New York DJ

In our many years of DJ-ing all kinds of events in and around New York City - from fashion shows to weddings to corporate mixers to private parties - we've found that it's always good to throw in a few playful and fun songs that you can bet guests have not heard before, but can immediately like. The genre really doesn't matter, just as long as the song matches the mood of the event or the part of the event that's going on at the moment the song is played, and that there's something about it that makes the guests feel it - whether that means they dance to it, bounce their head a bit during a cocktail hour, or simply smile at it and wonder what the song is.

A reliable way to get this reaction in crowds at almost any kind of event is to mix something exotic with something familiar, and while this is often done through remixes or mash-ups, another great way to do it is by digging up gems of cover songs from the period from about 1950 to 1975, when it seemed a lot of Europe was madly recording their own versions of American rock and roll singles. While German, Polish, Italian and other foreign languages can sound at times great covering rock classics in that they can give them intriguing new atmospheres of many kinds, and while Spanish-language covers seem to always increase the festiveness of an original song, it seems that French covers, at least from this era, have a lock on pulling out from the original versions an impressive amount of both sexiness and playfulness at the same time, but also rarely go too far as to veer into kitsch or over-cutesiness. (Go here to listen to another great sexy French cover recommendation of ours.)

"Excuse Moi Partenaire", a French language cover by '60s French heart-throb Johnny Hallyday of a mid-tempo blues-tinged rock tune (originally recorded in 1963 by Johnny "Guitar" Watson, and called "Cuttin' In") is a prefect example of this. It's somewhat unfamiliar of a melody even to American ears, but has a warm, loose feel that's easy to find room inside to groove with and when you hear Hallyday smoothly croon the title of the song as its cocky first words (words easy to figure out even though they're in French: "Excuse me, partner"), you immediately will wonder where you've heard it - a Quentin Tarantino film? Some Paris lounge compilation CD? Maybe from your parents' record collection, but the American version of it? Whatever the case, it's hard not to be drawn into Hallyday's version of the song, which, like a lot French covers, conjures a more loungey, and suave mood out of the original (which, in in own right is great, go here to hear it) making it equally perfect for background music to tap your feet to while at the bar having a cocktail or sitting down eating dinner, but also for a sly late-night sway with your partner as a party's wrapping up.

Johnny Hallyday - Excuse Moi Partenaire

When we meet to talk with clients about music for their event, often the first thing we notice is that they've already dejectedly decided the music they really like and want to hear won't be able to be played at their event.

It may be a designer in a fashion show thinking that the music she wants to use for her fashion line will be too ethereal a sound to keep the audience interested. Or a couple who loves moody acoustic indie pop but thinks it would be too much of a downer to play a little at their wedding Or an organizer of a corporate party who worries that the employees won’t dance because they tend to like raw Southern hip-hop and their bosses wouldn’t. Whatever the case, whatever the event, it seems this kind of unfortunate premature musical censorship is everywhere.

It often comes from a good place of common sense or consideration, like an organizer at a art opening knowing that prospective buyers might not want to hear his beloved deep cuts of ‘70s classic rock all night long. But some of our clients’ decisions that their favorite songs or genres won’t work comes not from a good place at all, but instead from having met with conventional, unimaginative DJs that tend to work for bigger, more cookie-cutter DJ companies. We’ve heard from these clients that some of these DJs have told them straight up that the only way to get a party movin’ is to play disco all night.

Whatever the reason for clients' doubts in the music they love, one of the first things we tell them – no matter what their event –  is to open up their mind, revisit their CD collection or iPod, and make their “dream list” of songs they want to hear, with no censoring allowed. Put anything in you would love to hear. Not only does it make the process of selecting music easier, but also more fun. It will get you excited about the possibilities of hearing this music, as opposed to nixing songs right away and feeling frustrated that the soundtrack to the event is already not what you would like.

Now, will all these "dream songs" end up making the cut when the event arrives? Sometimes many of them do, sometimes they don't. But what always happens is that when we see these “dream lists” and talk a bit with the client to see what music is most important to them, we can then use our experience in knowing what of these songs will work given the mood that is wanted at the event, as well as what kind of guests will be there, and what kind of structure the event will have. Then we can suggest which songs to keep, which to think about not using. For example, a pair of melancholy indie songs at the more sedate moments in a wedding can feel absolutely right and even moving. So can a set of obscure hardcore punk during the more boisterous moments of a corporate party. And even a little experimental progressive rock can enhance the feeling of an art opening, if played at the right time.

By far, many more of the songs you really want at your event then you ever think you can play are actually able to be fit in, but not only that, they can be made to add to the atmosphere of the event. But to do it, you have to begin by letting the DJ know what you really want to hear. And if that DJ looks at your list, smirks, and says something about how you can't have a party without having "the Y" on your list, well, you know the time has come to find a different DJ.

At most kinds of events at which we perform, we’ll often mix in some bouncy “oldies” from the 50s or 60s, whether the genre is a major one like rock, soul and jazz, or is another, slightly lesser-played style, such as calypso, doo-wop or rockabilly.

We find that when we play these oldies, the songs tend to pleasantly surprise people and give the vibe of the event a touch of sentimentality and fun, as often it’s not just those in the crowd who remember when these the songs were released that will respond, but also those younger as well, as they may recall these classic songs from films or may simply enjoy the spirit of the time that the song evokes.

