Funkmaster Flex 2018 NY DJ Con

Please visit our Website for information on DJ Classes in-person or on line at http://www.djentertainmentschool.com

Halloween Music, Can You add more?

Here are just a few ideas for Halloween music can you add more in the replys?

Thriller
The monster Mash
The Purple People eater
The Munsters theme
The Adams Family Theme
Friday the 13th Theme
The Exorcist Theme
The freaks come out at night
Werewolves of London
Ghost busters
Nightmare on My street


What else can you name below in the comments section??

Yearly Equipment Check up

Yearly Equipment check

Each year you should go through all of your stuff. Make sure your emergency bag has everything needed in it like extra adapters, cords, plugs, tape,batteries, aspirin, ect. You should also take this time to clean off your equipment and polish it up. Armor all works great for faded speakers especially plastic ones. Make sure you clean the dust off your mixer and controller if it has accumulated there. A clean looking set up says a lot about how professional you are. If your speaker stands are scratched up then add a coat of spray paint to them. If your speaker grills have worn spots then a sharpie can work well at coloring in the worn spots.

Go through your music and run a cleaner, ID3 tagger, MP3 gain, and defragment programs on your hard drive. This will clean the tags on your music (if you are a perfectionist). MP3 Gain is a program that will go through and normalize all of your music for you so one MP3 is not louder or softer than the others. It makes them all the same volume. It is also a good idea to check your hard drive for errors and defragment it as well.

Check to make sure that all of your DJ software and operating system is up to date with the most current version. Your hardware or controller may also have a firmware update that is needed. You can check their websites for any updates you may need. You should also go through your computer and clean out any unnecessary programs on it to make it run as fast as possible (This should be done already hopefully).

You should update your website and social media accounts and any other online sites you have to be current with posts and today's trends. You might even want to change things up a bt to keep it FRESH. Remember just like a car or house your Business needs to be maintained yearly (at lease) so it will perform its best.

Please visit our Website for information on DJ Classes in-person or on line at http://www.djentertainmentschool.com

Selecting your music for your event

Selecting your music for your event

As I reminisce about my first party, I distinctly remember a certain nervousness I felt as I was setting up my equipment. To calm myself down that evening I assured myself this was a very common occurrence for someone in the driver's seat for the first time. But why was I nervous I thought? oddly enough, I realized it wasn't because I was unsure of my ability to perform my arsenal of newly learned activities, but rather it's stemmed from my unproven ability to choose the right music for the next 4 hours.

 Years of experience and trial-and-error have given me the ability to master the task of choosing the right music. Music selection should come from three sources. Here they are in order of importance:

1. Client’s Requests - In most cases a client will request five to ten songs if any at all. These requests should always be honored whenever possible. If the songs requested aren't danceable, play them during cocktail hour or dinner.
2. Guest’s Requests - By visiting the tables you'll get a nice list of selections preferred by the guests. We realize as disc jockeys most requests are similar from party to party.
3. Perennial Favorites - This is the group of 25 or so songs you find yourself playing at every party. Selections such as “Celebration”, “Uptown funk”, and “I got a Feeling” are ones that always get people to the dance floor at every party.

The songs from these three sources will overlap because perennial favorites or songs people request the most. A disc jockey must realize the importance of all three sources and learn how to effectively juggle them throughout the party.

You should generally find yourself playing the same 50 or so songs at most parties. You're selection of Music should primarily come from at least one of the three sources and should not come from your personal opinion. DJ's who avoid playing “Celebration” because they dislike the song are missing the whole point.

It is easy to enter into a routine at parties, playing the same sets in the same order week after week. That's not how to be truly successful in this business. Customize the music you play to your clients and guests needs. One of the simplest ways to make an individual impression on a party guest is to play the song they ask for. Remember, that one nondescript person at the table in the back of the room is potentially your next referral.

