Family Reunion Songs
Thirty-four songs for a family reunion. The requirement here is unusual: the music has to work for a two-year-old and an eighty-nine-year-old in the same yard, at the same volume. That rules out most of what any of them would choose alone.
Updated September 202634 songs
Ten every generation knows
- We Are FamilySister Sledge · 1979
Written for and recorded by four actual sisters. The reunion song, and nobody needs it explained.
- SeptemberEarth, Wind & Fire · 1978
The reliable choice when three generations are present and agree on nothing else.
- Ain’t No Mountain High EnoughMarvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell · 1967
Gets everyone moving, including the ones who claim they do not dance. Play it while people are eating.
- Lean on MeBill Withers · 1972
A yard full of people can sing it without rehearsal, which is the whole requirement.
- Twist and ShoutThe Beatles · 1963
For a group spanning eighty years of age. Two and a half minutes and everybody is in.
- Sweet CarolineNeil Diamond · 1969
The shouted part means nobody has to know the verses. Late afternoon, once everyone has eaten.
- Everyday PeopleSly and the Family Stone · 1968
For a family that is not all the same and is fine about it. Two minutes and completely warm.
- CelebrationKool & The Gang · 1980
On the nose and nobody minds. It has been at every family gathering since 1980.
- Lovely DayBill Withers · 1977
The best background record for a yard of people talking over food.
- In My LifeThe Beatles · 1965
For the quiet moment when somebody mentions who is not there. Two and a half minutes.
The problem is the age range
A reunion is the hardest room to programme on this site, because the audience spans eight decades and cannot be split. Anything from the last five years excludes the older half; anything from the 1950s excludes the younger. The workable range for a mixed family gathering is roughly 1965 to 1985 — old enough that the grandparents were young for it, recent enough that the grandchildren know it from somewhere.
Volume matters more than choice. The single commonest complaint about family reunions is that the music was too loud to talk over, and the whole point of the day is the talking. Keep it low until after the meal, and let somebody under thirty take over when the food is cleared.
Plan for the moment somebody mentions the people who are not there. It happens at every reunion, usually during a toast, and it is better to have chosen something for it than to let a party record run underneath. One quiet song, then back to it.
One thing worth organising in advance: a group photograph takes about eight minutes to arrange and nobody thinks about what plays during it. Something familiar and cheerful will hold sixty people in a rough line for the length of time it takes. Silence will not.
By the part of the day
While people arrive
Low volume, familiar, easy to talk over. The first two hours are conversation, not a party.
- Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m YoursStevie Wonder · 1970
Short and bright. Raises the temperature by about a degree without demanding anything.
- My GirlThe Temptations · 1964
Everyone from eight to eighty knows the intro. Good while people are still hugging in a driveway.
- Three Little BirdsBob Marley & The Wailers · 1977
Nobody has ever objected to this at any gathering anywhere.
- What a Wonderful WorldLouis Armstrong · 1967
Two minutes and the oldest people present will be pleased it is on.
- Here Comes the SunThe Beatles · 1969
Three minutes and every generation accepts it without discussion.
- Put a Little Love in Your HeartJackie DeShannon · 1969
Gentle and slightly old-fashioned, which suits a yard where the aunts arrived first.
- Good Day SunshineThe Beatles · 1966
Cheerful and brief. For the twenty minutes when only six people are there.
- Stand by MeBen E. King · 1961
Everyone across three generations knows it, which is rare and useful.
After the food
Once plates are cleared and somebody has had a drink. This is where the reunion actually happens.
- Dancing QueenABBA · 1976
It will get the aunts up before the chorus. There is no arguing with it.
- I Wanna Dance with SomebodyWhitney Houston · 1987
Pure joy, and the cousins in their forties have a specific memory attached.
- Uptown FunkMark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars · 2014
The most recent song that still works for everybody. Use it as the bridge to the younger half.
- Electric Boogie (Electric Slide)Marcia Griffiths · 1989
A line dance with the instructions built in. Solves the problem of who will start.
- Cupid ShuffleCupid · 2007
The modern equivalent. The children will already know it from school.
- Before I Let GoFrankie Beverly & Maze · 1981
The Black family reunion song in America. If it applies to your family, it is not optional.
- Get Down On ItKool & The Gang · 1981
For the middle of the afternoon, once the tables are pushed back.
- SeptemberEarth, Wind & Fire · 1978
If you only get one dance record right, this is the one to get right.
For the toast, and for who is missing
It happens at every reunion. One quiet song, then back to the afternoon.
- In My LifeThe Beatles · 1965
Two and a half minutes about places and people that have gone. The right length for this.
- The Way We WereBarbra Streisand · 1973
For a family with a lot of older members in the room and a lot of history behind them.
- Wish You Were HerePink Floyd · 1975
For the ones who are not there. Says it without any of the vocabulary of grief.
- Somewhere Only We KnowKeane · 2004
For a family home that has been sold since the last reunion.
- I’ll Be Seeing YouBillie Holiday · 1944
For the oldest generation, and about finding people in ordinary places.
- Rivers and RoadsThe Head and the Heart · 2011
About a family scattering across a country. Play the last minute during the toast.
- Forever YoungBob Dylan · 1974
A blessing over a room with children in it. The right way to end a toast.
- Lean on MeBill Withers · 1972
Sing it rather than play it. A yard of people will join in and that is the moment.
Three demonstration songs
What a song about your family sounds like
We wrote these from made-up answers to the same five questions you would fill in. They are not customer work. A reunion is the one occasion where a song naming the cousins, the house and the running joke will be understood by every person present.
Start the song- Ruth’s Yellow KitchenCountry · a grandmother who fed everyone who came to the door3:39
- Marcus at FortyPop · written to be funny, at a friend’s request3:00
- Priya at DawnPop · the first in her family to finish2:27
How it works
Three steps. The first one is the only hard part.
- 1Tell the storyFive questions. Who it’s for, the occasion, three details only you two know, the feeling you want, and the names that have to be in it.
- 2Pick the soundCountry, pop, acoustic, R&B, gospel or rock. A man’s voice or a woman’s.
- 3Listen, then unlockA 30-second preview in about two minutes. Pay only if you love it. You get the full song, the lyrics, and a page you can send.
Common questions
- What songs should play at a family reunion?
- Roughly 1965 to 1985 is the workable range for a mixed family — old enough that the grandparents were young for it, recent enough that the grandchildren know it. “We Are Family”, “September” and “Twist and Shout” cover almost any yard.
- How loud should the music be?
- Quieter than you think, at least until the food is cleared. The commonest complaint about reunions is that the music drowned out the conversation, and the conversation is the reunion.
- What is a good song for the family photograph?
- Something familiar and cheerful, because arranging sixty people takes about eight minutes and silence makes it feel longer. “My Girl” or “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” will hold a rough line together.
- What should play during the toast?
- One quiet song, chosen in advance, for the moment somebody mentions the people who are not there. It happens at every reunion, and letting a party record run underneath it is worse than a gap.
- Can I get a song written for a family reunion?
- Yes, and this is one of the best occasions for it — a song naming the cousins and the house will be understood by everybody in the yard. Answer five questions and you will hear a 30-second preview in about two minutes. The full song is $19.