Hey guys,

My uncle passed away a couple days ago, quite suddenly. My sister is holding a memorial service next Saturday for him, and, tbh, she is too grief-stricken to do much planning for it.

I mentioned to her last night that it he would be pissed if they didn't play Black Sabbath at his memorial service. And it got me to thinking - maybe I can put together a playlist of classic rock for her, so that it can be played at the memorial. I think it'd make people smile a little, to remember the fun parts of his character. I'm also half-tempted to get some Three Stooges videos to play somewhere on a screen in the background. That would've made him laugh, too.

I'm not a classic rock fan myself, though. I know he tended to like a bit harder stuff (like Black Sabbath, The Eagles and he was always quoting the beginning of "Bad to the Bone") and was mostly a radio-listener so probably mostly liked singles, not album/b-side songs.

Does anyone have any specific song recommendations? I would prefer stuff that's not -quite- so hard (since it is a memorial service where people will be grieving)... Nothing too obscure, either.

(Sympathy/condolences not necessary - we weren't close, but I think this would really help my grandma and sister remember him with a smile rather than nothing but tears and regrets.)

Thanks for any help!

Well, to start with, Bad To the Bone is by George Thorogood and The Destroyers. And since it was one he quoted it should probably be in the mix. but other notables by them would be

Get A Haircut And Get A Real Job
One Bourbon, One Scotch, And One Beer
and I think I Drink Alone's gotten some decent radio play over the years as well

Although the last two could be touchy if you have any alcoholics in the family.

The Black Sabbath song most folks who aren't into them are probably familiar with and able to connect to is probably Iron Man. So I'd imagine he'd want that in the mix as well. Folks can connect it to the movie character or if they were wrestling fans maybe to the legendary Road Warriors tag team as they used it for theme music. Plus, I believe it's been used in commercials over the years as well.

I'd probably Have Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple there. Ritchie Blackmore spent his post-DP career making heavy stuff with Rainbow while singer David Coverdale went on to the more familiar hair sound of Whitesnake. So a seminal band for a hard rocker and their most famous song. I can just imagine what he must of thought when Pat Boone covered it for that famous metal record.

Iron Butterfly's Inna Gadda Da Vida would be one of the foundations his favorites drew from. As would Steppenwolf who's two most recognizable songs would be Born To Be Wild and Magic Carpet Ride.

The Eagles kind of surprise me as they are more countrified soft rock for the most part. But Desparado would be quite fitting for a funeral. As could Take It Easy. Back On The Chain Gang by The Pretenders would probably work too. The song was written in response to the death of original guitarist James Honeyman-Scott. So there's a very mournful quality about it that could fit. Hopefully there's stuff here you can use even if it's just as a jumping off point.

That and Paranoid.

I think you can't go wrong with a bit of AC/DC, The Who and The Rolling Stones. Any of their better known songs, like Back in Black, My Generation, etc I think will go down well.

In spite of the fact that it's for a funeral that sounds like it could be a pretty fun task.

Anything by Pink Floyd is great!

I think Pink Floyd might be a bit too depressing, even for a funeral. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but most funerals that have helped me grieve better were lighter in nature. Not too forced light though, I hate the funeral directors that act like they were bosom buddies with the deceased when they weren't even acquainted.

Err, I'm not really sure what I'd do because I have never planned a funeral myself, and try to block out the funerals I have attended.

Just realized the funeral has probably already occurred anyway.

Pink Floyd - High Hopes. Beautiful song. And of course the all time favourites "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Quuen. Classics by far!

I would try Children of the Sea by Black Sabbath and not just because I really love the song. It has a beatiful calm intro that would be fitting for the funeral, there's a certain level of melancholy but it still has the rock vibe and uplifting atmosphere. You just need to decide whether the lyrics of the song are acceptable for the group of people who will listen to it, because the chorus is "Oh they say that it's over and it just had to be..." and some people might think it's a bit too much for the funeral.

It depends. They have a LOT of songs and a lot of different styles. Most of their albums were never mainstream.