Traditional hymns drop out of funeral music chart for first time
Funeral provider, Co-op Funeralcare, has today (2 May) released its 2019 Funeral Music Chart.
The hot list, which first launched in 2002, sees Frank Sinatra’s My Way top of the funeral pops, followed by Andrea Bocelli and Eva Cassidy.
Based on data and insights from Co-op’s own funeral directors, who conduct up to 100,000 funerals a year, the latest top 10 revealed the non-movers, risers and new entries of 2019.
The full 2019 Funeral Music Chart is:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | My Way | Frank Sinatra | Non-mover |
| 2 | Time To Say Goodbye | Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman | Non-mover |
| 3 | Over The Rainbow | Eva Cassidy | Non-mover |
| 4 | Wind Beneath My Wings | Bette Midler | Non-mover |
| 5 | Angels | Robbie Williams | Re-entry |
| 6 | Supermarket Flowers | Ed Sheeran | New entry |
| 7 | Unforgettable | Nat King Cole | Up 3 places |
| 8 | You Raise Me Up | Westlife | New entry |
| 9 | We’ll Meet Again | Vera Lynn | Down 3 places |
| 10 | Always Look on the Bright Side of Life | Eric Idle – from Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’ | Down 2 places |
Revealing a shift in music at final farewells, for the first time ever, no traditional hymns have made the cut. Hymns The Lord is my Shepherd and Abide with me were pushed out by debut entries from Westlife and Ed Sheeran.
New requests identified by directors included George Ezra, Wiz Khalifa, Freya Ridings and Stormzy.
Furthermore, the research revealed a trend in more people keeping music in the family, as 32% of people said they would consider asking a relative to do the honour of performing.
It also showed a shift in more people sharing their swansongs as 24%)of UK adults said they have already told loved ones which songs they want playing at their funeral, compared to 19% in 2016.
When it comes to music genres, pop proves to be the most popular with 25% of UK adults revealing they would want such music at their funeral. A further 19% would opt for rock, whilst 20% would choose classical for their final farewell.
Contemporary / Pop top 10
| No | Artist | Track | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | Robbie Williams | Angels | Non mover |
| 2 | Westlife | You Raise Me Up | Non mover |
| 3 | Ed Sheeran | Supermarket Flowers | New entry |
| 4 | Wiz Khalifa | See You Again | Down one place |
| 6 | Abba | Dancing Queen | New entry |
| 7 | Sam Smith | Lay Me Down | Up three places |
| 8 | Dani and Lizzi | Dancing In The Sky | New entry |
| 9 | Westlife | Flying Without Wings | Down five places |
| 10 | Ellie Goulding | How Long Will I Love You | Down five places |
David Collingwood, director of funerals at the Co-op said: “We all live such unique lives and funerals should completely reflect that. Each element of a funeral is a very personal decision which is why the music choice plays such an important and impactful role.
‘’We’re always encouraging people to be more open about their funeral wishes, making it clear to their loved ones what they would want for themselves when the time comes. Even knowing what song someone would have wanted can bring such comfort at an incredibly hard time.’’
The research also revealed how music affects the mood at a funeral. Some 55% of UK adults said music at funerals made people feel “nostalgic”. A further 34% said it made mourners feel sad while 32% said it made people happy. Just 14% said it made people laugh.
Yet, when considering how UK adults want the music at their own funerals to make people feel, 27% agreed they’d want the music to make guests laugh, highlighting a trend of funerals becoming more of a joyful celebration in the future.
