Dueling pianos (also known simply as "sing-along") is a form of entertainment, usually on stage with two
grand piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
s, each played by a professional player who sings and entertains; humor and audience participation are prevalent. Usually these types of
piano bar
A piano bar (also known as a piano lounge) consists of a piano or electronic keyboard played by a professional musician as a central part of an establishment that also serves alcoholic drinks. Piano bars can be located in a cocktail lounge, bar ...
s have substantial sound systems, and most of the songs performed are
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
, "
classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
",
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
,
R&B, or
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
, played primarily by request. The modern format originated in late 1986 at Alley Cats in
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, and was based on the old-style dueling pianos still found at
Pat O'Brien's Bar
Pat O'Brien's Bar is a bar located in New Orleans, Louisiana that began operation as a legal liquor establishment on December 3, 1933, at the intersection of Royal and St. Peter streets in the French Quarter. Before that, during Prohibition in ...
in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
.
__TOC__
History
Literal dueling pianos can be verified as early as the late 1890s, when ragtime piano players would actually "duel" in an effort to see who could play better and faster. In 1933, when B.H. O'Brien and Charlie Cantrell opened
Pat O'Brien's Bar
Pat O'Brien's Bar is a bar located in New Orleans, Louisiana that began operation as a legal liquor establishment on December 3, 1933, at the intersection of Royal and St. Peter streets in the French Quarter. Before that, during Prohibition in ...
in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, they included a room where two piano players would entertain the crowd on copper-topped baby grand pianos. Players would take turns singing songs requested by the audience, written on cocktail napkins.
In 1986, a piano bar called Dallas Alley (aka "Alley Cats") opened in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
as an attempt to copy the piano bar style of
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
.
Players at this club started redefining the style of dueling pianos by playing more
contemporary rock and roll music, coupled with humorous bits that involved lyric substitutions and audience participation. These "bits" would become commonplace at many dueling piano clubs over the years, as a staple of the industry. From there, many dueling piano clubs and chains opened, and there are currently well over 200 different clubs across the United States, and even more in other countries. The name of the concept has also evolved to be called "
sing-along
Sing-along, also called community singing or group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing, sometimes with a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, kids' songs, spirit ...
" since the goal of the players is not generally to work against each other, but rather to gain audience participation with singing and clapping. This is widely accepted as the current
incarnation
Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...
of dueling pianos/sing-along.
Show format
A typical dueling pianos show normally features two to four piano players. They can work in teams throughout the night, taking audience requested songs. Generally, tips are expected when a song request is made, and priority may be given to a song with a larger denomination bill. Upon a tip, the players will often play the fight song of whatever college is requested too, which often results in bidding wars between alumni and students of various universities in attendance. Patrons can also request that an audience member be brought on stage. Generally, this is to celebrate a birthday,
bachelorette party
A bachelorette party (United States and Canada) or hen night (United Kingdom, UK, Republic of Ireland, Ireland and Australia) is a party held for a woman (the bride or bride-to-be) who will soon be Marriage, married. While Beth Montemurro conclud ...
,
bachelor party
A bachelor party (in the United States), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia and Canada), is a party held for or arranged by a man wh ...
, anniversary, or other occasion. The player then performs a "calldown" in which the participant (or participants) is embarrassed in a light-hearted fashion. Calldowns may be parodies of well known songs, or simply original material intended to generate a reaction from the audience.
"Bits" are comedic routines or audience participation, many woven in the songs themselves. A commonly used bit can be found in the song "
Joy to the World
"Joy to the World" is an English hymn and Christmas carol. It was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts. It is usually sung to the American composer Lowell Mason's 1848 arrangement of a tune attributed to George Fride ...
", by
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...
, as one piano player will teach the crowd "sign language" that accompanies the song, then bringing up an audience member to demonstrate.
Video Example of Dueling Pianos, "The Devil Went Down To Georgia"
Songs
Commonly requested songs at a dueling piano bar can include almost any genre, and are generally accompanied by a monetary tip.
Examples:
*
Don't Stop Believin'
"Don't Stop Believin" is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, '' Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Records. "Don't Stop Believin shares writi ...
*
Piano Man
*
Tiny Dancer
"Tiny Dancer" is a song written by English musician and composer Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally released on John's 1971 album ''Madman Across the Water'' as its opening track, and was later produ ...
*
Great Balls of Fire
"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie '' Jamboree''. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 reco ...
*
Bennie and the Jets
"Bennie and the Jets" (also titled "Benny & the Jets") is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. The song first appeared on the ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' album in 1973. "Bennie and ...
*
Sweet Caroline
"Sweet Caroline" (also titled "Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)") is a song written and performed by American singer Neil Diamond and released as a single in May 1969. It was arranged by Charles Calello, and recorded at Americ ...
*
Friends in Low Places
"Friends in Low Places" is a song recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on August 6, 1990, as the lead single from his album '' No Fences''. The song spent four weeks at number one on the Hot Country Songs, and ...
*
Baby Got Back
*
Paradise by the Dashboard Light
*
Hotel California
"Hotel California" is a song by American rock band the Eagles, released as the second single of their album of the same name on February 22, 1977. The song was written by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics), featuring H ...
*
Brown Eyed Girl
"Brown Eyed Girl" is a song by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison. Written by Morrison and recorded in March 1967, it was released as a single in June of the same year on the Bang label, peaking at No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Ho ...
*
Lucille
*
Joy to the World
"Joy to the World" is an English hymn and Christmas carol. It was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts. It is usually sung to the American composer Lowell Mason's 1848 arrangement of a tune attributed to George Fride ...
*
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...
*
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and recorded by American music group Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album '' Million Mile Reflections''.
The song is written in the key of D minor. Although uncredited, Vassar ...
Many of the songs requested do not fall into the typical "piano bar" category, and many dueling piano players pride themselves on their ability to perform songs that are generally not considered as such, like those from hard rock and rap genres.
See also
*
Piano bar
A piano bar (also known as a piano lounge) consists of a piano or electronic keyboard played by a professional musician as a central part of an establishment that also serves alcoholic drinks. Piano bars can be located in a cocktail lounge, bar ...
References
{{reflist
Piano
Music genres