April's just about over, let's Sing, Sing, Sing! :)

✯ Day 120 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

We made it through - all the way through - the rain drenched, often unpredictable month of April. I don't know how the last thirty days progressed for most of you, but on this end (as eluded to in yesterday's post), April was a bit of a dozy.

It was one of those months that feels more uncertain with each passing day. It was busy and stressful, long and far too grey (weather wise), but - as is nearly always the case - it could have been worse, and we pulled through, so there's little sense in focusing on what's already behind us.

While I suspect that May will have its rough spots, too, with a smidge of luck, it will prove to be a more pleasant month than April. The Toronto area is often treated to plenty of wild, powerful thunder and lightning storms in May, which should help to give the air - and perhaps my own energy levels - a deeply needed jolt of pep!

Should the forecasted storms fail to do the trick though, I know that I can always rely on some of my favourite vintage big band songs to do the trick. Seriously, when I feel like I've got the energy levels of a slug that's just done the Iron Man, I've long relied on music - shortlisted from a selection that spans the decades - to, metaphorically speaking, toss a much needed dose of ice water in my face and wake me right up.

I'm not alone in this, by any means. Music is renowned for its ability to affect one's mood, whether we want to chill out, wake up, or just feel happy (amongst the many states music can help put us in).

Beyond any doubt, my absolute favourite big band song of all time is Sing, Sing, Sing. I fell in love with this stellar climatic song as a very small child and have adorned it ever since (I used to put on my pink poodle skirt as a youngster - albeit blending decades there a touch - and pop around the living room to that tune all the time, recruiting anyone within reach - from my little brother to my girlfriends - to be swing dance partners with me).

 

Amongst the most beloved and well known songs of the big band era, Sing, Sing, Sing hails from 1936, when it was first recorded by Louis Prima and the New Orleans Gang. However it is Benny Goodman's classic 1937 rendition (as seen in the delightful vintage video clip above) that is perhaps the best known of all the recordings of this vivacious, toe-tapping song.

It never fails to wake me, put a smile on my face, and leave me yearning to swing dance around the living room again, as though I were a six year old once more. I'm grateful for the power of music and the fact that this awesome art form is able to lift my spirits so easily.

When life has taken the wind out of your sails, sweet dears, what kind of lively old school songs do you crank up to help revive your dwindled energy reserves?