Planning Your Wedding Part 2: Let's Talk About Music"

Planning Your Wedding Part 2: Let's Talk About Music

By DJ Tommy Mac 

One of the biggest concerns, hands down, of any couple on the wedding day is what music should be played.
I generally run into two types of couples: Those who have very specific ideas of what they want and enjoy musically, and those who really have no clue and need my help.
Here are some helpful tips and ideas for you in arranging the perfect selection of music for your special day.
(note: while I will specifically be talking about weddings in most of these posts, they can be applied to any type of event as well)
First and foremost: Music selected for your wedding should be FUN. A wedding day is all about celebrating the union of two people and the joy of celebrating with family and friends, and the music selected should reflect that.
While there are no hard, fast RULES to any of it, in general the music selected should be fun and upbeat, appropriate for all age ranges (IE clean, no vulgarity or crude, explicit language) and lend it self to the joy and celebratory mood of the entire day...and of course, part of that celebration includes DANCING, so there should be plenty of songs chosen which are great to dance to.
Music, as with many other things in life, is a very subjective thing: what one person LOVES, another person HATES.
Keep in mind that, at your wedding, you will have a large variety of people there: Friends, family, co-workers...and not all of them will have the same musical tastes you do.
My general suggestion to my couples when selecting music is: allow something for everyone, try not to limit your music choices to just ONE style or era. You may LOVE todays latest club tunes or hip hop tracks, but think about whether your family or friends will enjoy hearing that all night long.
As your DJ, my job is to find the happy medium between what you, my clients, want, and what will make all the guests attending your special day happy as well.
I’m often asked how I as the DJ select the music that I will play for any given party, and my answer is simple: It’s combining selections from three different sources:
1: My Bride & Groom: The Bride & Groom’s requests take priority and are the basis for what ever else I chose to play through out the evening. I base my choices not only on their selections, but also what they have told me they do NOT wish to have played.
2: Guest requests: I am more than happy to take requests from guests, and as long as they fall into the appropriate guidelines I play as many as possible. Appropriate guidelines for guest requests are:
A: They meet with my bride & grooms specifications, IE are not on the “Do Not Play” list.
B: Are appropriate for the crowd: Unless it’s already been cleared by the bride & groom, a guests request for heavy metal or hardcore rap will NOT be getting played. Also any songs in general that are just inappropriate for the day: Break up songs, depressing songs, or songs that are totally obscure that no one else has ever heard of, will generally not get played.
(there are exceptions to every rule: I Will Survive is one of the most popular “break up” songs of all time and is requested and played regularly at many weddings, for example.)
3: DJ Knowledge: As a DJ with 25 years of experience, I bring my own personal knowledge of what works best to get a crowd up, dancing and having fun, and use my client & guest requests along with that knowledge to fill in the gaps and make it all flow together.
I am more than happy to accept any song list requests from my couples, and encourage them to choose at least 10-20 songs they definitely want played. Leaves me wiggle room to feel out the crowd & take some guests request. (On a AVERAGE ONLY 10-15 songs are played in an hour) My job is that much easier when I don’t have to GUESS what my couples enjoy listening and dancing to.
So I refrain from long 50 song list, most events not that long & doesnt leave room for any requests or for me to play something that crowd will dance to (Classics Always work)
Ex. I had a couple wanted nothing but 80's music & provide ALL the music for dinner & dancing, (which I tried to talk them out of, but said it's YOUR day...your wish is my command...Musical Genie) 1/2 way through event they came to me & said no one's dancing. I advised them, they picked the music not me & to break the chains off & let me do what I DO. They said go ahead Dollar & I kept the dancefloor packed the rest of the night.
2nd Ex. A couple picked few songs that wasnt popular & it cleared my dance floor, I immediately faded out song & re-packed dancefloor.  That comes with experience & bride's mother thanked me at the end for not letting entire song play.
That being said, if you find your list getting very long, I always suggest giving me a “Top 10” of your favorite songs that MUST be played, and then allowing me to chose and select the best cuts from the rest of your requests to fill out the party.
I also encourage the “Do Not Play” list; it is almost, if not as important, as your requests. Again it helps me to know in advance the types of songs or music you simply, under no circumstances, want to hear at your party, so that should a request for one come in I know how to handle it. (I'm your BLOCKER)
While I have suggested planning and choosing your music with your guests in mind, this does not mean you can not choose some of your favorite selections and artists to be played at your wedding that may not be considered “standard” wedding music.
I get plenty of couples that enjoy such music as rap, alternative rock, hard rock, country, etc. that would love to hear some songs from these types of groups but worry that they shouldn’t have them played because of how the crowd may react.
Again, that’s where I can step in and help, for instance:
Even some of the most “alternative” or “heavy metal” bands have at least ONE nice acoustic or piano ballad type song that may just fit in as a slow dance or at least something that can be played during dinner.
I’ve also encouraged hard rock fans to choose something from that genre for their introduction music.
Same with rap: While it can be tricky at times depending on the song, there is no reason why some of your favorites can’t get played at your wedding, even if it’s only you and your friends who may dance to it. Not EVERY song played HAS to get EVERYONE involved.
My usual suggestion for these types of things is to perhaps save them for later in the evening; many times the older guests will start to leave early or  at least tire out and aren’t dancing as much, and that’s the best time to work in some of those “alternate” choices. I also always suggest that the bride & groom should make an effort to actually come out and dance to these songs to make it clear that this is something THEY enjoy and chose to have played at their wedding; if the guests see YOU out there on the floor enjoying it, perhaps they will rethink their stance on the music and loosen up enough to join you.
As I said earlier, there are no hard, fast RULES to what can and can NOT be played at a wedding; in the end it is up to you to make those choices.
Select what you like, be willing to compromise, take into consideration your guests, and most importantly have FUN with it...in the end, that’s what  it’s all about.After All It's "YOUR DAY" and a Celebration !!

