W.Y Songs

The more time passes, the more difficult it is for older people to find music that they enjoy. Fewer and fewer people are familiar with the songs that were popular in the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. The songs that created such strong memories for these older people are fading into history and members of these generations in particular go without hearing the songs that mean so much to them and bring back to mind so many important events in their life stories. This is where you come in!

Many popular hits were written and recorded in these decades but most are difficult to find in music shops because they were recorded in formats that we now consider old technology, such as vinyl records. For collectors who choose to hunt these rare recordings down for purchase, they can be very costly and often damaged beyond repair.

You can find these old songs from the various eras of days gone by and learn to play and sing them. If you have a guitar or piano available to you and can sing reasonably well, you can perform them in public. You could charge $250 per show! There are many different venues open to you to perform these hits of bygone days. For instance, you could visit retirement homes, nursing homes, country clubs, and other community places where many people from these eras could gather to listen to you sing these oldies to them!

You could also perform at events such as decade themed costume parties, which are growing in popularity. Keep in mind that since these songs are often considered ‘golden oldies’, they are usually considered more politically correct for events with a wide age range of people in attendance and would be quite a bit less likely to offend sensitive ears then more modern music. Many times, this form of live music is considered more stylish and refined than other modern options of music because of this and will therefore appeal to a large spectrum of people.

You could also record yourself playing and singing these songs and sell them on CDs for people to play for their enjoyment later or for another occasion. You could easily and inexpensively make multiple copies and sell them discretely at each performance for anywhere between $10 and 20 dollars.

Now the next thing you will have to do is to let your potential audience know that you are out there and ready to perform for them! You will likely want to advertise your availability by running an advertisement in your local phone directory or local newspaper.

You will also want to be sure and have a website listing the many songs and eras that you can perform for them as well as your availability and a pricing structure. Be sure and include photos of people of all ages having a great time listening and watching you perform! You should also list your services with an online business directory. It would be a good idea to print up flyers advertising your services and post them in highly visible places, especially in areas where senior citizens or aged people would be likely to frequent. Be sure to include popular lunch places and coffee shops! Most post offices and grocery stores also have bulletin boards that they will allow you to place an advertisement on. Be sure to take advantage of any public bulletin boards in your immediate area to find the people who are looking for you and your services. Don’t neglect places like medical service buildings, health food stores, libraries, community centers and any other place that your potential clients may frequent.

In no time at all, you will have built up a large clientele base, many by word of mouth after they get a taste of your fun performances!

By: James J. Jones

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The term, “oldies,” refers to both popular music from the 1950s-1970s and the radio format that specializes in this type of music. “Golden oldies” usually refers to oldies music exclusively from the 1950s-early 1960s. Oldies songs are typically from the R&B, pop and rock music genres but may also include country, movie soundtrack, novelty, and other types of popular music played on the radio from around 1950-on. Pop music genres that had their heyday before the 1950s (e.g., ragtime, big band) are generally considered “too old” to be included in the oldies radio format. Oldies music radio stations, which typically feature bands and artists such as (to name a few) Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Little Richard, Pat Boone, Sam Cooke, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, the Rascals, the Association, the Temptations, the Who, Elton John, and Fleetwood Mac, cover a wide variety of styles including early rock and roll, rockabilly, doo-wop, surf rock, girl groups, the British Invasion, folk rock, psychedelic rock, baroque pop, soul music, Motown, and bubblegum pop. Oldies music also overlaps with classic rock which focuses on the rock music of the late 1960s and 1970s as well as newer music in a similar style.

The phrase, “oldies but goodies,” was first coined in 1957 by renowned deejay Art Laboe who, at around that time, used to get frequent requests from his listeners for songs from the early 1950s. A central figure in L.A. radio for over half a century, Laboe was the first deejay to play rock and roll on the West Coast and one of the first to play black and white artists on the same show. In 1959, he put together the first LP to feature (mostly older) songs by different artists. This immensely popular compilation album, entitled “Oldies But Goodies,” stayed on Billboard’s Top 100 LP’s chart for over three years and has, to date, spawned some 14 sequels. (Click here for a recent interview with Art Laboe.)

Soon after the release of Laboe’s first “Oldies But Goodies” album, the phrase, “oldies but goodies,” became commonplace and by around 1960, people were waxing nostalgic for 1950s doo-wop which was already starting to be classified as “oldies.” Little Caesar And The Romans’ 1961 hit, “Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me of You)” and its sequel, “Memories of Those Oldies But Goodies,” both pay homage to early doo-wop and doo-wop artists. This wave of nostalgia brought about a doo-wop revival in the early 1960s which was the first of many nostalgia movements in pop music since the term, “oldies,” was first applied to older pop music.

While “golden oldies” has remained a constant over the years, the larger body of pop music that we still call “oldies” today – which is made up of core golden oldies songs plus more modern material – is not fixed but has been gradually expanding forward in time to keep up with changing demographics. Nowadays, oldies music is generally considered to include all of the 1970s, even disco, and the same is expected to be true someday for the music of the 1980s, now often described as “retro.” Oldies music is also expanding in breadth as thousands of long-forgotten tunes from the 1950s and 1960s that never made the Top 40 in their day are being rediscovered and resurrected. Whether because of nostalgia, curiosity, or a genuine love for good music, the oldies format has maintained a huge following and will probably continue to do so for many years to come.

Amy Gold
(c) Copyright 2005, allbutforgottenoldies.net

By: Amy Gold

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