jim you misquoted me i said.

in my opinion a good idea for starting is to find songs that he might like with a small range", then i said
"then find out his range ..is he a baritone or tenor etc, then get an instrument and get him to sing certain notes to find his aptitude.
then do breathing exercises, to develop technique for breathing and diaphragm. then try and develop his confidence."
it is in my opinion useless to ask someone to sing something they do not like, however the really important part of my comment was "with a small range"
why?
because it is about developing confidence, so you start with something not too demanding.