Cinco de Mayo parties are fairly predictable. Most clients request some appropriately latin- inspired music for attendees to enjoy while snacking on nachos and mini-tacos and slurping down margaritas and Pacificos. After dinner, it's dance time, so break out the dance music, and be sure to include the classics.  La Bamba (of course,) Tequila (naturally,) Come a Little Bit Closer (okay) and El Paso (No. request all you want, but you can't dance to it.)

This last Cince de Mayo I made an interesting observation: Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass are awesome! You MUST include their music at your next Cinco de Mayo party. Holy crap...they had a dozen huge hits, and even if you play the B-side songs, it is all pure gold. Trust me, Boomers in attendance will look up, smile and say "God, I love that song (I haven't heard it in years!") Seriously, you never hear Herb Alpert on radio...even those "oldies" stations (because "oldies these days means "80's and 90's.") 

The bouncy upbeat stuff is immediately recognizable to everyone over 50. You remember "The Lonely Bull" and "Tijuana Taxi." 
But do you remember "Green Peppers?"  ...or "Bittersweet Samba?" ...and what about "Peanuts?"  You will find yourself doing a goofy dance and snapping your fingers...like your parents probably did. Mine did. Jesus, it was embarrassing!

But the slow songs...madre de dios! These were MADE to dance to, so grab that someone and fall in love all over to "Ladyfingers." An achingly, hauntingly beautiful, solitary trumpet song,  so sweet, so romantic... it is making my eyes well up even as I type this. This is the trumpet sibling of Santana's "Samba pa Ti." Even on a crowded dance floor, it is an intimate, soulful song that sets it apart from other "slow songs."  I have added Ladyfingers to all of my playlists. 

By the way, someone will probably protest that Santana is the voice (well, guitar) of Baby Boomer music. Don't get me wrong, I worship Carlos Santana and his groundbreaking music from the 60's. The later stuff, with the Mahavishnu Orchestra...less so. Santana Abraxas...oh god yes!  Santana at Montreux 2004?  Um...no, a different Santana...a "Jazz" Santana. I don't really synch up with Santana again until "Supernatural."  He is a boomer era legend, like Clapton, McCartney, and the Stones. But the stuff they record now doesn't have that young, lean & hungry, ass-kicking quality that their early stuff showcased. And yes, I will admit that even Herb Alpert's recent work is too jazzy for me to warm too. Such is life...or to quote a George Harrison album title, "All Things Must Pass." 

Keep Dancing,

Rob

The #1 most frequently used "Search" term that people are using to find my website...by a HUGE margin is "baby boomer playlist." There are a dozen variations on that, including "boomer dance music" and "baby boom song list."  They all seem to be looking for one thing: the essential dance tunes. I don't mean listening tunes. I mean the tunes that get people on the dance floor.

Keep in mind that even the best tunes need a little "context." There is a start, a middle, and an end to every dance party. There are slow tunes that tend to exclude singles because, well, you don't want to be dancing to a smoldering slow tune with a married colleague or neighbor.  If the room is too brightly lit, some dancers are inhibited and may sit out even the best tunes. Save the funky stuff until you have a few bodies up and dancing...stick with the "gateway" tunes to start...tunes that are familiar and...well...beloved.

That said, here are my recommendations. They are guaranteed to get a reaction and if the crowd is primarily boomer-aged, they will hit the floor without an elevated blood-alcohol level.

One other thing...there are distinct sub-groups in Baby Boomer dance music. The holy trinity are 1) late 50s, 2) 60's, and 70's up to classic disco. Those groups make more sense than "Motown, Funk/Soul, and what I like to call (snob alert) "Happy Days" which is late 50's sock-hop music that has been famous in movies, most notably "American Graffiti." (A GREAT movie!) Real 50's music is a different animal. All partner dancing, vocalist-heavy tunes that are great over dinner, good used sparringly, but otherwise will drive people right off the dance floor. Pronto, Tonto. Early and mid-50's is good enough for pledge night on KQED, but no...not in your playlist! 


