Repertoire

People often ask me what songs I sing when I get up on stage. The list below seeks to enumerate every song that I’ve sung at least once. Undoubtedly, many tunes are missing from this list; there’s no way I’ll ever come close to remembering every single song that I performed in my over 20 years of karaoke before I started this blog and created this page.

The inclusion of any given song on this list should not be taken to imply that you’ll ever hear it from me again. I’m constantly workshopping new material, and not all of those experiments are successful. Sometimes, it’s instantly clear that a song is ill-suited to my vocal range, or is otherwise not a good candidate to become a part of the H-Bomb canon.

My “A-list,” consisting of my top go-to songs, currently includes, in no particular order:

• “La Bamba”
• “New York State Of Mind”
• “At This Moment”
• “My Life”
• “True”
• “(I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles”
• “What Is Love”
• “Rocket Man”
• “Rock The Casbah”
• “Oh, Pretty Woman”
• “Use Somebody”
• “Let’s Dance”
• “Walking In Memphis”

My very first signature song, dating back to 1991, was Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana.” However, for reasons discussed here, Barry Manilow is now dead to me and it no longer brings me joy to sing his material. I still put “Copa” on my song slips occasionally, because it does get a crowd fired up; but Barry no longer has the honor of residing on my A-list.

Here’s the complete catalog of all the songs I’ve performed from 1991 to date (and the list is constantly being expanded as I continue to sing new songs):

1999 (Prince)

50 Special (Lunapop)

(I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles (The Proclaimers)

867-5309/Jenny (Tommy Tutone)

Addicted To Love (Robert Palmer)

Africa (Toto)

Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) (Phil Collins)

Alison (Elvis Costello)

All I Have To Do Is Dream (The Everly Brothers)

All I Need Is A Miracle (Mike + the Mechanics)

All Night Long (Lionel Richie)

All Out Of Love (Air Supply)

Allentown (Billy Joel)

Alone Again (Naturally) (Gilbert O’Sullivan)

Always Something There To Remind Me (Naked Eyes)

America (F*ck Yeah) (Trey Parker)

America the Beautiful (Ray Charles)

American Pie (Don McLean)

As Time Goes By (Dooley Wilson)

At This Moment (Billy Vera & the Beaters)

Baby I Love Your Way (Peter Frampton)

Baby One More Time (Britney Spears)

Back In The U.S.S.R. (The Beatles)

Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty)

The Ballad Of Billy The Kid (Billy Joel)

Band On The Run (Paul McCartney & Wings)

Basket Case (Green Day)

Beauty School Dropout (Frankie Avalon)

Because I Got High (Afro Man)

Believe It Or Not (Joey Scarbury)

Besame Mucho (Andrea Bocelli)

Big Shot (Billy Joel)

Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)

Blister In The Sun (Violent Femmes)

Blue Hawaii (Elvis Presley)

Born To Be Wild (Steppenwolf)

Born To Run (Bruce Springsteen)

Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) (Looking Glass)

Break My Stride (Matthew Wilder)

Breakfast At Tiffany’s (Deep Blue Something)

Broken Wings (Mister Mister)

Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)

Build Me Up Buttercup (The Foundations)

Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen)

The Candy Man (Sammy Davis, Jr.)

Can’t Smile Without You (Barry Manilow)

Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (Frankie Valli)

Captain Jack (Billy Joel)

Careless Whisper (George Michael)

Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run) (Billy Ocean)

Carry On My Wayward Son (Kansas)

Changes (David Bowie)

Cheeseburger In Paradise (Jimmy Buffett)

Close To You (The Carpenters)

Come Dancing (The Kinks)

Come On Eileen (Dexys Midnight Runners)

Come Sail Away (Styx)

Copacabana (Barry Manilow)

Crazy (Patsy Cline)

Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Queen)

Creep (Radiohead)

Crocodile Rock (Elton John)

Cruel to be Kind (Nick Lowe)

Dance Hall Days (Wang Chung)

Delilah (Tom Jones)

The Devil Went Down To Georgia (The Charlie Daniels Band)

Disco Inferno (The Trammps)

Don’t Ask Me Why (Billy Joel)

Don’t Dream It’s Over (Crowded House)

Don’t Fear The Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult)

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (Elton John and Kiki Dee)

Don’t Look Back In Anger (Oasis)

Don’t Stop Believing (Journey)

Don’t You Want Me? (The Human League)

Down Under (Men at Work)

Drive (The Cars)

Dust In The Wind (Kansas)

Dynamite (Taio Cruz)

Ebony And Ivory (Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder)

Edelweiss (from The Sound of Music)

Empire State Of Mind (Jay-Z and Alicia Keys)

Everytime You Go Away (Paul Young)

Eyes Without A Face (Billy Idol)

Faithfully (Journey)

The Farmer In The Dell (nursery rhyme)

Feliz Navidad (Jose Feliciano)

The Final Countdown (Europe)

Footloose (Kenny Loggins)

Forever Young (Alphaville)

Forget You (Cee Lo Green)

Friday (Rebecca Black)

Friday I’m In Love (The Cure)

Friday On My Mind (The Easybeats)

Georgia On My Mind (Ray Charles)

Ghostbusters (Ray Parker, Jr.)

