In addition to Summertime another Gershwin tune that sounds great on the whistle is Someone to Watch Over Me. If you played the Barney tune around here people would throw stuff at you but it wouldn’t be money.
Ron
Yes, I play Someone to watch over me;
also Just The Way You look Tonight.
I agree about “Summertime” and “The Butterfly” having a lot of general appeal. “Amazing Grace” is another.
Do you do “Tsena, Tsena”, “Shalom Chaverim Shalom”, and “Hava Nagila”? There’s a bunch of Israeli songs you can listen to at http://www.musicfromisrael.com/thestore/prods/CD-4230.html
Personally, if I were good enough to do it, I’d play lots of slow, mournful airs, with occasional high-class dance tunes, like “Morrison’s Jig”, since that’s what appeals to me.
On the other hand, if you’re going for recognizability leading to better contributions, how about throwing out the theme from “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” http://www.rowingnz.org.nz/clubs/auckland/goodbadugly.wav occasionally?
For the kiddies, a medley of the theme from Popeye and “Sailor’s Hornpipe” might work. Play once through the Popeye theme, then stop and sing this:
I’m Popeye, the Sailor Man – toot toot
I sleep in a garbage can – toot toot
I never go swimmin’
With bowlegged women
I’m Popeye, the Sailor Man – toot toot
(Learned that from my little nephew, some years before he joined the Army.)
Then break into a really fast version of “Sailor’s Hornpipe”. This would probably work best for the parents, as most of today’s kids probably don’t know anything about Popeye–but what the heck, it’s the parents who have the money.
“The Streets of Laredo” is recognizeable to lots of folks, but can be done with an Irish feel.
If you’re gonna sink to doing American Irish, then you should consider “When Irish Eye’s Are Smiling” and “The Sidewalks of New York”-- assuming that vomit (the substance, not the bunny) wouldn’t clog your flute. For non-Irish shmaltz, try “Those Were the Days”. (Speaking of shmaltz, beer drinkers might want to investigate http://www.shmaltz.com/ and you might like the background music at the end of the “Two Jews Walk into a Bar” QuickTime movie.)
How about show tunes? (By the way, do you do the Coltrane version of “Favorite Things”?)
Listen to Lawrence Welk reruns on PBS. That should give you lots of material for the older crowd. I disagree about not doing Beatles songs. How about “Norwegian Wood”? “I Just Saw a Face” works great as Bluegrass–don’t know how it would do on the flute.
no, I can’t quite do Coltrane.
In my version Popeye sings,
I’m strong to the finish,
cause I eat my spinach.
America’s only vegetarian hero
has no beef with bowlegged women.
Thanks for these!
If it’s a good echoey place (the underground?) “Concerto d’Aranjuez” by Rodrigues - on a low whistle - might not make much money but it’s a nice filler.
I would play laments
Behind every happy face
Wealthy tears await
T: The Bridge on the River Kwai
M: 4/4
L: 1/4
K: D
| AF z2 | z FGA | f2f2 | d4 |
| AF z2 | z FGF | A2A2 | G4 |
| GE z2 | z BcB | dA z2 | z AGF |
| EBz D | EA z E | D4 |
I didn’t say that people might not like Beatles songs, I just made a personal request 
For some (like me), this bird has flown. For reasons I can’t explain, I just don’t like Beatles music anymore. Overexposed, I guess. Sorta the way I felt about a lot of “light” jazz after that Kenny G guy got famous.
I say stick with Irish (or at least Brit Isles Celtic) music dangit. that’s what we study and listen to and love… be an advocate for this wonderful music!!! What’s the distinction of playin Barney or Titanic?? Anybody can do that…I sorta think that its your chance to distinguish yourself, with thousands of tunes in all tempos to choose from. Like others said, to deign to hit Irish Washerwoman or College Hornpipe to reach the masses once in a while ain’t so bad… And there;s nothing wrong with PLAYIN’ Danny Boy, its singing it that’s painful.
But, sigh, I guess there are more tips in the old hat and smiles from John Q Public with generalized rep.
