What’s the “Best” Swing Music to Buy?
by Cindy Gardner
That’s a great question. There are many styles of music that are good for swing dancing!
First of all, stick with the style of music that you like. That might sound obvious, but the guy standing next to you at a
dance might recommend his favorite jazz artist, and you’re really a rockabilly-baby at heart. Go for your favorite style,
one that’s easy for you to hear the beat. Many styles of music have tunes that are good for swing dancing, including jazz,
rockabilly, big band, jump blues, country, early rock-&-roll and more!
Before you shop, determine your budget. If you keep the purse strings pretty tight, you probably want to buy just a few
CDs or tunes online. Do your research first so that you get lots of value for your purchases.
It’s pretty standard and reasonable to find pricing at about $1 per tune. For example, $15 for a CD with 15 tunes is a
good deal. If there are 10 tracks and they’re charging $20, it’s a little chintzy. If there are 20 tracks and they’re charging
$12, snap it up!
For CDs or albums, think about how many of the tunes will be danceable. Let’s get some perspective. When bands
produce albums, they’re usually doing it for themselves, not for dancers. You may really like dancing to a particular band,
but their CD may have a mix of ultra-fast, ultra-slow, Latin and other non-swing-danceable tunes. Ask your dance friends
about the music styles and tempos of songs on an album you think might be good.
Generally speaking, I’m pretty happy if at least half of the tunes are danceable. I’m ecstatic if over 75% is danceable, and
I’m disappointed if I can dance to only a few tunes. If you like the artist a lot, you might not care if most of the CD isn’t
danceable because you’ll spend many happy hours listening to it. But keep that in mind, so you don’t get ticked off later
because it’s not so danceable!
There are a number of resources for music. Locally, the Electric Fetus is great. They’ll have just about everything,
including and especially local artists. And what they don’t have they will happily order for you.
For the budget-conscious, check out the used CD shops like CD Warehouse (http://www.cdwarehouse.com/stores.html)
and Cheapos (www.cheapodiscs.com ). Their pricing is low, low, low! And since their product is used, the CDs have
already been opened and you can listen to them before deciding if you want to buy.
Here are a few “starter” CDs that I will happily recommend to new dancers who need a starting place:
Metropolitan, Steve Clarke & the Working Stiffs The Working Stiffs swing hard and hot, jammin’ and jivin’ their way
into your dancing shoes. The mix of jump blues and jazz with Steve’s golden saxophone is a favorite with the dancers.
HOT – Charmin Michelle featuring Doug Haining & the TC Seven This local line-up of solid gold musicians includes
vocalist Charmin Michelle who’s popular with dancers and jazz lovers alike. The majority of the arrangements are by
Doug Haining, giving this album a very Minnesota flavor with plenty of ballads, Latin tunes and swing, baby, swing!
Really Swingin’ – Frankie Manning’s Big Band Favorites, Compilation This CD features great original big band
music from the ‘30s and ‘40s, hand-picked by Frankie Manning, so you know it’s great for dancing! It features a wide
range of tempos that’s nice for practicing different moves at different speeds.
Best of Swing, Compilation Lots of value for the dollar with this one – and the music is great. It’s hot traditional big
band, by the best artists of the swing era.
Swing Dance Special, Compilation This is a jump blues collection that’s mostly danceable.
On the next page are some tunes that have a decently recognizable ground rhythm (the underlying, steady beat that
holds the song together). For beginning dancers, tempos between 110 and 130 beats per minute (bpm) are good for
practicing Lindy Hop, and tempos between 145 to 165 bpm are good for East Coast Swing. These are guidelines, not
hard and fast rules – everyone learns differently and you might find that faster or slower tempos work better for you. 
