Awhile back, I posted a song list I gave to my DJ for our wedding reception. I have a friend who is getting married in a few months and need some help putting together her song list for her reception, because my songs won’t make the “cut”. What do I mean by that? Her in-laws will find most “dance music” these days to be horribly offensive and she’d rather not upset them on the day of their wedding. My friend told me that the songs must:
1. NOT have curse words
2. NOT have a negative message (for example, shouldn’t promote getting laid, boozed up, wearing skanky clothes, talk about body parts, have random moaning sounds etc.)
When I dance to music, I’m more focused on the beat and usually don’t even pay attention to the lyrics, so we need a little help here. Anyone else looking for a good time with clean (non-cheesy) songs for their wedding reception? Please share some songs if you have any suggestions! As of now, she’s chosen some fun latino music (in hopes that her in-laws don’t understand any of the Spanish. haha).
What’s her favourite type of music, or is she trying to incorporate a theme into her music (i.e. Latin music, 80’s music etc)? I’ve noticed a lot of song lists on Weddingbee are really heavy on the hip hop and I can’t help you there because I hate that style of music but have a long list of songs that are more top 40’s/pop rock type stuff that people like to dance to.
A few:
Alicia Keys - Karmastition
Bob Seger - Old Time Rock n Roll
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies - Zoot Suit Riot
Kenny Loggins - Footloose
Scissor Sisters - I Don’t Feel Like Dancing
Michael Jackson - Billy Jean or Thriller
Bee Gees - Stayin Alive
Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
I have a whole list, let me know if you want me to email it.
schuhwedding at yahoo dot com
What Sarah said. We used a lot of Stevie Wonder, Elvis, Sinatra, Ray, etc.
Hmmm I think my comment disappeared, I’ll try again!
I don’t like hip hop so can’t help you if that is her style, but here are a few top 40’s/ rock/ pop rock that my circle of friends all like to dance to:
Bee Gees - Stayin Alive
Michael Jackson - Thriller or Billy Jean
Alicia Keys - Karmastition
Scissor Sisters - I Don’t Feel Like Dancing
Kenny Loggins - Footloose
Bob Seger - Old Time Rock n Roll
Cherry Poppin Daddies - Zoot Suit Riot
pretty much any upbeat country songs like Shania Twain or Dixie Chicks
Bon Jovi - Livin on a Prayer
the Grease remix song
Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
Hope this helps - I have a huge long list if you want to email me.
schuhwedding at yahoo dot com.
Lovely Day by Bill Withers; All I Want is You by U2; Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz; Any song at all by Frou Frou (well, most any song…some are kind of depressing, but the popular ones are upbeat and pretty); The Village by New Order; Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand (I don’t know if those lyrics can be seen as being offensive, though…he’s referring to going out on the town, not being “taken out” as in being hit in the head, or what have you. But I guess it could be subjective, possibly); Drifting, Falling by Ocean Blue; One for My Baby by Johnny Mercer; Love by Sixpence None the Richer
These are just a few of the songs that I have pulled together to play via iPod during our cocktail hour. I’d highly recommend them…they aren’t offensive or icky in any way, which is why I picked them!
I think that one of the few rap artists who doesn’t/didn’t promote the aforementioned activities in his lyrics is Tupac Shakur. His lyrics were always inspirational and positive. Plus, his track California Love is a great dance song, in my opinion! Also, some other good positive dance music artists include Boyz II Men, New Edition, a lot of JLo’s songs are positive, and also some but not all of TLC’s songs might make the cut. Hope this helps!
Anything by Michael Jackson. Also, Motown songs are great to get people dancing!
Folks that had an iPod going at their reception - I’d love to hear about the set-up…
Oh also - Will Smith! He’s well known for refusing to use offensive words or lyrics in his music so he’s a good choice if you like hip hop.
I know what you mean about the beat. I like the beats of songs and don’t even notice the cursing most of the time, only when the words have been edited out. My mom and brother pick up on every bad word though.
If your friend can handle it, why not Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin/Nat King Cole/etc, the oldies but definitely goodies?
try having blocks of music genres, like having big band swing music early so the older relatives can dance. frank sinatra, dean martin, ella fitzgerald all make good dance songs.
then have more modern beats as the night progresses. 80’s music is always a dance floor filler, and most of it is not vulgar. (early, as in when they were younguns) new edition, chaka khan, cyndi lauper, erasure, new order, aha, (early) depeche mode, soft cell, etc etc. there’s even some good old school hip hop (”rapper’s delight” comes to mind) that was positive. you just have to go back into your tapes to find those gems!
ha, i’m on the same boat as your friend… we’re working on our list right now.
yeah, Will Smith doesn’t swear. But he also doesn’t record music anymore, ahah
Wow! So far these are all great songs/ideas! Thanks everyone!! I will def pass these along to my friend. I hope others find this post useful too!
Petra- Mr. Peach LOVES Tupac. ahaha. and California Love is his fav!! He grew up in cali. 
Hubs is a music freak, so he compiled about 12 cd’s worth of music for the DJ to play. We had similar concerns about “bad words,” etc. There was a lot of what others have suggested: 60s, 70s and 80s seemed to be big hits, and were pretty “clean.” (Elvis was such a scandal then, but so tame now! What do your friend’s FILs think of him?!) This site: http://www.makeweddings.com/about/dj-planning-guide.jsp
was a help to us in picking music, but not all will make her cut. (Plus, it’s about 2 years outdated…but still helpful!)
Michael Buble is awesome - clean stuff, and does tunes older folks will find familiar, but he jazzes it up and they sound more contemporary. If you’re looking for the hip-hop beat, maybe some Indian Bhangra music? (Like the Latin music, maybe the FILs won’t understand the words!)
“Wherever, Whenever” by Shakira (you can cha-cha to it too)
“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen
You can do a lot of stuff. Look at the Killers, Franz Ferdinand (for more newwave-ish feel), Queen is always fun to dance to
“When Did You Fall In Love With Me” by Chris Rice is great!
California Love is great, but it does reference pimps, hoochies, and getting out of jail. And though he was inspirational, I wouldn’t exactly call Tupac wholesome or positive.
Here’s a great list of 90’s dance songs. Most of them quite unlikely to offend, with the obvious exception of “Baby Got Back.” 
Why is it that every guy knows every lyric to that song with the accompanying hand gestures?
Wow! What great suggestions? We’re not keen on hip-hop or rap either; we just don’t agree with the message *we* interpret from *most* hip-hop/rap.
That said, stick with the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s as music was much more clean-cut back then.
We’re also trying the iPod (well, laptop) - would like any and all feedback if possible. christigpa at gmail.
Miss Peach, New Jersey/Atlanta
Age and Occupation in 07: 25, Mechanical Engineer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Student
Engagement Date: January 27, 2006
Wedding Date: March, 2007
Venue: Korean Presbyterian Church of Atlanta + Flint Hill
About Me: Mr. Peach and I started dating our senior year of high school when we both lived in Georgia. Since then, we spent 6 years in a long distance relationship. And now by the grace of God, we've made it through; we are living in the same state again (NJ) and we are gettin' married! I was originally going to ask if I could be Miss Mango bc I loveee mangos sooo much, but in the end decided to be true to my GA peach roots! woot!
if they say ‘dance music’ and ‘these days’ maybe they’re partly upset because they can’t dance to modern beats.
hit ‘em with some vingage. try nat cole, louie armstrong, dean martin etc.
hope that helps, good luck