Hymns down, Rihanna up in the funeral music charts
Psalm 23 has got nothing on 'Diamonds'
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Your support makes all the difference.It’s hard not to be morbidly interested in what music people choose to have their body laid to rest to, and that curiosity can be satisfied thanks to Co-op Funeralcare’s 2016 Funeral Music Chart.
The research was conducted using its funeral arrangers and directors and is based on 30,000 funerals conducted in the last 12 months.
The biggest trend in the data is the UK’s move towards non-religious music, with 54% of funeral directors saying that hymns are declining in popularity the quickest, while pop has now become the most request genre at services.
Wiz Khalifa, Rihanna and Adele are all new entrants to the contemporary pop category, though across all genres Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ is the most popular choice.
Coronation Street rather depressingly is the TV theme played most at funerals, though a secondary poll revealed that the Game of Thrones one might soon make an appearance in the chart.
The full #FuneralMusic chart for 2016:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since last chart |
| 1 | My Way | Frank Sinatra | Up 4 places |
| 2 | Time to say goodbye | Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman | Up 12 places |
| 3 | Over the rainbow | Eva Cassidy | Up 15 places |
| 4 | Wind beneath my wings | Bette Midler | New entrant |
| 5 | The lord is my shepherd | Psalm 23/ Crimond | Down 3 places |
| 6 | We’ll meet again | Vera Lynn | New entrant |
| 7 | All things bright and beautiful | Traditional | Down 1 place |
| 8 | Always look on the bright side of life | Monty Python | Down 7 places |
| 9 | Abide with me | Traditional | Down 6 places |
| 10 | Unforgettable | Nat King Cole | New entrant |
By genre -
Contemporary pop:
| No | Artist | Track |
| 1 | Robbie Williams | Angels |
| 2 | Westlife | You raise me up |
| 3 | Wiz Khalifa | See you again |
| 4 | Westlife | Flying without wings |
| 5 | Ellie Goulding | How long will I love you |
| 6 | Westlife | I’ll see you again |
| 7 | Adele | Hello |
| 8 | Rihanna | Diamonds |
| 9 | Sam Smith | Lay me down |
| 10 | Boyzone | No matter what |
Rock:
| No | Song name | Artist |
| 1 | Stairway to heaven | Led Zepellin |
| 2 | Bat out of hell | Meatloaf |
| 3 | Live forever | Queen |
| 4 | Wish you were here | Pink Floyd |
| 5 | Highway to hell | ACDC |
| 6 | Another one bites the dust | Queen |
| 7 | Bohemian Rhapsody | Queen |
| 8 | Don’t wanna miss a thing | Aerosmith |
| 9 | Knocking on heaven’s door | Guns and roses |
| 10 | Spirit in the sky | Norman Greenbaum |
Sport:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since last chart |
| 1 | You will never walk alone | Gerry and the Pacemakers | Up 1 place |
| 2 | Theme tune | Match of the day | Down 1 place |
| 3 | Soul Limbo / Cricket Theme tune | Booker T and MG | Non mover |
| 4 | The Chain | Fleetwood Mac | Up 2 places |
| 5 | I am forever blowing bubbles | West Ham United | Up 3 places |
| 6 | Z Cars Theme | Everton FC | New entrant |
| 7 | Glory Glory | Tottenham Hotspur | New entrant |
| 8 | Grandstand theme | BBC | Up 2 places |
| 9 | World in Union | Dame Kiri Te Kanawa | Down 5 places |
| 10 | Dance of the Knights | Sunderland FC | New entrant |
Indie:
| No | Song name | Artist |
| 1 | Chasing cars | Snow Patrol |
| 2 | Wonderwall | Oasis |
| 3 | Don’t look back in anger | Oasis |
