If you’ve ever gone out on a Tuesday night in Kingston, chances are you’ve ended up at Mod Club. If not, I would highly recommend it. For me, the oldies songs that are played are a welcome change in pace, if not even preferable, to the R&B and rap hits usually played during a night out. It definitely spurred me to browse older music rather than only sticking with current hits, although most of the older hits are classics in their own right and are still well known today. In the spirit of pretending I belong in an era far before my own, here are just a few of my favourites from my “Jukebox Tunes” Spotify playlist.
Photo from Pixabay
50’s
Frank Sinatra frequents this list, and for good reason. Most of his songs are still recognizable today by their swingy jazz, and his relaxed style makes for easy listening. Overall, The 50’s genre is slow, dreamy, and full of romance; I find myself turning to these songs every once in a while for background music when studying. I’ll also fully admit that having watched that Grey’s Anatomy episode, I couldn’t not add “My Funny Valentine”. If you know, you know.
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“I’ll Never Smile Again” – Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra & The Pied Pipers
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“Fly Me to the Moon” – Frank Sinatra
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“You Make Me Feel So Young” – Frank Sinatra
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“Come Rain or Come Shine” – Ray Charles
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“Put Your Head on My Shoulder” – Paul Anka & Joe Sherman
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“My Funny Valentine” – Ella Fitzgerald
Photo from Pixabay
60’s
The 60’s are known as the beginning of rock. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones are usually what people first think of in reference to 60’s music. The decade brought new sounds and huge musical variety to the forefront, making this list much livelier than the previous one.
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“Here Comes the Sun” – The Beatles
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“Blackbird” – The Beatles
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“Twist and Shout” – The Beatles
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“Sympathy for the Devil” – The Rolling Stones
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“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – Marvin Gaye
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“My Girl” – The Temptations
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“Unchained Melody” – The Righteous Brothers
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“Stand by Me” – Ben E. King
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“Hooked on a Feeling” – Blue Swede, Bjorn Skifs
Photo from Unsplash
70’s
It was nearly impossible to narrow down a list of my favourite 70’s songs; half of them could easily be Queen alone. Needless to say, the 70’s has a catalogue jam packed with hits. A few standouts are “September” (a.k.a. the grooviest song of all time) and “Sunshine on My Shoulders”, which is the musical equivalent to a summer breeze.
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“September” – Earth Wind and Fire
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“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – Elton John & Kiki Dee
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“Dancing Queen” – ABBA
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“Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen
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“Dreams” – Fleetwood Mac
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“December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)” – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
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“Superstition” – Stevie Wonder
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“Best of My Love” – The Emotions
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“Play that Funky Music” – Wild Cherry
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“Listen to the Music” – The Doobie Brothers
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“Midnight Train to Georgia” – Gladys Knight & The Pips
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“Reminiscing” – Little River Band
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“50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” – Paul Simon
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“Top of the World” – Carpenters
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“Sunshine on My Shoulders” – John Denver
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“Fire and Rain” – James Taylor