Bouquet toss songs Can you add more?

Bouquet toss songs Can you add more?

Bad Girls - Donna Summer
Where my girls at - 702
Calling all girls - ATL
Single Ladies - Beyonce
Girl all the bad guys want - Bowling for soup
Short skirt long jacket - Cake
Independent woman - Destinys Child
Rich Girl - Gwen Stefani
American Woman - Lenny Kravatz
Ladies night - Kool & the Gang
Supermodel - Rupaul
American Girl - Tom Petty
Cover Girl - New kids on the block (for a laugh)
Girls Gone Wild steel drum music
Girls Just wanna have fun - Cindi Lauper
Hot in Here - Nelly
Girls, Girls, Girls - Motley Crue
Lady Marmalade - Christina, Lil'Kim, Pink, Mya
Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison

Can You add any more? Please reply to this.

Garter Songs Can You Add More?

Garter Songs Can You Add More?

Many men - 50 Cent
Dude - Beenie man
Hard workin man - Brooks & Dunn
Just a giggalo - David lee Roth
Good old boys - Waylon Jennings (from the dukes of hazzard)
Men in black - Will Smith
Bad to the bone - George Theorogood
so many men - Miguel Brown
Macho Man - Village People
Real men of genius (for a good laugh)
Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top
It's Raining Men - The Weather Girls
Country Boy'z - Tyra

Can you name any more? Please reply to this with them.

Mother son or Groom and Mother dance

Here are some ideas for the Groom and Mother dance. There are alot so please reply to this and add more!

I am your child - Barry Manilow
A song for my son - Mikki Verrick
Summerwind - Mayer and Mercer or Frank Sinatra
I get a kick out of you - Porter
You're the top - Porter
You are the sunshine of my life - Stevie Wonder
Wind beneath my wings - Siblar and Henley Bette Middler

Wedding Ceremony Recessional Music

Here are just some ideas of songs you can use for your wedding ceremony recessional music.

