be careful not to overdo it:

YouTube - Axis of Awesome - 4 Four Chord Song (with song titles)

 

[BassGuyFL]

We do Sweet Child of Mine into Don't Bring Me Down from ELO cut into it right before the solo. Always gets a good reaction.

 

[INTHEPOCKET69]

I can't believe no one's done "Werewolves of London-Sweet Home Alabama-All Summer Long"

We do this one and it packs the floor...always! The order is different though..we start with All Summer Long...then to Sweet Home ...then Werewolves and the back to All Summer Long to close....

 

[selftitled907]

Great thread with TONS of KILLER ideas! My band currently does 2 medleys being...

CCR - Heard it through the Grapevine --> Blondie - one way or another

Misfits - dig up her bones --> Misfits - Scream --> Danzig - Mother

people love it!

 

[semiprohooker]

Flame suit ready....

So, lately I've been playing some acoustic sets here and there. I'm trying to work on my vocals and songwriting. One medley that I do occasionally is:

Justin Bieber-Baby > beautiful girls - sean kingston > stand by me - ben e. King?(i think)