I find that for the most part, familiar songs are most popular. And usually, a couple of verses is enough - five-verse songs will lose them. Mixing stories with songs can be very effective, too. I try to make the performance into a conversation punctuated by songs, and that works very well for me. People like to participate, and they like to be spoken to as adults. Even when dealing with memory care patients, never talk down to them.

-Joe-