Priests' March, The Magic Flute - Mozart
Toccata, Organ symphony No. 5, Opus 42 - Widor
Trumpet Tune - Stanley
Rondeau, fanfares for Violins, Oboe, Bassoon, trumpets, and Percussions (Masterpiece Theater theme) - Mouret
Bridal March - Hollins
March No. 4, pomp and circumstance - Elgar
Radetzky March - Johann Strauss Sr.
Benedictus - Simon and Garfunkel

Please reply to this post and add some of your favorite Recessional songs.

Wedding Ceremony Processional songs

Here are Just a Few Wedding Ceremony Processional songs

Trumpet Voluntary - Clarke
Prince of Denmark's march - Clarke
Allemande - G Minor Suite - Pachelbel
Spring - The four seasons - Vivaldi
Apotheosis - Sleeping Beauty - Tchaikovsky
Music for a royal occasion - March - Handel
Air and Bourree - Water Music - Handel
Wedding March - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Mendelssohn
Wedding March - The Marriage of Figaro - Mozart
Wedding March - Bridal chorus AKA Here comes the Bride - Lohengrin - Wagner
Fanfare - Te Deum - Charpentier
St. Anthony Chorale - Haydn
Coronation March - Crown Imperial - Walton
Intrada - Sibelius

These are traditional and classical songs you can use.

Can you name any more in the comments below?

Wedding Ceremony Prelude songs

Below are just some Ideas of Ceremony Prelude songs

Chant de May - Jongen
The Lors'd Prayer - Malotte
Adagio - Albinoni
Siciliano for a High Ceremony - Hoewlls
Wedding Day at Troldhaugen - lyric pieces Grieg
Largo - The New World Symphony - Dvorak
O Perfect Love - Burleigh
Benediction Nuptiale - Saint-Saens
Songs without words - #48 Mendelssohn
The Wedding Song - Paul Stookey

Ballroom Dancing List - Fox Trot - Jitterbug - Rumba - Waltz - ect

Cha Cha:
Brand New Man Brooks & Dunn
Smooth – Santana ft. Rob Thomas
Dance With Me – Debelah Morgan
I Need To Know – Marc Anthony*
Friends In Low Places Garth Brooks
That Don't Impress Me Much Shania Twain
A Hard Days Night Beatles
Ain't To Proud To Beg Temptations*
Chain Of fools Aretha franklin
Do Wah Diddy Diddy Manfred Mann
Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha Sam Cooke*
Loco Motion Little Eva
Tea For Two – Tommy Dorsey*

Jitterbug:
In The Mood / Chattanooga Choo Choo / Pennsylvania 6-5000/Little Brown Jug – Glen Miller*
Take The A Train – Duke Ellington
Swing The Mood – Jive Bunny*
Rock Around The Clock – Bill Hailey & The Comets*
Jailhouse Rock / Blue Suede Shoes – Elvis Presley
Mack The Kinfe – Bobby Darin
Sexy & 17 – Stray Cats
At The Hop – Danny & The Juniors

Foxtrot
Fly Me To The Moon/ I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Frank Sinatra
L-O-V-E – Nat King Cole
Fever – Peggy lee / Michael Buble
Your Nobody Til Somebody Loves You – Dean Martin
It had To be You – Harry Connick Jr.
King Of The Road Roger Miller
Beyond The Sea Bobby Darin
Get Your Kicks on Route 66 Four Freshmen/ Nat King Cole
Mack The Knife Bobby Darin
Red Roses for A Blue Lady Vic Dana
There Goes My Baby Drifters
You Always Hurt The One You Love Henry Frogman
A Wink and A Smile Harry Connick Jr.
A Kiss To Build A Dream On – Louis Armstrong
Crazy Love / Have I Told You lately – Van Morrison

Triple Swing:
String Of Pearls / Tuxedo Junction/St. Louis Blues March– Glen Miller
Old Time Rock N Roll – Bob Seger
Runaround Sue – Dion
Still Rock N Roll To Be – Billy Joel
How Sweet It Is – Marvin Gaye
I Love You – Martina McBride
Im A Believer – Monkees / Smash Mouth
Im Gonna Be (500 Miles) – Proclaimers
Signed, Sealed, delivered – Stevie Wonder
This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) – Natalie Cole
This Kiss – Faith Hill
Rockin’ At Midnight - Honeydrippers

