I've been tasked with creating a 15-20 minute slideshow for my step-daughter's wedding and I'm trying to come up with a decent soundtrack that most people will enjoy (or at least not be annoyed with).

The difficult part for me is trying to come up with "timeless" songs and songs that are not too sickingly sweet. The "kids" and their friends are all in their mid-20s. That gives us parents and family in their (mostly) mid-to-late 40s. Most of the 20 year-olds seem to turn their nose up at '70s, which is what the older crowd would like. The older crowd doesn't particuarly care for the '90s and current stuff, which the kids would mostly identify with.

So I'm thinking of going back to the 60's, or "timeless" songs -- it's only 15 to 20 minutes, so I'm only looking at 5 or 6 songs, but what to choose? My step-daughter has asked the songs be "somewhat relative" to the pictures being displayed. I'm thinking of breaking the pictures up into three "chapters" - childhood (up to high school) photos of the bride and groom, photos of the bride and groom with their own sets of friends and families, and finally "the couple" - both alone and with groups.

For chapter one I'm thinking a couple of songs related to youth and growing up. Chapter two would be one song (or two short songs) - family and friends maybe? Chapter three would be another two songs - I'm thinking one "true love" type of song and one fun "party" type song.

At one point I was thinking of doing all Beatles (or Beatle covers to mix things up a bit), but I thought I'd throw this out here and see what this group of experts might come up with!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

For childhood, I would say use kids songs like "Old Macdonald" or "Wheels on the Bus". Those will last for a minute or two each. One of the other songs would be something from the time when the kids were that age. It can either be something that may have very little appeal to the adults or it might be something that crosses age groups.

For the rest of it, go with what feels right. It's pretty amazing how the emotions of the photos will build an affection for a song. It happens all the time with movies. They'll pull a song from 20 years ago that kids today would normally not listen to. When combined with imagery that appeals to them, they all of a sudden find they like that song.

If you still want to go with timeless, I'm a big Sam Cooke fan. I would try to find something of his that's appropriate. "Wonderful World" might be good for their teenage years. There's an incredible "mellow" rendition of that performed by Art Garfunkle, Paul Simon and James Taylor. The former is about 2 minutes long and the later is 3.5 minutes long.

Doing a quick search through the "NOW" and other modern compilation CDs I have, some modern all ages hits you could use are:

"I Try" - Macy Gray
"Graduation" - Vitamin C
"100 Years" - Five for Fighting
"You & Me" - Lifehouse

Then there are the songs that are a part of any D.J.'s stockpile that can get all ages out on the dance floor and would work equally well for the silly moments in a video:

"Macarena" - Los Locos
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" - James Browne
"Celebration" - Kool and the Gang

The Swing revival from the 90s appeals to grandparents and grandchildren alike:

"Zoot Suit Riot" - Cherry Poppin' Daddies
"Jump, Jive an' Wail" - Brian Setzer Orchestra

"Wonderful World" might be a good one - it's one of "their songs", so they'd appreciate it. Another one I've thought about is "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day.

"Good Riddance" is a song like "Every Breath You Take" that couples have used to celebrate their love, but they're really about break-ups or the negative side of love.

The Sam Cooke "Wonderful World" isn't the Louis Armstrong version. His is "What a Wonderful World". (The song titles are similar enough that some people might confuse the two.)

Sam Cooke's has the line "Don't know much about history"

All Beatles:

Chapter 1: "In My Life" and "I Saw Her Standing There"

Chapter 2: "With A Little Help From My Friends"

Chapter 3: "Something" and "Twist And Shout"

I have "In My Life" on my short list. I was *really* tempted to go with the Sean Connery version from George Martin's "In My Life" album, but wasn't sure how that'd go over...

"Handbags and Gladrags" by Rod Stewart.

Try Bette Midler's version from the "For The Boys" soundtrack.

I am the absolute worstest person to give this kind of advice. I'm the guy that thought it was a good idea for my brother-in-law's wedding to have the Dan Band's version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (*). I'm still paying for that lapse in judgement.




(*) See the movie "Old School" if you don't know who they are.

Frank - I don't have the For The Boys soundtrack, but the clip I heard of Midler's rendition of "In My Life" impressed me. Do you know how long her version is? Another version I was tempted to go with was Rod Stewart's - but it's a bit shorter (closer to 2:00 - I can use the extra 25 seconds the Beatles provide). I listened to an Ozzy Osbourne version of the song and shuddered.

This is what my other step-daughter and I had come up with by 1:30am last night:

1. 2:03 - Groom only - When I Grow Up/Beach Boys
2. 5:39 - Bride only - Butterfly Kisses/Bob Carlisle
3. 3:47 - Bride and Groom growing up with friends and family - Sunrise, Sunset/Fiddler on the Roof(Ray Conniff)
4. 2:27 - Bride and Groom as couple with friends and family - In My Life/Beatles
5. 2:45 - Bride and Groom acting goofy, having fun - I Got You(I Feel Good)/James Brown
6. 3:35 - Bride and Groom together - Don't Know Much/Aaron Neville, Linda Rondstadt

It wasn't until this morning, when I started looking at running times, did I notice the big time difference between When I Grow Up and Butterfly Kisses - a full 3:36! I knew BK was a long song, but not that long. It's also become a "must have", I've been told, so it's staying. So I need something a bit longer for the groom -- it doesn't have run five minutes, but something closet to 3:30 - 4:00 would be good.

The Sean Connery version of "In My Life" would be really original! Then there's "Daydream Believer" by The Monkees, which appeals to all ages.