10 songs every cover band should know?

Like many an Aussie musician, I make the majority of my living from singing other people's songs. Lucky for me, I love it. I read a post from MusicMarketing.com recently with the same title as this blog. Now we may have some cultural differences here, but I could agree with only two songs from their list. Just to be clear, we're not talking 10 coolest songs every cover band should know! I'm trying to find those magic songs that seem to work with almost all crowds - generally to get them dancing, at least on the inside.

I'll never forget the time I was hired with a jazz quartet to sing at a wedding. We played some cool tunes man, but noone was dancing. Someone from the bridal party came up and asked us if we could play something they could move to. The band chose a funky jazz number. No one danced. I suggested 'Blame it on the Boogie' to the band who then drilled into my skull with laser beam eyes. After a few further failed hip jazz choices, the band relented and 'Blame it on the Boogie' packed the dancefloor. I never did get asked back by that jazz band again...

Here are my picks for the top 10 songs every cover band should know. Numbers 9 & 10 are the two from MusicMarketing.com's list.

1. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
2. Blame it on the Boogie - Jackson 5
3. Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves
4. Love is in the Air - John Paul Young
5. Loveshack -  B52s ( I know! I know! But people love to dance to it!)
6. Dancing Queen - ABBA
7. We Are Family - Sister Sledge
8. Lady Marmalade - Labelle
9. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
10. Brown-Eyed Girl - Van Morrison

What do you think?