Mother's Day! Need help with ideas, especially from oldies music lover!?

Question

My mom barely knows anything about technology. She always wanted a cd player so she could play her own music but does not know what kind of cd player to get. This is why I decided to buy her one for mother's day. I also want to add a few cds, and this is where you come in. My mom was born in the fifties, so she likes oldies music even until now. Three artists she really likes are Rod Stewart, Shirley Bassey and Frankie Valli but other than that, I don't know who else. She barely listens to The Beatles, however, so I think she doesn't like rock that much. Anybody have ideas to which artists she probably is going to like? And do you know any new artists that you think she's also going to like? Any help or ideas would be appreciated

Thank you!

Answer 1

So she would be a teen in the 70s right? Try the Eagles greatest hits and Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits, you can't go wrong with those two classic bands, everyone loves them. My mom was a teen in the 70s and she loved them. Maybe your mom will too?

Answer 2

It sounds like she and I are about the same age, and she was into "Lite Rock" at the time I was diggin' the harder stuff. You might try some of the compilation CDs that are out there, some kind of Light rock, Mellow 70s, etc.



Greatest hits collections I would recommend of that type are by:

Barry Manilow

Simon & Garfunkel

The Carpenters

Seals & Crofts

Loggins & Messina

The Rascals - They're late 60s, but there is a lot of good stuff there, with the vocal stylings of Felix Cavaliere.



Perhaps a little Motown, like Aretha Franklin, the Supremes or the Temptations?



Also, Al Green...don't let the cover scare you off. I've got mine folded in the other way.

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I would steer you away from Jackson Browne (too brooding) and James Taylor, but JT only because on Steamroller, the last song on his Hits collection, he uses a 12-letter profanity that I doubt she would like to hear.



Doesn't like rock? Well, everybody likes Elvis.



Speaking of Manilow...he's got a couple of recent best sellers where he covers hits from the 50s and 60s. I haven't heard these yet, but I don't know how you could go wrong. His own stuff would be fine too.



You might check the reviews of any of these sets at one of the places they sell CDs online to see if you think she might like them.



As for newer artists, you can't go wrong with John Mayer. Can you imagine her listening to Norah Jones or Corinne Bailey Rae? I liked Norah's first one best (come away with me), and it picked up several Grammys.



Good luck! Let us know what you came up with.