Gilligan’s Island (TV theme song)

Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon (Neil Diamond)

Glory Days (Bruce Springsteen)

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John)

Goodnight Irene (folk standard)

Goodnight Saigon (Billy Joel)

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer (Elmo and Patsy)

Happy Days (TV theme song)

Hard Habit To Break (Chicago)

Have You Ever Seen The Rain? (Credence Clearwater Revival)

Head Over Heels (Tears For Fears)

Heartbreaker (Pet Benatar)

Heaven (Bryan Adams)

Hello (Lionel Richie)

Here Comes The Hoststepper (Ini Kamoze)

Hey Good Lookin’ (Hank Williams)

Hey Jude (The Beatles)

Hey Paula (Paul & Paula)

Hey, Soul Sister (Train)

Hey There Delilah (Plain White T’s)

Hey Ya! (OutKast)

Hold Me Now (The Thompson Twins)

Honesty (Billy Joel)

Hooked On A Feeling (Blue Swede)

Hot n Cold (Katy Perry)

How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? (Michael Bublé)

How Deep Is Your Love (The Bee Gees)

Hungry Like The Wolf (Duran Duran)

Hurts So Good (John J. Mellencamp)

I Drove All Night (Roy Orbison)

I Got You Babe (Sonny and Cher)

I Gotta Feeling (Black Eyed Peas)

I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues (Elton John)

I Love Rocky Road (Weird Al Yankovic)

I Melt With You (Modern English)

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (U2)

I Think We’re Alone Now (Tommy James)

I Touch Myself (The Divinyls)

I Wanna Be Sedated (The Ramones)

I Wanna Hold Your Hand (The Beatles)

I Want It That Way (Backstreet Boys)

I Want You To Want Me (Cheap Trick)

I Write The Songs (Barry Manilow)

I’d Really Love To See You Tonight (England Dan and John Ford Coley)

If I Fell (The Beatles)

If You Could Read My Mind (Gordon Lightfoot)

If You Leave (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark)

I’ll Be There For You (The Rembrandts)

I’ll Never Fall In Love Again (The Carpenters)

I’m Henry VIII, I Am (Herman’s Hermits)

I’m Not In Love (10cc)

I’m Still Standing (Elton John)

Imagine (John Lennon)

I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) (The Proclaimers)

An Innocent Man (Billy Joel)

Is She Really Going Out With Him? (Joe Jackson)

Islands In The Stream (Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers)

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (They Might Be Giants)

It Might Be You (Stephen Bishop)

It’s Not Unusual (Tom Jones)

It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me (Billy Joel)

It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine) (R.E.M.)

I’ve Been Everywhere (Hank Snow)

Jack & Diane (John J. Mellencamp)

Jessie’s Girl (Rick Springfield)

The Joker (The Steve Miller Band)

Jump (Van Halen)

Just A Friend (Biz Markie)

Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody (David Lee Roth)

Just Can’t Get Enough (Depeche Mode)

Just Like Heaven (The Cure)

Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)

Karma Chameleon (Culture Club)

Katmandu (Cat Stevens)

Kung Fu Fighting (Carl Douglas)

La Bamba (Los Lobos)

Lady In Red (Chris DeBurgh)

Leaving On A Jet Plane (John Denver)

Let It Be (The Beatles)

Let’s Dance (David Bowie)

Let’s Stay Together (Al Green)

Lights (Journey)

A Little Respect (Erasure)

Live And Let Die (Paul McCartney)

Livin’ La Vida Loca (Ricky Martin)

The Logical Song (Supertramp)

The Long And Winding Road (The Beatles)

The Longest Time (Billy Joel)

The Love Boat (TV theme song)

Love Shack (The B-52s)

Mambo No. 5 (Lou Bega)

Mandy (Barry Manilow)

Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett)

A Matter Of Trust (Billy Joel)

Me And Mrs. Jones (Billy Paul)

Meet Me In St. Louis (Standard)

A Mi Manera (Gipsy Kings)

Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway) (Billy Joel)

Modern Love (David Bowie)

Monster Mash (Bobby “Boris” Pickett)

Mony Mony (Billy Idol)

Moon River (Andy Wiliams)

More Than Words (Extreme)

Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song) (Billy Joel)

Mr. Brightside (The Killers)

My Favorite Things (Julie Andrews)

My Girl (The Temptations)

My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion)

My Sharona (The Knack)

Never Gonna Give You Up (Rick Astley)

New Kid In Town (The Eagles)

New York, New York (Frank Sinatra)

New York State Of Mind (Billy Joel)

