help me think of music for my mum please?

[stainesmassif]

have bought dm an itouch for xmas, and am in the process of putting music on it. she's never really treated herself to music - tastes dictated by what tapes were for sale in the service station in the 1980s for £1.99.

So far i have the beatles, everly brothers, peggy lee, doris day, maria callas, simon and garfunkel, vivaldi's four seasons, dolly parton, and am running out of inspiration. if any of these artists trigger musical associations for you, please help!

Brenda Lee, Connie Francis, Tammy Wynette, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone - Am I on the right track?

Brenda Lee and connie Francis - vg! Not so much dino and Frank. Ella and possibly Roy, and maybe patsy could all be contenders. Thankyou!

Oh good!

What about some Simon & Garfunkel, can't go wrong there surely...?

Got!

Elvis
Johnny Cash
How old is your mum?

Oh um... Dusty Springfield? Abba?

Beach Boys? Four Tops?

Carpenters
Mamas & Papas
Eva Cassidy
Bee Gees

yy CARPENTERS

Peter & Gordon?
The Kinks?

How old is she, and are you deliberately trying to avoid the 1980s or might she want stuff from then? When would she describe herself as being in her prime?

Ooh, what about a bit of Neil Diamond?

Eagles, Monkees, Osmonds, Jackson5, David Cassidy, David Essex, Gilbert O'Sillyman.

lots of good ideas here, thank you.

she's 66. her prime? i think she's had lots of primes, but may really enjoy stuff from her teens just to take her back and that's an area i'm very ignorant of - i think she used to like skiffle....

dusty and abba, vg. carpenters, yes, neil diamond is more my taste! david essex could be a good one.

i think the beatles were it for her, and consequently she wasn't very interested in any of their contemporaries.

am also thinking there could be lots of show tunes that she'd be into, have downloaded phantom of the opera, she loves a bit of EP on r2 on a sunday. preferably without EP presenting.

Glenn Campbell? Lonnie Donnegan (spelling) was skiffle wasn't he?

without EP presenting. Her laugh makes me want to stick knitting needles in my ears

LONNIE DONEGAN! genius, thank you

yes, i love the show, but EP brings me out in a full body cringe.

Stuff from the 70s - Slade, Sweet, Mud, Marc Bolan?

Mott the Hoople, New Seekers, Lynyrd Skynyrd?

Musicals: Hair? Tommy?

you've reminded me that she used to like the quadrophenia album actually, which i had completely forgotten about!

If she likes Quadrophenia, try also The Jam, The Specials, Madness, Buster Bloodvessel, Outlandos D'Amour and Reggatta de Blanc by The Police and Squeeze Greatest Hits.

Barbara Streisand
Shirley Bassey
Susan Boyle
Elaine Page
Cliff Richard

unfortunately, the jam, specials etc are all a bit too testosterone fuelled for my dm's ears.

shirley bassey! ace!

any other musicals?

Leonard Cohen
The Stones
Martha and the Vandellas
Marvin Gaye
Jesus Christ, Superstar
Evita
West Side Story

and how about a few things to remind her of you?
Duran Duran
Wham!
Dire Straits
The Police
Blondie - whatever else you might have been into

duran duran made me smile - i think she must have been heartily sick of them in 1986!

but you'll probably find she has a soft spot for them now, even if she hasn't consciously heard them for 25 years ...

If she liked skiffle and you have Lonnie Donnegan, how about Joe Brown? Or Marty Wilde? Around the same sort of time.