What Do You Wish Was Available on Karaoke?

[oceantracks]

Hi to all, my first post here.

I produce music for one of the large karaoke companies out there. I thought it might be interesting to find out if there is anything people really wish was available, that either hasn't been, or has been, but the quality was not up to par. I've asked this question on another forum too, so it will be interesting to see if there is any consensus.

Maybe a Top Ten Wishlist or something. Can be anything from Broadway to pop. I'll check in later and see what you guys come up with.

Thanks for your input!

oceantracks

[wiseguy]

Hi oceantracks and welcome to the forum!

Interesting post. There are many great songs that have not been released on a karaoke disc. It seems like all the major karaoke disc manufacturers try to imitate each other instead of offering more diversity.

Creating a top ten list might be difficult. I'm sure that each member of this forum will have a different song that they would like to see released. Perhaps we could use the new "Best Song" feature of this site for everyone to post their suggestion that others can vote for or against.

What does everyone else think?

[DanG2006]

Oceantracks

I know this is an old thread but thought I might revive it since Oceantracks popped up at another site.

I have a top ten list from the same band: Journey

1: Turn Down The World Tonight
2: Mother Father
3: Escape
4: Never Walk Away
5: Signs Of Life
6: Remember Me (I know it's been done but not accurately)
7: Keep On Runnin'
8: Chain Reaction
9: Rubicon
10: Edge Of The Blade

[Bigdog]

I was just about to ask the question about music from the sixties and seventies, and if we will ever see any more oldies that haven't been done yet.

I said it before and I'll repeat it. If the owners and group members of the music (groups) would do as Taylor Swift is doing with her albums, they could probably be on the charts again and rake in millions in new sales to a totally new market. The music is already done. The only issue would be adding the word sweeps and start selling.

Taylor is including a karaoke disc of her music with each album. So you get to sing with the original music. This makes any other karaoke music maker obsolete because no studio musician is going to be able to do the music better than the original musicians.

There was one original music set made with Mowtown Music.

I'm not saying that karaoke music companies should go out of business. I'm saying there could be a major money making opportunity being missed by the artists from the 60s-70s-80s-90s.

Like it or not karaoke is here to stay. Many people would love to see and sing the album cuts that never made it to the radio. Groups could release their discs just as the original albums and I believe they would sell very well.

There are thousands and thousands of songs that could be released as karaoke.

One of my favorite karaoke disc sets was the Lost Classic discs. They contained totally new songs. Not the same old same old.

We don't need another karaoke version of Can't Help Falling in Love from any other karaoke company, EVER. 30-40 versions are plenty.

I know there is still the Return on Investment thing and the rights to the music to contend with. We all need and want songs that haven't been done yet.

You tell us...what is the answer? The solution.

[oceantracks]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the list! Good songs....

You mentioned that one of them had been done but not that well. I find this often to be the case. There are a lot of old songs I love and even though they are out there, I know that I could do a better version of them and sometimes we just go ahead and do them. I just did a Carpenters album of songs off the beaten track by them, and greatest hits of David Gates (Bread)....and both are really fine records that sound to me much better than what's been out there on both of those artists. So I will see what I can do.

Best
Tom

[DanG2006]

Just so everyone knows Oceantracks' website brings you to Pocket Songs. They were the first ones that got Garth Brooks' "Shameless" correct lyric wise. So while they are not one of the well known companies, they usually get things right. Good to see they are still around. I remember having noncdg discs and cassttes of their works back in the 1990's. By the way I got tired waiting for "Mother Father" to come out on cdg so I purchased the backing track from Karaoke Version and created my own. It came out great. too bad I can't use it in a pro show though. I guess I'll have to sing it at home.

[oceantracks]

Thanks Dan.

I have been producing for them for about five or six years now. I do most of the contemporary material, for instance I just finished the new Streisand, new Rod Stewart, Carrie Underwood, etc. I don't do rap, but work on everything from Sinatra to current material. I really am a fanatic about getting the tracks correct. They will always be the exact tempo of the record, in the right key, professionally played and sung. I never take the approach that "it's just karaoke."

Pocket Songs has been around forever. It's owner, Irv Kratka, practically started karaoke and the sister company Music Minus One is tops in the jazz and classical field. He is a man dedciated to bringing music to people, sometimes music that only a handful of people would even appreciate.

I am always looking for interesting projects to do...besides the obvious latest hit album by someone...for instance I pushed to have a compilation of David Gates (Bread) material done. Not because it hadn't been done a thousand times, but because I wanted to do a newly recorded version that sounded better than what I heard out there. Same with a recent Carpenters edition of lesser known hits. So keep those requests coming, and I'll do my best to make sure the tracks are done with respect to the originals for all of you to enjoy!

Best
Tom (oceantracks)

[oceantracks]

I was just about to ask the question about music from the sixties and seventies, and if we will ever see any more oldies that haven't been done yet.

I said it before and I'll repeat it. If the owners and group members of the music (groups) would do as Taylor Swift is doing with her albums, they could probably be on the charts again and rake in millions in new sales to a totally new market. The music is already done. The only issue would be adding the word sweeps and start selling.