Late 50's (The Golden Age of dance-worthy Elvis)

• Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & the Comets
• At The Hop - Danny and the Juniors
• School Day - Chuck Berry
• Jailhouse Rock or Hound Dog -  These are the reason Elvis is THE KING
• Smoke Gets in You Eyes - The Platters
• Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
• Chance Are -  Johnny Mathis
• Tequila - The Champs
• I Only Have Eyes for You - The Flamingos
• I've Got You Under My Skin - Frank (the version arranged by Nelson Riddle and performed with the N. Riddle Orchestra)
• Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins

In Part 2 I will cover the "heavy lifter" tunes that are the core of a Boomer Dance party...the incredible explosion that was the Sixties.
As always, if you don't agree with my list...go out and make your own. 

Just read this morning that there is a slew of proposed legislation in Congress dealing with privacy privacy disclosure requirements for commercial websites. I guess that would include me.

One proposal limits how many characters can be used to explain the policy. I know that they mean well, but damn, what's next...which fonts can be used? 

[Disclaimer:]  I find the recent overturning of an important part of the Civil Rights Act just as scary as the recent disclosure that the government that I voted for is eavesdropping on just about anything they feel like. All day. Every day.

As a child of the 60's, a decade of protest and civil rights activism, I am concerned. Not concerned enough to join the GOP and try to restore the United States of the 1950s, but concerned nonetheless. 

And so, in a spirit of cooperation and transparency, here it is, my privacy policy: (drumroll please!)

I don't collect anything. I therefore have nothing of value to share with financial, marketing, social networking, or any other agency or organization. I log in once a month to see which key words are used to find my website, and I can also see which search engines have pointed the curious in my direction. Oddly enough, aside from Google (naturally) the overwhelming number of search engines are all in Russia. I am guessing they are searching for weaknesses in my website that they can exploit for names, email addresses,  or credit cards. Sorry comrades. Don't have any of that in my website. Just good music and fun ideas.

It also occurred to me that now that I have added juicy terms like "Russia"  and "GOP" to a blog page I will see the number of hits increase dramatically as the NSA and Russian intelligence try to figure out the obviously encrypted meaning behind words like "Boogaloo" or "Watusi."  

Confession:  I have never danced the Watusi. But watching Wednesday Adams giving
Lurch a lesson gives me hope. (For a big guy, he has some serious moves!)

We caught Mitch Woods at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. on Father's Day. The HMB Brewing Co. is a great place for boomers to hear music. On Friday and Saturday nights they have live music that starts at 7PM. On Sundays the music starts at 5PM! Holy Crap!  You can get a bite to eat and dance to 3 sets and be home by 9:30. Sweaty. Exhausted. Happy.

Mitch Woods is one of the top dance bands...anywhere. From the first number of the first set he lays down nothing but solid, dance tunes, one after another. Boogie-woogie, swing, and blues, with a  side order of zydeco. From the crowd on the dance floor, I would say he mixed it up "right nice." The band just released a new CD named "Gumbo Blues" so the night was like a visit to New Orleans without the drunken college students, humidity, and crowds of tourists.

The crowd ate it up. The "crowd" was mostly in their 50s and 60's with a friendly mix of younger and older folks. The brewing company is not about dressing to impress and drinking premium liquor. It has a real "locals" feel and  is as unpretentious as they get, Although the "big easy" infused music of Mitch Woods and band were a little something special for Father's Day, all the bands at the brewing co. seem to know how to cater to a boomer audience. 

You owe it to yourself to take a short run down to Princeton by the Sea. Have a seat around one of the braziers on the patio. Meet some nice people while sitting around the fire sipping a signature IPA made in-house by the Half Moon Bay Brew Co. When the music starts you don't have to worry about losing your spot/seat.