Happy belated fourth of July, everyone! I actually DJ-ed that night, and spent most of my weekend tracking down patriotic music for dancing rather than writing this blog post. Thankfully, Christina Austin kept things going here with this awesome post on following. In addition to patriotic dance tunes, I also picked up some songs during my adventures at Stompology in Rochester.
Patriotic Songs:
- “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” - Terri Stevens. I love this song, but had a hard time finding a good version for dancing. This was the best I found, but I’m still looking for better if anyone has any suggestions.
- “Bill Bailey (Live at the Crescendo)” – Ella Fitzgerald. A classic that I was missing from my collection.
- “Canteen Bounce” – Henry Busse Orchesrtra. As an instrumental tune, there’s nothing about it that says patriotic tune other than the title, but its still a good high-energy track.
- “Barracks’ Blues” – Jack Teagarden Orchestra. Nice mid-tempo WWII song.
- “Yankee Doodle” – Jack Teagarden. Rippin’ fast tune for jammin perhaps?
- “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” – Glenn Miller. Swings hard, great familiar tune. This is probably my favorite new patriotic find.
- “Shh, It’s a Military Secret” – Glenn Miller. The arrangement is really thin in the beginning which makes it a little rough for DJ-ing at a dance, but if you’re doing a patriotic set it could be useful.
- “Thanks Mr. Roosevelt” – Harry Leader & His Band. Suffers a little from the recording technology of the day, but clean enough to play and a great tune.
- “You’re a Grand Old Flag” – Barrel Fingers Barry. Probably not a song for everyone, but if you like a raucous piano tune, this one will fit the bill.
- “V-Day Stomp” – The Four Clefs.
Other Songs This Month:
- “Nothing to Do” - Felicia Carter & Amy Shook. This duo’s new album was featured on NPR recently. I heard it right before our Friday night dance, downloaded it immediately, and played it that night. Total NPR win.
- “Love Me or Leave Me” - Benny Goodman. Classic and simple. A very straight forward arrangement, but the solo work is really lovely. This piece really highlights how less is more with good editing.
- “Hit That Jive Jack” – Shout Sister Shout. This song is often really fast for dancing. I love the tune, so I went hunting for a good, comfy tempo version.
- “L-O-V-E” – Nat King Cole. Those who know me well know my deep love of Nat. I was mortified to discover this was missing from my collection of 350 songs by Nat.
- “On the Sunny Side of the Street” – Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, & Sonny Stitt. A classic recording that I’ve loved for a while, and finally tracked down.
- “I’ll Always Be In Love With You” – Benny Goodman. I’ve known this tune for a while, but listening to this recording made me want to learn it better.
- “The Things We Did Last Summer” – George Shearing Quintet and Nancy Wilson. Slow and mellow, but with a solid swing, some interesting rhythms, and phenomenal vocals. Nancy Wilson’s phrasing is ridiculous.
- “I Wanna Do Bad Things With You” – Katie Campbell & Dominik Hauser. I’ve never seen an episode of True Blood, but I’m already enamored with this theme song!
- “Green Onions” – Booker T & the MG’s. This has the same feel as “Moondance” for me, with a little more laid back energy.
I hope you enjoy all of these finds. And always remember, sharing is caring. . .so throw a little love my way with some of your favorite finds.