All the charts and other key findings:
Hymns:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | Abide With Me | Traditional | Up one place |
| 2 | All Things Bright And Beautiful | Traditional | Up one place |
| 3 | The Lord Is My Shepherd | Psalm 23 / Crimond | Down two places |
| 4 | How Great Thou Art | Traditional | Non mover |
| 5 | Amazing Grace | Traditional | Non mover |
| 6 | Jerusalem | Traditional | Up one place |
| 7 | Morning Has Broken | Traditional | Up one place |
| 8 | Old Rugged Cross | Traditional | Down two places |
| 9 | The Day Thou Gavest | Traditional | Non mover |
| 10 | Calon Lan | Traditional | New entry |
Rock top 10
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | Stairway To Heaven | Led Zeppelin | Non mover |
| 2 | Bat Out Of Hell | Meatloaf | Non mover |
| 3 | Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing | Aerosmith | Up five places |
| 4 | Who Wants To Live Forever | Queen | New entry |
| 5 | The Show Must Go On | Queen | New entry |
| 6 | Knocking On Heavens Door | Guns and Roses | Up three places |
| 7 | Wish You Were Here | Pink Floyd | Down three places |
| 8 | Highway To Hell | ACDC | Down three places |
| 9 | Another One Bites The Dust | Queen | Down three places |
| 10 | Bohemian Rhapsody | Queen | Down three places |
Sport top 10:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | Theme Tune | Match of the day | Up one place |
| 2 | Soul Limbo / Cricket Theme tune | Booker T and MG | Up one place |
| 3 | You Will Never Walk Alone | Gerry and the Pacemakers | Down two places |
| 4 | The Chain (F1 theme song) | Fleetwood Mac | Non mover |
| 5 | I Am Forever Blowing Bubbles | West Ham United | Non mover |
| 6 | Blue Moon (Manchester City theme song) | Frank Sinatra | New entry |
| 7 | Golf Theme Tune | BBC | New entry |
| 8 | Bolton Wanderers Songs | New entry | |
| 9 | Bring Me Sunshine | Morecambe FC | New entry |
| 10 | Racing Theme Tune | C4 | New entry |
Indie top 10
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | Chasing Cars | Snow Patrol | Non mover |
| 2 | Wonderwall | Oasis | Non mover |
| 3 | Don’t Look Back In Anger | Oasis | Non mover |
| 4 | Live Forever | Oasis | Up one place |
| 5 | One Day Like This | Elbow | Up two places |
| 6 | Bittersweet Symphony | Verve | New entry |
| 7 | Fix You | Coldplay | New entry |
| 8 | Mr. Brightside | The Killers | New entry |
| 9 | Paradise | Coldplay | New entry |
| 10 | Clocks | Coldplay | New entry |
TV/ Film:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | Only Fools And Horses | Theme tune | Up two places |
| 2 | Last Of The Summer Wine | Theme tune | Non mover |
| 3 | Coronation Street | Theme tune | Down two places |
| 4 | Match Of The Day | Theme tune | New entry |
| 5 | Always Look On The Bright Side | Monty Python | Down one place |
| 6 | Bring Me Sunshine | Morecambe and Wise | Up four places |
| 7 | Cricket | Theme tune | New entry |
| 8 | Going Home | Hovis theme tune | Non mover |
| 9 | EastEnders | Theme tune | Down four places |
| 10 | Emmerdale | Theme tune | Down three places |
Country chart:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | I Will Always Love You | Dolly Parton | Non mover |
| 2 | Islands In The Stream | Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers | Non mover |
| 3 | Country Roads | Jon Denver | Non mover |
| 4 | 9-5 | Dolly Parton | New entry |
| 5 | If Tomorrow Never Comes | Garth Brooks | Up four places |
| 6 | Annie’s Song | Jon Denver | Down one place |
| 7 | Ring Of Fire | Johnny Cash | Non mover |
| 8 | When I Get Where I’m Going | Dolly Parton and Brad Paisley | New entry |
| 9 | Stand By Your Man | Dolly Parton | New entry |
| 10 | The Gambler | Kenny Rodgers | New entry |
Classical:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | Nimrod | Edward Elgar | Up one place |
| 2 | Time To Say Goodbye | Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman | Down one place |
| 3 | Canon in D | Pachelbel | Up one place |
| 4 | Ave Maria | Franz Schubert | Up three places |
| 5 | The Lark Ascending | Ralph Vaughan Williams | Up five places |
| 6 | Pie Jesu | Faure | Up three places |
| 7 | Adagio For Strings | Samuel Barber | Down one place |
| 8 | Air On A G String | Bach | New entry |
| 9 | Four Seasons | Vivaldi | Down four places |
| 10 | Claire De Lune | Claude Debussy | New entry |
RnB:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | I’ll Be Missing You | Puff Daddy | Non mover |
| 2 | I Miss You | Beyonce | New entry |
| 3 | One Sweet Day | Boys 2 men | Up one place |
| 4 | Dance With My Father Again | Luther Van Dross | Down two places |
| 5 | It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday | Boyz II Men | New entry |
| 6 | Killing Me Softly | The Fugees | New entry |
| 7 | Because I Got High | Afrojack | New entry |
| 8 | Blinded By Your Grace | Stormzy | New entry |
| 9 | Call Out My Name | The Weeknd | New entry |
| 10 | I’ll Be Missing You | Chaka Demus | New entry |
Jazz top 10:
| No | Song name | Artist | Movement since 2016 chart |
| 1 | What A Wonderful World | Louis Armstrong | Non mover |
| 2 | Ain’t No Sunshine | Bill Withers | New entry |
| 3 | In The Mood | Glenn Miller | Up 2 places |
| 4 | Smile | Nat King Cole | Non mover |
| 5 | When The Saints Go Marching In | Various | New entry |
| 6 | At Last | Etta James | New entry |
| 7 | Take 5 | Dave Brubeck | New entry |
| 8 | Unforgettable | Nat King Cole | New entry |
| 9 | The Thrill is Gone | BB King | New entry |
| 10 | Begin The Beguine | Artie Shaw | New entry |