Around here at least, so many people like the celtic music that I think you can stick to it and make the folken happy.
I left out this story in initial post but will relate it here. I had to do a mandatory wedding fair for a local public facility recently. Each year, different groups get to play during the FOUR hour fair and hustle for customers. There was a quartet of violins and cello and harp. They were doing the usual “nice” classical tyunes then after a while started doing Beatles songs in dippy arrangements. I mean it was like being stuck in the elevator to hell. I went over to another music presenter and told him that I was going to mail him a bullet. If I ever started playing tunes like that, I said, I wanted him to use it on me…it was sooooo bad.. “When Im 64” on the violin… Now, I was the one who felt like the young malcontent while people of my generation perpetrated this audio abomination…
You don’t understand, do you?
I’m not in it to present Celtic culture
or to play beautiful tunes or to
brighten people’s day. I don’t get
off in seeing children’s eyes
light up.
I’m in it for the money.
I’m working on Melancholy Baby.
Bye the way, when I played in Paris
I learned La Vie en Rose on
the whistle. Best and thanks to all, Jim
Even so, I think I’d stick to a mostly Celtic repertoire, with a few exceptions. It shows the kind of virtuousity people toss money in the hat for. It doesn’t hurt to know how to play requests, and we all know the kind of requests that are coming up this month (“Danny Boy,” “Irish Eyes,” all that crap)…I’d rather know it and be able to play it on request than miss a tip. I haven’t seen a kid yet who couldn’t be got to dance to a double jig, and the parents (the ones with the money) love that kind of thing. And sure…a few “Barney” tunes (they’re all rip offs from American folk music anyway).
Redwolf
This tune is properly called Colonel Bogey. I’ve a tape with the great Donegal fiddler Johnny Doherty playing it. Rather fraught with ramifications for some! His guitar man also sings the Patriot Game.
Of course there’s nothing the matter with a mostly
Celtic repertoire and I suppose I qualify; certainly
I’m playing largely Celtic. However one nice thing about
playing the street is that I get to be eclectic.
I’m doing Bach, for instance, and Favorite
Things and Oh Susannah and Yankee Doodle
(for kids) and Battle of New Orleans (when my
fingers aren’t too cold to move that fast)
and sometime Ode to Joy. When I play
with a guitarist I do the blues. As mentioned
I do Israeli dances.
You know, there’s all sorts of music that’s lovely
on the Irish flute. Everybody should do what they
want, of course. More power to ITM players, I say,
but sometimes for me it’s a relief to break away. Best
My chief problem with this tune is that as a kid I learned
words to it, sung by American GIs, I’m sure, concerning
various oddities in the genitilia of leading Nazis.It began ‘Goebbels has only got one ball…’
Well, maybe I can get past all that. Maybe
if I hear J. Doherty play it. Thanks!
Three tunes to add to your favorites.
Scarborough Faire
Minstrel’s Boy
Gift of a Thistle (Love theme from Braveheart, also used a theme for Castaways).
But most import is to simply …
Thanks.
Um, no, though it’s a nickname.
Properly, it’s the Londonderry Air.
I swear to you, this was a joke. best
The melody for “Danny Boy” is a lovely, traditional melody, “The (London)Derry Aire”. Sir Thomas Moore used it for his song, “Would God I Were a Tender Apple Blossom.”
“Sailor’s Hornpipe,” “College Hornpipe,” a.k.a. “Jack’s the Lad” in O’Neill’s 1850 (the yellow book). Before I knew its various names I used to call it “The Popeye Melody” (to distinguish it from the song, “I’m Popeye the sailor man…”). 
BTW, on tinwhistletunes.com (a.k.a. clips and snips…) there’s a recording of KCJiang (harmonica), Mrs. Weekenders (guitar), and me (whistle) playing ‘Summertime’ at the first C&F whistle meet. Not sure what category it’s under…
Slow airs usually don’t do much for the money flow (except stop it). The faster and more fancified you can play something, the more folks are going to pay attention. A great moneymaker for me is a set of Skylark’s and Foxhunter (a la Tony Linnane).
Tunes that people know is also a good idea.