Foxtrot/Triple Swing:
Come Go With Me – Del Vikings
I Hear A Symphony – Supremes
Moondance – Van Morrison

Triple Swing/Hustle/Cha Cha:
My First, My Last, My Everything – Barry White

Foxtrot/Two Step/Single Swing:
Forever And Ever Amen – Randy Travis

Waltz
Come Away With Me – Norah Jones

Open Arms - Journey
Could I Have This Dance - Ann Murray*
Pocket Full of Gold - Vince Gill
A Lover's Prayer - Dion & Belmonts
Pretty Paper - Roy Orbinson
Rock & Roll Waltz - Kay Starr
Take It To The Limit - Eagles

Rainbow Connection – Muppet Movie

Viennese Waltz
Cant Help Falling In Love – Elvis Presley
I’ll Be – Edwin McCain
Delilah Tom Jones
Norwegin Wood Beatles
Scarborough Fair Simon & Garfunkel

Quickstep
Mr Sandman Cordettes
Summer In the City Lovin Spoonful

Rumba
Sway – Michael Buble’ *
A groovy Kind Of Love Wayne Fontana
A Summer Song Chad & Jeremy
And I Love Her Beatles
As Tears Go By Rolling Stones
Blue Bayou Roy Orbinson
Goin Out Of My Head Little Anthony
It's Now Or Never Elvis * (great one!)
Let's Get It On Marvin Gaye
My Cherie Amour Steve Wonder
Rain Drops Dee Clark
Under The Boardwalk Drifters*
I Cross My Heart – George Strait
Come Monday Jimmy Buffett
Best Of My Love Eagles
Slow Hand Pointer Sisters

West Coast Swing I Feel Lucky - Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mother In Law Huey Lewis / Ernie K Doe
Duke Of Earl Gene Chandler
Game Of Love Wayne Fontana
Mustang Sally Wilson Pickett
Joy To the World Three Dog Night
Maggie May Rod Stewart
The Way You Make Me Feel / Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
This Love – Maroon 5

Mambo
Mambo Italiano – Rosemary Cloony
Papa Loves Mambo Perry Como
Tequilla Champs
Because You Loved Me Celine Dion


Samba
In the Summer Time Mongo Jerry
Jump In The Line – Harry Belefonte
Cuban Pete – Jim CarreyRhythm Divine – Enrique Iglesias
Aint It Funny – Jennifer Lopez
Kiss Kiss – Stella Soleil
Tic Tic Tac – Fruit De Passion

Merengue
Hot Hot Hot Xaviar Cougat/ Buster Poindexter
Wolly Bully -Sam The Sham & Pharohs
You Can Call Me Al -Paul Simon
La Bamba Los Lobos/Ritchie Valens
Suavemente / Tu Sunrisa– Elvis Crespo*

Salsa:
Refugio De Amor (You Are My Home) – Chayanne
Sin Tu Amor – Christian Castro*
No me Ames – Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony

Swing/Lindy Hop:
Crazy Little Thing Call Love – Queen
Candyman – Christina Aguilera
Sing Sing Sing – Benny Goodman

Swing:
Jump Jive & Wail – Louie Prima/ Brian Setzer*
You & Me and The Bottle Makes Three – Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Zoot Suit Riot – Cherry Poppin Daddys
Tell her About It – Billy Joel
Crocodile Rock – Elton John

Two Step:
River Of Dreams – Billy Joel
Lady In Red – Chris DeBurgh
Thank You – Dido

Tango:
Blue Tango – Leroy Anderson
Objection – Shakira
Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Tony Bennett*
La Cumparsita – Julio Iglesias

Sets of Music for every Party PART 1

Sets of Music for every party
Recently a DJ in Training asked me about music sets and asked me to draw up a bunch of sets so if stuck he would know exactly what to play. So I jotted some sets down and I am going to post them here so EVERYONE has access to them. PLEASE add more sets that you use in the comments section to help all of us grow as DJs.

