Medley (music)

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In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks for a single artist, or for popular songs from a given year or genre. "Medley" is also used colloquially to mean any song.

[edit] List of medleys

Some examples of medleys:

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

"Stars on 45 Medley" (1981) single by Stars on 45.
"Beatles Movie Medley" (1982) single by The Beatles.
"Ageless Medley (EP)" (1983) by Amy Grant.
"Purple Medley" (1995) by Prince.
"Never Too Far/Hero Medley" (2001) by Mariah Carey.
"Instrumedley" (2002) by Dream Theater from their live album Live at Budokan.
"Medley" (2003) by Five Iron Frenzy from their live album The End Is Here.
"HELL-O Medley" (2006) by GWAR from their From the Bloodbath and Beyond.
"Weird Al" Yankovic has had a medley played as a polka on every album except his debut, Even Worse and Alapalooza;
- "Polkas on 45" (1984) from his album In 3-D.
- "Hooked on Polkas" (1985) from his album Dare to be Stupid.
- "Polka Party!" (1986) from his album Polka Party!.
- "The Hot Rocks Polka" (1989), a medley of The Rolling Stones songs, from his album UHF.
- "Polka Your Eyes Out" (1992) from his album Off the Deep End.
- "The Alternative Polka" (1996) from his album Bad Hair Day.
- "Polka Power" (1999) from his album Running With Scissors.
- "Angry White Boy Polka" (2003) from his album Poodle Hat.
- "Polkarama!" (2006) from his album Straight Outta Lynwood.

Dream Theater frequently performs medleys of other bands live. In various medleys, Dream Theater has covered works by Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Journey, Elton John, Queen, Kansas, and Dixie Dregs, occasionally using some of their own work to smooth the transition between bands.