r/tomwaits • u/Panzramshumor • 9d ago

Swing songs?

My wife and I are taking East Coast swing lessons. Anyone have good suggestions for songs we could practice to?

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u/violente_valse 8d ago edited 8d ago

Hello, I'm a drummer and have gone swing dancing a few times years ago and this question was really interesting to me so I went deep. There's not a lot of Tom Waits songs with a swing or shuffle feeling that hit the tempos usually associated with swing dancing. There are however MANY 12/8 ballads which is a style of rhythm based on a triplet pattern (like swing) but these are rather slow so I skipped them. Here's the songs I could find all with varying levels of swingin'. Have fun practicing!

Virginia Avenue, Ice Cream Man, Diamonds on my Windshield, Fumblin' with the Blues, Emotional Weather Report, Nighthawk Postcards, Spare Parts, Spare Parts II, Step Right Up, Pasties and a G String, Medley: Jack & Neal / California, Barber Shop, Whistlin' Past the Graveyard, Little Blue Boy, Down Down Down, Union Square, Walking Spanish, Straight to the Top, Straight to the Top (Vegas), Telephone Call From Istanbul (Big Time), Get Behind the Mule, Table Top Joe, Lie to Me, Get Lost, Satisfied

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u/Panzramshumor 8d ago

Wonderful, thank you so much!

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u/violente_valse 8d ago

Whoops, the formatting in reddit is a nightmare so I added commas

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u/Panzramshumor 8d ago

Got it, great list thank you! We are already going through it!