BIG BAND
In the Mood - Glen Miller (There is also a Jive bunny mix or a mix By Frank Barbera That I prefer)
Pennsylvania 6-5000 - Glen Miller
Sing, Sing, Sing - Benny Goodman
Begin the Beguine - Artie Shaw
Chattanoga Choo Choo - Glen Miller
Moonlight Serenade - Glen Miller (SLOW)
Mambo #5 - Lou Bega (more current song)
Jump Jive an Wail - Brian Setzer Orchestra (more current song)
You & Me and the bottle makes three - Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy (more current song)
Zoot Suit Riot - Cherry Poppin Daddys (more current song)

OLDIES 50's 60's
Old Time Rock and Roll - Bob Seger (even though this song is newer)
Runaround sue - Dion
Jailhouse Rock - Elvis
The Twist - Chubby Checker
Let's Twist again - Chubby Checker
That's what I like - Jive Bunny oldies mix
Devil with a blue dress on - Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
Land of 1000 Dances - Wilson Pickett
Mustang Sally - Wilson Pickett or The Commitments
Unchained Melody - Richeous Brothers (Slow)
Can't help falling in love - Elvis (Slow)
Summerwind - Frank Sinatra (Slow)
AT Last - Etta James (Slow)
Unforgetable - Nat & Natalie Cole (Slow)
In the still of the night - Five Satins (Slow)

More to come ..........................

Think you are good at naming songs?

I am one of those people who can win at the game name that tune especially if it is from the 70's thru the 90's. I thought I was really good at naming songs till I found Wat Zat Song. Here is a site that helps others figure out exactly, what is that song? People either play a clip of the song or try to hum it, no sometimes the clips are real bad or they can NOT sign (But that is half the challenge). You can log in and create a profile and start guessing songs. You MUST guess the artist and Title. Here's more about the site:

WatZatSong is a website that allows you to quickly find the artist and the title of a tune that you have in your head. WatZatSong is free and participatory: it relies on the music knowledge of its members, who can, by naming your tunes, show their talent and climb up the WatZatSong ranking!CLICK HERE to visit them or go to: http://www.watzatsong.com/EN/

Audacity = Free Digital Music Editing

Alrighty gang Heres the Deal. Everyone is always asking me as a DJ, What do you use to edit your music? (For Example if you want to take a section out of a song or loop a certain section to add to the length of the song) Well Audacity is an EXCELLENT Answer. Why? Because First of all it's FREE. It is also very stable and if you search their site there is a portable version you can put on and even run from your Thumb or Flash Drive.

Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:

• Record live audio.
• Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
• Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files.
• Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
• Change the speed or pitch of a recording.

Click Here to get it or just Visit: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Bride and Father dance ideas

Bride and Father dance ideas

The following songs can be used for your Bride & Father dance CAN YOU NAME MORE?

The Times of your life - Lane and Nichols or Paul Anka

Through the years - Dorff and Panzer or Kenny Rogers

Turn Around - Belafonte, Greene, and Reynolds or Harry Belafonte

Thanks for the memory - Robin and Rainger or Bob Hope

My heart belongs to daddy - Porter

Thank heaven for little girls (gigi) - Lerner and Loewe

My Girl - Robinson and White or The Temptations

How sweet it is (to be loved by you) - Holland Holland, and Dozier or Marvin Gaye

Sunrise Sunset (Fiddler on the roof) - Harnick and Bock

Daddy's little Girl - Al Martino

Wind Beneath my wings - Siblar and Henley or Bette Middler

Daddy's Hands - Holly Dunn

In my daughters eyes - Martina McBride

My little girl - Steve Kirwan

There are Hundreds more so PLEASE Reply to this and add your own!

