What songs for care homes?

[Helpaladyoutplease]

Hi, random query but im going along to sing at a care home in a few weeks and want to sing some non christmas songs among the carols. But im struggling to work out which songs might be meaningful to the residents overall? I mean they were born at the end of ww2ish right so it's not the war songs generation anymore! Any advice from people who work in care homes or perhaps have older parents?

1960s. Beatles - maybe Abba as well? 60s and 70s stuff.

I'd go for Tom Jones, Bee Gees, Cliff Richard.

Speaking for my mum who loves Elvis, Lionel Ritchie, The Rolling Stones and Robbie Williams.

I'd go for the musicals: My fair lady, West Side Story, The King and I . . .

Johnny Cash

Neil Diamond. Barbara Streisand

60s and 70s stuff mainly.

Brenda Lee
Doris Day
Jim Reeves

I’m in a choir and we recently sang in a care home. We did My Favourite Things, Wouldn’t it be Luvverly, Eidelweiss, Oh What a Beautiful Morning. Songs from the shows seemed to go down well.
I’d also consider Rat Pack and Crooner songs, Shirley Bassey, Elvis and Cliff.

Supremes
Cilla Black
Sandy Shaw
Dusty Springfield
Patsy Cline

I’d ditto those, and what @ThreeKneeRepeater said. Plenty of singalong melody.
I have a lot of care home experience - my Dm was in hers for 8 years, FiL in his for for 4.

Maybe some classic Disney?

Definitely NOT songs from WW2! - I saw a poster at a local pub recently for an over 55’s evening with “all your wartime favourites” !!

Show tunes
60’s
70’s
80’s
songs from musical films

This is so helpful, thankyou!! Loads of songs to pick from in here!

Elvis, the Beatles, rat pack American songs - most would now have come of age post ww2

Last time I did it I remember we included when I'm 64, obla di ob bla da, fly me to the moon, que sera sera, I could have danced all night, couple of les mis, tomorrow (Annie) sung by our 14 year old chorister, my dd o mio bambino Caro

Look up pub classics on YouTube - we play this at the home I work at and it gets the residents singing and dancing

Average age range say 75-95, look at songs from 60-80 years ago, 1933-1963 say, pull off a list of top selling records for those years and take your pick?

I would suggest speaking directly to the care home and possibly their activity coordinator assuming they have one. Failing that google songs from the 50's, 60's with a few 70'd thrown in.

“Always look on the bright side of life.”

Just not Vera bloody Lynn. The care home at the end of our road started doing outdoor concerts for its residents during covid, and it was non-stop wartime tunes. Poor buggers, cooped up and having to listen to that shit. It’s the equivalent of making Gen X listen to Cliff Richard. Which no doubt they’ll do when we’re too decrepit to argue.

My parents are in their early 80s - my mum likes 1980s electronica such as Gary Numan or the Human League. My dad likes American music of the 1960s such as the Beach Boys.

I'm just waiting for the day that they start playing punk in care homes. Just imagine a load of 80 year olds belting out God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols. 🙂

Play a bit of Prodigy fer yer mam!

Went to a music night in a care home with mum recently

She's 85 but there were also much younger residents

Everyone loved the George Michael, Fleetwood Mac, Human League, Culture Club, Olivia Newton John...even Pharell Happy, but I think not many knew that song, just git into it. There were a couple of mellow ones at the end.

I would say it was mostly 80s which makes sense really. Chatted with activity co-ordinator and she said she thought about including older songs but asked the residents and they didn't want anything much older than that.

There's definitely residents older than mum but we didn't see any of them at the music night....a couple of older ladies left after three songs maybe, it was too much and they couldn't go along with the chair bopping.