| 4 | Arabella | Arctic Monkeys |
| 5 | Live forever | Oasis |
| 6 | Hymn for the weekend | Coldplay |
| 7 | One day like this | Elbow |
| 8 | Coldplay | Yellow |
| 9 | Goo goo dolls | Iris |
| 10 | Oasis | Champagne Supernova |
TV/ Film:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since last chart |
| 1 | Coronation Street | Theme tune | Up 4 places |
| 2 | Last of the Summer Wine | Theme tune | Up 2 places |
| 3 | Only Fools and horses | Theme tune | Up 1 place |
| 4 | Always Look on the Bright side | Monty Python | Down 3 places |
| 5 | Eastenders | Theme tune | Up 3 places |
| 6 | My Heart Will Go On | Celine Dion | Down 5 places |
| 7 | Emmerdale | Theme tune | Up 1 place |
| 8 | Going home | Hovis theme tune | New entry |
| 9 | Dad’s Army | Theme tune | New entry |
| 10 | Bring me sunshine | Morecambe and Wise | Down 4 places |
Hymns:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since last chart |
| 1 | Lord is my Shepherd | Psalm 23 / Crimond | Non mover |
| 2 | Abide with me | Traditional | Non mover |
| 3 | All things bright and beautiful | Traditional | Non mover |
| 4 | How great thou art | Traditional | Non mover |
| 5 | Amazing grace | Traditional | Non mover |
| 6 | Old rugged cross | Traditional | Up 1 place |
| 7 | Jerusalem | Traditional | Down 1 place |
| 8 | Morning has broken | Traditional | Non mover |
| 9 | The day though gavest lord ended | Traditional | Non mover |
| 10 | Ave Maria | Traditional | Non mover |
Country:
| No | Song name | Artist |
| 1 | I will always love you | Dolly Parton |
| 2 | Islands in the stream | Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers |
| 3 | Country roads | Jon Denver |
| 4 | I love you because | Jim Reeves |
| 5 | Annie’s song | Jon Denver |
| 6 | Over the rainbow | Eva Cassidy |
| 7 | Ring of fire | Johnny Cash |
| 8 | My best friend | Don Williams |
| 9 | If tomorrow never comes | Garth Brooks |
| 10 | Blowin in the wind | Bob Dylan |
Classical:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since last chart |
| 1 | Time to say goodbye | Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman | Up 2 places |
| 2 | Nimrod | Elgar | Down 1 place |
| 3 | Nessun Dorma | Lucianno Pavarotti | Up 3 places |
| 4 | Cannon in D | Pachelbel | Down 2 places |
| 5 | Four Seasons | Vivaldi | Down 1 place |
| 6 | Adagio | Bizet/Albinoni | Non mover |
| 7 | Ave Maria | Various artistes | Down 2 places |
| 8 | Moonlight Sonartz | Beethoven | New entry |
| 9 | Pie Jesu | Faure | Down 1 place |
| 10 | The Lark Ascending | Ralph Vaughan Williams | New entry |
RnB:
| No | Song name | Artist |
| 1 | I’ll be missing you | Puff Daddy |
| 2 | Dance with my father again | Luther Van Dross |
| 3 | One sweet day | Boys 2 men |
| 4 | I will always love you | Whitney Housten |
| 5 | Fly | R Kelly |
| 6 | Halo | Beyonce |
| 7 | Turn back the hands of time | R Kelly |
| 8 | Bye Bye | Mariah Carey |
| 9 | World’s greatest | R Kelly |
| 10 | Beyonce | Running |
Jazz top 10:
| No | Song name | Artist |
| 1 | What a wonderful world | Louis Armstrong |
| 2 | Moonlight serenade | Glenn Miller |
| 3 | Stranger on the shore | Aka Bilk |
| 4 | Smile | Nat King Cole |
| 5 | In the mood | Glenn Miller |
| 6 | A place in the sun | Stevie Wonder |
| 7 | Fly me to the moon | Frank Sinatra |
| 8 | Sitting on the dock of the bay | Otis Reading |
| 9 | Mr Bojangles | Robbie Williams |
| 10 | Come fly with me | Frank Sinatra |
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