Introduction Song Ideas

In the past years we heard a lot of  "I Gotta Feelin" by the Black Eyed Peas for introductions.  There's no doubt it's a great song but how many weddings can you use the same old, same old before it begins to feel stale not only to you but to the guests and more importantly to the Bride & Groom.  So here is a list of just a few introduction songs you may have forgotten or may never have considered, if you have more to add please add a comment below.

Derb - by Derb. This was my suggestion last month and I received a lot of feedback from the DJs. And YES it's Derb by Derb. It's an instrumental club song. I like it because it's not over used, has NO lyrics, it pumps up the intros and gives people a beat to clap to.

Sirius - Alan Parsons Project
Rock & Roll Part 2 - Gary Glitter
Fanfare for the Common Man - Emerson, Lake and Palmer
The Best Thing - Relient K (mainly for the Bride & Groom)
For lower energy events (which I do a lot of) "Breezing" - George Benson.
For lively events "Kernkraft 400" - Zombie Nation
Let's Get This Party Started - Pink
Jock Jams - Let's get ready to rumble remix (has a upbeat instant party faves - gets the crowd instantly in the mood)
Gimme some lovin' - Spencer Davis Group
I love Ce Ce Pennison's - We've Got A Love Thang or Finally
Jazz instrumental version of Michael Jackson's "Rock With You"
Pump it up - Danzel
"Let's Get Loud", "Pump it up" - Danzel or depending on the crowd "My First, My Last, My Everything" - Barry White.
Eminence Front - The Who (Especially the beginning intro)

Each couple or crowd is somewhat unique, use it to your advantage. Heck grab something from the 80's if that's what it calls for.

I play a nice upbeat jazz song for the parents or grandparents or anyone not in the bridal party. For the bridal party I play "Let's get it started" - (Black Eyed Peas)

Special Mentions:

"Brooklyn Heights"-Down to the Bone...a great smooth jazz funk, that starts out slow for about 30 seconds so I can get in my "Welcome to Wherever Catering, for so & so's wedding my name is Bob from wherever, then it gets into a mid-fast funky beat for 5 more minutes.

"Rise"-Herb Alpert...this late 70's slow disco Latin groove never ages and it is 7 minutes long!

"Get a Move On"-Mr Scruff...great dance/jazz hybrid that was used in a car commercial about 7 years ago.

"Do, I Do"-Gerald Veasley...I've been slowly squeezing Stevie Wonder's "Do, I Do" into more shows, this is an awesome smooth jazz version of it.

"Love's Theme"-Barry White (Love Unlimited)...Many moons ago the Pros practically mandated that we use this as the B&G fanfare, it works even better as a bridal party intro.

"Sweet Escape (remix instrumental)"-Gwen Stefani...sets a great tone for drunken, scratch that, high energy wedding parties.

"Green Onions"-Roy Buchanan...great blues remake of the Booker T classic

"Sing, Sing, Sing (Swing Kids Version)"-Benny Goodman...just a classic all around swingin' instrumental

'Breezin'"-George Benson...another old Pros standard, still works great for low key weddings.

"Salsation"-David Shire...Yes Virginia, there are other songs on Saturday Night Fever besides Bee Gees songs and Disco Inferno. Want a great Latin beat behind your intro, this is the one.


My final thoughts. We have some great suggestions above, but don't get stuck on the old stuff and/or the stuff you've been using forever. Keep it fresh and interesting. Ideally you want ENERGY from the intros. While light, easy music is OK for those occasional weddings, you generally want pumping, energetic music to get the party started right. This is your first impression - make it a good one and set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Always keep an ear out for something interesting, you never know where you'll find a great intro song. Also, while songs with lyrics will work, try to stay away from them. The MOST IMPORTANT thing about doing your intros...are the intros. Don't let what you have to say get lost amidst the lyrics of a song.