Good Practice Songs
100 – 110 beats per minute
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
On the Sunny Side of the Street
Frim Fram Sauce
Java Jive
Java Jive
I Want to be Seduced
Hard Hearted Hannah
Artist
Charmin Michelle
Charmin Michelle
Diana Krall
Ink Spots
Manhattan Transfer
Rob Rio
Toni Tennille
Album
Hot
Welcome Home
Stepping Out
Those Wonderful Years
Swing
Boogie Woogie Valentine
Things Are Swingin’
110 – 120 beats per minute
Dream a Little Dream of Me
Rock Me To Sleep
Come on Over to my House
Popsicle Toes
Wade in the Water
C.C. Rider
Gimme A Pigfoot
Dream of You
My Baby Just Cares For Me
Satisfy My Soul
Artist
Candye Kane
Charmin Michelle
Charmin Michelle
Diana Krall
Eva Cassidy
Gene Harris
LaVerne Baker
Mills Brothers
Nina Simone
The Senders with Charmin Michelle
Album
Swango
Hot
Welcome Home
When I Look in Your Eyes
Songbird
Black and Blue
LaVerne Sings Bessie Smith
Juke Box Jamboree
My Baby Just Cares For Me
Jumpin’ Uptown
120 – 130 beats per minute
Baby Won’t You Please Come Home
Stormy Monday
Shoe Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
Fine Brown Frame
On the Sunny Side of the Street
Up A Lazy River
As Long As I Live
Don’t Shout at Me Daddy
Artist
Charmin Michelle
Gene Harris
June Christy
Lou Rawls
Louis Armstrong
Michael Buble
Nichola Miller
The Senders with Charmin Michelle
Album
Welcome Home
Down Home Blues
Painted Rhythm
The Legendary Lou Rawls
The Original Jazz Masters
Babalu
Live at the Dakota
Jumpin’ Uptown
130 – 140 beats per minute
Lazy River
Bli Blip
Destination Moon
Love Me or Leave Me
Ain’t That A Kick in the Head
Honeysuckle Rose
Lavender Coffin
I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water
Stray Cat Strut
Artist
Bobby Darin
Charmin Michelle
Charmin Michelle
Charmin Michelle
Dean Martin
Eva Cassidy
Lionel Hampton
Lou Rawls
Stray Cats
Album
Mack the Knife
Hot
Destination Moon
Destination Moon
The Capitol Years
Live at Blues Alley
Midnight Sun
The Legendary Lou Rawls
Runaway Boys
140 – 150 beats per minute
I Wished on the Moon
On the Sunny Side of the Street
Fine Brown Frame
On Revival Day
I Still Get Jealous
Moondance
Alright Okay You Win
Sunday Soulful Supper
Artist
Charmin Michelle
Diana Krall
Johnny Nocturn with Kim Nalley
LaVern Baker
Louis Armstrong
Michael Buble
Toni Tennille
Wessell Anderson
Album
Destination Moon
Stepping Out
Million Dollar Secret
LaVern Sings Bessie Smith
All-Time Greatest Hits
Michael Buble
Things Are Swingin’
Ways of Warmdaddy
150 – 160 beats per minute
Streamliner
On the Street Where You Live
Just A Gigolo
Come By Me
Another Day in L.A.
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
The Glow Worm
Stormy Weather
So Good
Artist
Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra
Charmin Michelle
Drew’s Famous Swing Party
Harry Connick, Jr.
Indigo Swing
Michael Buble
Mills Brothers
Royal Crown Review
The Senders with Charmin Michelle
Album
Calling All Jitterbugs
Welcome Home
Drew’s Famous Swing Party
Come By Me
Red Light
Michael Buble
The Very Best of the Mills Brothers
The Contender
Jumpin’ Uptown
160 – 170 beats per minute
My Mother’s Son-In-Law
Swing Brother Swing
Boogie Blues
Love Me or Leave Me
Now Baby or Never
Your Red Wagon
Artist
Charmin Michelle
Charmin Michelle
Gene Krupa
Nina Simone
The Senders
The Senders with Charmin Michelle
Album
Destination Moon
Destination Moon
Time Life Big Bands
My Baby Just Cares For Me
Bar Room Blues
Jumpin’ Uptown