50th Birthday Party Songs

50th Birthday Song Suggestions?

We are having a 50th birthday party for my husband in October and I need some suggestions for songs about growing up to go with pictures of his childhood through adulthood.
Emma

Always a Tear Jerker

I suggest "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart. This song is always played at our kindergarten graduation along with a slide montage of all the kids during the year. There isn't a dry eye in the house.
Marlene

Web Sites to Check Out

To find the greatest hit songs listed by Year, click on Music at: PopCultureMadness.com
To find a quotation to go with photos, click on By Topic or Author at: QuoteLand.com
Bab

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Ask his mother about his favorite childhood activities (like collecting baseball cards, fishing with pals, etc.). Then do a more nostalgic-theme party with items that he played with when he was a child. Just set a few things on the table or tie a bit of fishing line around the object and hang it from the ceiling with a thumbtack.

You could also rummage through the attic boxes for some of his old clothes and tack them to the walls for a "remember when you wore that favorite shirt?" effect. As far as music goes, call your local "oldies" station and ask them what songs were on the top ten list when he was born or when he was ten. Then take him for a trip down memory lane.
Crystal

A Variety of Song Choices

Here are a few songs that I think might work:

Country Roads
Blowing in the Wind
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
When You Wish Upon a Star
High Hopes

Kay

Put the Photos to Song

If you have any children, a great song would be "Grandpa" from the Judds. I did that with my dad on his 50th and he loved it. Everyone cried and laughed with the photos and the song. It was a big hit!
Kim

Make a Treasure Book

Try "I Won't Grow Up, I Don't Want to Grow Up, The World is Getting Older" by Jon Dichter, and "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin. For my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, everyone in the family was given one sheet of paper with the instructions to write a favorite memory or two. We then put it into a book for them. They treasured that book and I believe it was their favorite present. Good luck on the birthday party!
Tracy

Match the Song to the Interests

In order to pick appropriate songs, you need to look at the pictures and get a feel for what kind of events they depict. Is the person a baseball lover? "Take Me Out to the Ball Park" would be perfect. Was he in the military? Then try the "Star Spangled Banner". Your husband may be more whimsical. Then try "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". Let the pictures direct you to the song.
Logan

PowerPoint Presentation

I did a 50th birthday party for my boss a couple of years ago. I scanned in pictures from his childhood, marriage, and his own children. I then used PowerPoint to create a presentation entitled "Seasons in the Sun" (it was after the song by the same name) and pulled in pictures to match the verse on each slide (1 line of the song for each slide). At the time, we could not use "sound" as we did not have a sound card, but this could be added if you can download the song and have it played as you go through the slide presentation. My boss was totally surprised by the presentation and he loved it. We still look at it from time to time.
Martha

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