Some other suggestions:

Battle without honor or humanity - Tomoyasu Hotei (From Kill Bill)
Uptown Funk - Bruno Mars
24 Karat Magic - Bruno Mars
Get Ready For This - 2 Unlimited
Children - Robert Miles
Austin Powers Theme
Swamp Thing - The Grid (banjo meets club, for those country weddings)
2001 a space odyssey theme (It is called Thus Spake Zarathustra)
Rocky Theme - Gonna Fly now by Bill Conti
Crazy Love - Beyonce (lyrics, but workable especially for the B&G)
Beautiful Day - U2 (lyrics, but workable especially for the B&G)
Boogie Bumper - Big Voodoo Daddy

Everybody Want Some ( Van Halen)
Welcome to the jungle - Guns and Roses
Frankenstein- Edgar Winter
I need a Lover- John Cougar
The Music sounds better- Stardust
Intro of "pretty Women"- Van Halen
Land of Confusion- Genesis (looped)
Get the Party Started-Pink (looped)
Start me Up-Stones (looped)
Tequila-The Champs
Tattooed Parents- Shakedown Street (Grateful Dead) Looped when beat kicks in @ 16
Bridal Party- Misirlou - Dick Dale (Made popular again in Pulp Fiction)
Maid/Matron of Honor & Best Man- Intruder ( Van Halen)

This is one of my favorites.......I loop Whole Lotta Love in the beginning @ 8 on CD, then on my PC, I cued after the spacey part when the drums/ guitar come back part (2:32) That was AWESOME! Pulling this off live isn't for beginners. Only the brave at Heart

Layla - Derek & The Dominos - cue it up to where the piano and extended jam part kick in.
Happy Organ - Dave "Baby" Cortez - an oldie but goodie, perfect for parents or grandparents.
Crazy In Love - Beyonce ft. Jay -Z - this one is a perfect bride & groom intro piece.
First Tube - Phish - funky, rockin', and long enough for those really BIG Bridal Parties.
Paradise By The "C" - Bruce Springsteen - an instrumental jam from the Boss, I had a groom request it once and have kept it in the loop ever since.
In Da Ayer - Flo Rida (instrumental version)

Mash Mixes at Go Home Productions

People are always asking me where I get different mixes of music, especially Mashed Mixes. Well Go Home Productions has a website that has tons of FREE MP3 downloads that are worth a listen. Go to: http://www.gohomeproductions.co.uk/ there you will find a list of songs and links to download them.

Back up your music every month

I have said it before and i will say it again. BACK UP YOUR MUSIC EVERY MONTH if possible and while you are at it defragment your music drive and check it for errors. You can use the built in disc utility that comes with your computer. Just go to My Computer select your music drive (hopefully it is on an External Hard drive) and RIGHT Click it and select properties, now select the TOOLS Tab and there you will find error check and the defragmenter.

If you cannot get into the defragmenter that way you will have to go to the Control Panel, click The Administrative Tools Icon, then click The Computer Management Icon. This will bring up a new window called Computer Management. Click on Disk Defragmenter in the Left hand side Box and you will then be able to select the drive to defragment (it is usually NOT C - that is your computer's main hard drive).

A really cool piece of backup software is called Always Sync. You can find it HERE. This software lets you select what drive is the main and what drive is the back up. It will also allow what files go to what drive so you can only sync the files to one if you wish. Allway Sync uses innovative synchronization algorithms to synchronize your data between desktop PCs, laptops, USB drives, remote FTP/SFTP and WebDAV servers, various online data storages and more. Data compression and encryption are supported. It combines bulletproof reliability with extremely easy-to-use interface. Allway Sync also can synchronize your PC data with a Mac via Sync Gateway.

Now that I've ripped all this music what do I do

Now that I've ripped all this music what do I do?

Lets say you have a 200 Gigabyte hard drive and and it is 90% full thats 180 Gig and about 45,000 songs (ripped at 128 to 192 kbs avg). Hopefully You already have used a good MP3-RIPPER like Audio Grabber but if you didn't you might have to do some of the following.
You need to do a few things to make sure your music collection is pristine. The FIRST MOST Important thing is to BACK UP your entire music collection at LEAST ONCE if not more. You should also rip your music at 320kbs or better. This backup should happen monthly or each time you change or update your music collection.