The music at a wedding is vital and what’s better than getting professionals to write a bit on our blog about the song trends over the years. Take a look at what Hank Lane Music from New York says about this topic and enjoy their amazing music.
You can pretty much measure the mainstream popularity of any given song by whether or not it has appeared at a wedding reception.
Some songs are super hot at the time and then gradually drop off (ex. Macarena).
Others seem to be a guaranteed dance floor filler regardless of the year (ex. Baby Got Back).
As the premier provider of wedding bands in New York and the tri state area, we’ve seen it all. So, using that experience, we’ve pulled together some of the most notable trends for the top wedding songs across the past half dozen decades.
Decades Old Choices by Today’s Couples
It seems like every decade over the past 60+ years has produced certain wedding song mainstays that modern couples are still fond of, well beyond the top 40 of today.
Kevin Osborne of the Kevin Osborne Band with Hank Lane Music says, “I’ve noticed a resurgence with brides and grooms loving the music their parents love, because it’s what they listened to when they were growing up. Not just Top 40 of today but the Top 40 for the last 50 years.”
A perfect example is “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. It’s been 35 years since the release of this poster song for hairband ‘80s music and yet today’s millennial couples are still jammin’ to it during their reception.
Wedding Dance Classics: “Don’t Stop Believin'” and “September” from Hank Lane Music on Vimeo.
Wildly Popular Wedding Songs That Flourished & Faded Due to Movies
It’s funny how times change and how influential pop culture can be. Many songs have both gained and lost popularity at weddings due to movies released in some generations.
For instance, “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher was beloved for many years by the hippie, anti-war crowd until the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray turned it into a hilarious joke; earning it a steady spot on the Do Not Play List at weddings.
On the other end of the spectrum, in the 80s, there was a huge resurgence of The Beatles 1963 remake of “Twist and Shout”, when the cult classic movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off put it back in the spotlight.
Wedding Songs We Never Thought Could Get Trumped
And then there are those wedding reception songs we never thought would get overthrown by a replacement.
The most obvious that comes to mind is Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” which has been the undisputed crowd-pleasing top choice for the bouquet toss for decades, until…
Beyonce released “Single Lades,” which is unquestionably more popular among single female attendees today.
Artists That Weddings Will Probably Never Abandon
There are simply some artists that are so loved, it would probably take a tremendous scandal or shocking story of incredible proportions to knock them off the wedding playlist.
A few that come to mind are Elvis, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Garth Brooks, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce.
Naturally, some weddings will lean to certain genres more than others, but all in all, most weddings will play at least one song from an artist in that group, if not more.
A Motown Dance Classic: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” from Hank Lane Music on Vimeo.
Think about it. We’re talking songs like “1999”, “P.Y.T.”, “Friends in Low Places”, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, “Twist & Shout”, “Falling in Love,” “Material Girl,” “Crazy in Love” and “Rock Your Body”…among many others. Each of these artists has multiple hits, so it’s almost inevitable you’ll hear one of them at the next wedding you attend.
As band leader of the Steve Delisi Band with Hank Lane Music, says, “Certain songs are timeless and as I like to say, ‘can make the dead get up and dance.’”
Happy Clip from Hank Lane Music on Vimeo.
Pearlsandals is a Barcelona wedding and events planning company dedicated to creating special moments in Barcelona, Catalonia and Mallorca for Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, German, Spanish, Catalan and English speaking couples.