Taylor is including a karaoke disc of her music with each album. So you get to sing with the original music. This makes any other karaoke music maker obsolete because no studio musician is going to be able to do the music better than the original musicians.

There was one original music set made with Mowtown Music.

I'm not saying that karaoke music companies should go out of business. I'm saying there could be a major money making opportunity being missed by the artists from the 60s-70s-80s-90s.

Like it or not karaoke is here to stay. Many people would love to see and sing the album cuts that never made it to the radio. Groups could release their discs just as the original albums and I believe they would sell very well.

There are thousands and thousands of songs that could be released as karaoke.

One of my favorite karaoke disc sets was the Lost Classic discs. They contained totally new songs. Not the same old same old.

We don't need another karaoke version of Can't Help Falling in Love from any other karaoke company, EVER. 30-40 versions are plenty.

I know there is still the Return on Investment thing and the rights to the music to contend with. We all need and want songs that haven't been done yet.

You tell us...what is the answer? The solution.

I would do oldies all day if could;)

Modern releases like Swift's including karaoke would take care of today's music (only if EVERYONE did it of course, which they aren't)....but no chance of tracks from yesteryear all suddenly being released as just tracks. So I think karaoke producers are safe.

I do think there are a lot of great old songs that I haven't seen out there, and if they are out there, they are terrible versions. Do we need a Beatles karaoke? Probably not, but if you are a real Beatles fan, yes, because I haven't heard any that are played correctly. I'm a Beatles fanatic, and the chords are played wrong, harmony parts off, etc. Same with Beach Boys, and probably a hundred others.

Oddball songs like "Pretty Ballerina" by Left Banke, "Things I'd Like To Say" by New Colony Six....oh yeah I could fill a lot of albums with personal favorites.

So keep the requests coming. You just may get your wishes!

Best
Tom

[Bigdog]

Shape of Things To Come by Max Frost

Beatles and Beach Boys are hardly sung. I have 100 Beatles songs and most have never been sung. Same with Elvis and Frank Sinatra.

Most KJs are being more selective so they don't waste money.

I have 22,000 songs. 12,000 one of a kind. That works out to $25,000 wasted on dupes.

The custom disc idea is the best.

[jr2423]

I am both a Neil Diamond fan and sound-a-like. And with most of his previous songs available in karaoke, I find it disheartening that nothing from his recent albums has been produced. So if you’re asking for input, here’s mine. And thanks for asking


From His 2005 “12 Songs” Album

• Oh Mary
• Hell Yeah
• Captain Of A Shipwreck
• Evermore
• Save Me A Saturday Night
• Delirious Love
• I'm On To You
• What's It Gonna Be
• Man Of God
• Create Me
• Face Me
• We


From His 2008 “Home Before Dark” Album

• If I Don't See You Again
• Pretty Amazing Grace
• Don't Go There
• Another Day That Time Forgot
• One More Bite Of The Apple
• Forgotten
• Act Like A Man
• Whose Hands Are These
• No Words
• The Power Of Two
• Slow It Down
• Home Before Dark
• Without Her (bonus track)
• Make You Feel My Love (bonus track)

[Billy Bob Joe Bob 1958]

Number one suggestion? DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION!!!

I was born well before the digital age took hold, but I'm already at the point where I do NOT like having to wait more than 6 minutes to get what I want!

As for more songs?

More Todd Rundgren:

* Couldn't I Just Tell You
* Hope I'm Around
* Hideaway
* Song of the Viking (fun)

More Hall & Oates:

* Beanie G and the Rose Tattoo
* Abandoned Luncheonette
* It's a Laugh

More (any!!!) Leon Russell:

* Stranger in a Strange Land
* Manhattan Island Serenade
* This Masquerade (HIS version, not The Carpenters')

As for Beatles, I'd love to see someone reproduce their German releases in German:

* Sie Lieb Dich (She Loves You)
* Komm Gibt Mir Deine Hand (I Wanna' Hold Your Hand)

And...more CAMELOT!!! The original production:

* Camelot (Richard Burton!)
* C'est Moi (Robert Goulet!)
* What Do the Simple Folk Do?

I could add thousands more...but I couldn't afford 'em all...

[Billy Bob Joe Bob 1958]

Beatles and Beach Boys are hardly sung. I have 100 Beatles songs and most have never been sung. Same with Elvis and Frank Sinatra.

Hey, it depends on the venue. I have people singing Beach Boys and Frank Sinatra several times a week! (I love to sing "God Only Knows" and "Love's Been Good to Me".)

Beatles are fairly popular too: Rocky Raccoon, Two of Us, Hey Jude.

Hey, I also get requests for rap, rock/rap, loads of country and loads of pop.

Again, it depends on the venue--and to some extent the KJ. (My guess is that if YOU were to sing a Frank Sinatra song once in awhile, your audiences would start thinking about it too. They just need to be reminded. Give 'em some inspiration!)

[Bigdog]

You can always tell the biggest HAM in the bar. They sing MY WAY.

Way overdone.

[DanG2006]

Way over done but if that's the song they wanna do then they get to do it, no matter how the KJ might feel about the song.

[Billy Bob Joe Bob 1958]

Way over done but if that's the song they wanna do then they get to do it, no matter how the KJ might feel about the song.

Dead spot on! The show is for them!