High school students and prom organizers commit a fatal flaw in their dance plans every spring. The fickle nature of the music business and the overall bad taste of 17-year-olds can create a prom event of currently popular songs that will be long forgotten by the end of summer.
Graduation organizers make the same mistake. They choose the recent feel good, remember-the-days, tepid pop song that every graduation class across the country will mumble through, dying to ditch the cap and gown to reek havoc on the town.
The slow dance for high school kids is usually nothing more than clutching and dragging each other around the dance floor to formulaic songs by Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. The best method for classy, memorable slow dances is to use the classic love songs. Nothing too sexy, prom chaperones may get uptight. A nice mix of sweet and romantic should do the trick.
The following are 10 examples of songs – some classic love songs; others may be odd choices – that should make for a classy slow dance at the prom.
“When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge – Instruct the DJ to play the Percy Sledge version. If he only has Michael Bolton, get another DJ. If it’s too late for that, select a different song.
“You Really Got a Hold on Me” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – Anything from Motown will be great. Anything with Smokey Robinson will be even better.
“My Girl” by the Temptations – Again, anything from Motown is a solid choice for a prom slow dance. This song is particularly sweet, without being too specific.
“Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers – Some of the best love songs are big dramatic numbers. None of them are bigger or more dramatic than this one.
“Pictures of You” by the Cure – Calling for classic and timeless in prom slow dances, then picking a song from a band that defined a certain period of time may be counterintuitive. However, this song is sentimental without being tacky. Plus the album version is a very long song, plenty of time to clutch and drag your prom date.
“Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green – Sexy without scaring the chaperones. This might be the most applicable song to a high school sweetheart relationship. How many high school couples break up and makeup, then breakup and makeup again?
“All I Want is You” by U2 – Maybe not the best choice for the prom dates who are just friends or came with their cousin, but for the post pubescent lovers this is another long song, romantic and with a grand crescendo that will blow the Celine Dion out your butt.
“No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley – The organ on this song is beautiful and Marley’s vocals are perfect. Just another romantic, sentimental but hopeful song. Which is exactly what prom, and the end of high school should be – romantically sentimental hope.