Nobody Told Me (John Lennon)

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (The Beatles)

Octopus’s Garden (The Beatles)

Oh, Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)

Oh Sherrie (Steve Perry)

Okie From Muskogee (Merle Haggard)

On The Road Again (Willie Nelson)

One (U2)

One Night In Bangkok (Murray Head)

Only The Good Die Young (Billy Joel)

Open Arms (Journey)

Overkill (Men at Work)

Paint It Black (The Rolling Stones)

Part Time Lover (Stevie Wonder)

Party All The Time (Eddie Murphy)

Piano Man (Billy Joel)

Picture (Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock)

Pour Some Sugar On Me (Def Leppard)

The Power Of Love (Huey Lewis and the News)

Pressure (Billy Joel)

Private Eyes (Hall & Oates)

Puppy Love (Donny Osmond)

Purple Rain (Prince)

Purple People Eater (Sheb Wooley)

Puttin’ On The Ritz (Taco)

Radar Love (Golden Earring)

The Rainbow Connection (Kermit the Frog)

Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head (B.J. Thomas)

Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash)

Rock Lobster (The B-52s)

Rock The Casbah (The Clash)

Rocket Man (Elton John)

Runaround Sue (Dion and the Belmonts)

Russians (Sting)

Sandy (John Travolta)

Santeria (Sublime)

Say Goodbye To Hollywood (Billy Joel)

Safety Dance (Men Without Hats)

Scenes From An Italian Restaurant (Billy Joel)

Sea Of Love (The Honeydrippers)

The Search Is Over (Survivor)

Secret Agent Man (Johnny Rivers)

Sex And Candy (Marcy Playground)

Sex On Fire (Kings of Leon)

She’s Always A Woman (Billy Joel)

She’s Got A Way (Billy Joel)

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? (The Clash)

Shout (Otis Day and the Knights)

Shout (Tears for Fears)

Sister Christian (Night Ranger)

Small Town (John J. Mellencamp)

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (The Platters)

Somebody’s Baby (Jackson Browne)

Space Oddity (David Bowie)

St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion) (John Parr)

Stand By Me (Ben E. King)

(Just Like) Starting Over (John Lennon)

The Stranger (Billy Joel)

Strawberry Fields Forever (The Beatles)

Summer Nights (John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John)

Summer Of ’69 (Bryan Adams)

Super Freak (Rick James)

Superman (Five for Fighting)

Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley)

Sway (Dean Martin)

Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)

Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns N’ Roses)

Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Tainted Love (Soft Cell)

Take Me Home, Country Roads (Hermes House Band)

Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver)

Take On Me (A-ha)

Talking In Your Sleep (The Romantics)

Tell Her About It (Billy Joel)

Tempted (Squeeze)

That’s Amore (Dean Martin)

There’s A Kind Of Hush (Herman’s Hermits)

Through The Years (Kenny Rogers)

Thunderball (Tom Jones)

Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree (Dawn featuring Tony Orlando)

Till There Was You (The Beatles)

(I’ve Had The) Time Of My Life (Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes)

Tiny Bubbles (Don Ho)

True (Spandau Ballet)

Tubthumping (Chumbawumba)

Turning Japanese (The Vapors)

Twist & Shout (The Beatles)

Up Where We Belong (Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes)

Uptown Girl (Billy Joel)

Use Somebody (Kings of Leon)

Valotte (Julian Lennon)

Veronica (Elvis Costello)

Vienna (Billy Joel)

Vincent (Don McLean)

Viva La Vida (Coldplay)

Viva Las Vegas (Elvis Presley)

Walk Like An Egyptian (The Bangles)

Walking On Memphis (Marc Cohn)

Wanted Dead Or Alive (Bon Jovi)

We Are The World (USA for Africa)

We Built This City (Jefferson Starship)

We Didn’t Start The Fire (Billy Joel)

We Like To Party (The Vengaboys)

We Need A Little Christmas (Johnny Mathis)

We Will Rock You (Queen)

Weekend In New England (Barry Manilow)

We’re Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister)

What Is Love (Haddaway)

Whip It (Devo)

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On (Jerry Lee Lewis)

A Whole New World (Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle)

Wild Wild Life (The Talking Heads)

With Or Without You (U2)

Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton)

Wonderful World (Sam Cooke)

Wonderwall (Oasis)

Working For The Weekend (Loverboy)

Wouldn’t It Be Nice (The Beach Boys)

Yesterday (The Beatles)

Y.M.C.A. (The Village People)

You Belong To Me (The Duprees)

You Got It (Roy Orbison)

You May Be Right (Billy Joel)

You Might Think (The Cars)

You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) (Dead or Alive)

Your Song (Elton John)

You’re Only Human (Second Wind) (Billy Joel)

You’re Sixteen (Johnny Burnette)

You’re So Vain (Carly Simon)

You’re The One That I Want (John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John)

You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling (The Righteous Brothers)