However, many oldies simply can feel stale due to decades of being overplayed, or from being overused in films and commercials. Sadly, one of the best examples of this is James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good).” When you hear that song these days, it probably brings to mind images of mundane household products like a Dustbuster instead of a vision of an awesome hip-shakin’ concert in the mid ’60s at the Apollo Theater. And while we find at events like weddings or corporate parties, yes, crowds tend to respond more to songs they know, there’s always room – especially at cocktail hour and dinner – for spinning a few oldies that are more obscure, as long as they have a great rhythm and melody.

Two lost gems from the mid-50’s that were ahead of their time and that sweeten the atmosphere of any event where there’s a bit of sentimentality involved like weddings, birthday or anniversary parties, and even some types of fashion shows, are “Little By Little” by Nappy Brown, and “Give a Little Time” by Ella Mae Morse. Both songs are short, fun bursts of bouncy melodic pop that measure up to any of the better-known rock and R & B classics of the time, and will make you think you’re suddenly hearing an undiscovered classic from, in the case of the former tune, a Caribbean-sounding Ray Charles, and, in the case of the latter, a rockabilly Ella Fitzgerald.

“Little By Little,” with its upbeat lyrics about a guy slowly but steadily falling in love, effortlessly blends touches of blues, gospel and R & B to come quite close to the sound of what in several years would become soul music. And while this early version of a soul-ish sound is impressive, on top of it, Brown and his musicians add in a touch of Caribbean calypso to the song, giving it a sunniness that makes it not just a soul precursor, but something all its own.

“Give a Little Time” (later titled “Give a Little Time to Your Lover”), a sassily-delivered piece of advice for the guys out there, also seamlessly fuses genres that at the time were just beginning by other artists to be blended into rock and roll. In this song, there’s a dash of swing backing rhythms, barbershop-quartet style crooner pop, R & B vocals, and even a revving up of some rockabilly-ish guitars here and there. What really makes the song memorable, though, is Morse’s smooth, silky, but at the same time crisp and powerful voice. When you hear how she belts out the chorus to the tune, you’ll wonder why she wasn’t ever a household name.

Have a listen to both…

Nappy Brown – Little By Little

Ella Mae Morse – Give a Little Time

Of all the music genres that come up at meetings with clients, country is the one that people we meet with are most scared of including at their event. Often it’s not because they hate it, but because they like it – some a little, some a lot – but are afraid to admit it. We’ve found that most people don’t lead with their affinity for anything country because they don’t have much confidence that it could be added to an event’s playlist in a way that won’t “kill” the party. They think that as soon as a country song is played, the guests are going to rush from the dancefloor, fearing the MC will begin an annoyingly enthusiastic announcement on how to do square dance moves as he puts on a red gingham western shirt and a cheap plastic cowboy hat.

It's understandable. Most people who only know a little about country fear that obnoxious, campy, Hee-Haw image and the corny country sound that they associate with it, one of blistering banjoes and hillbilly drawls. But from DJ-ing events for many years, we're familiar with country both old and new and know that there's plenty of great country tunes out there – especially vintage ones (some you've likely never heard, some you've likely forgotten you liked) – that have nothing corny about their sound at all. Instead, the much more understated twang of these country songs can add a charm and some can even add an edgy, badass feel to celebrations.

While it is true that in and around New York City country isn’t the most popular type of music requested or played, most clients we work with usually have a few country artists they want to hear. These tend to be vintage country artists whose songs and reputations have aged well, like Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson, or artists that have some “indie cred” or have veered into pop music, like Lyle Lovett or Ryan Adams. But often, too, we get the request for full-on, pure country – from the intimate, unpolished heartache of Patsy Cline, to the big, slick sing-a-long anthems of Alan Jackson.

Just because clients around our metropolitan area tend to be selective about their taste in country music, however, doesn’t mean it has to be quarantined to a single song played at a slightly lesser volume at a time in an event when a particular song choice is less noticeable, like a cocktail hour or dinner. At most events, a few country requests both old or new can be played at any time – even during the prime dancing time of the event.

But with country music, at least here in New York City, consider your guests a bit if you’d like to hear more than a few songs here and there. If you’re thinking you’d like a lot of country at your event and you’re not sure if your guests are also country fans (and country isn’t an overt event theme), it likely will exclude more guests than other more generally universal genres of music such as Top 40, indie pop/rock, hip-hop, Motown, or soul. So, just make sure to think about your guests' tastes, and, if you have and you’re still not sure, do a little field research and ask them if they’d enjoy it. You might find more country fans that are coming to your event than you thought.

If, like many clients we work with, you want only a few country songs of varying intensity played throughout the night (say, a few sentimental, and a few that are more danceable), you should not be shy to insist these be on your playlist. They key here is, unlike with types of music that are more universal in the city and the surrounding area, make sure to ask the DJ if he or she is comfortable DJ-ing country. Ask the DJ if they know it well, and if they know a certain country music era more than another. Some DJs know newer, very popular country “party” songs, but know little of vintage country tunes that can also get a crowd movin.'

If you have a DJ who does know country, he or she will know what other country songs (or, sometimes a bluegrass song, an alt-country song, a southern rock tune, or even a pop song with a country influence) to put around it in the moment they're playing it so that you and your crowd will be pleased and the song(s) won't sound out of place. If your DJ doesn’t know country as well as you do (and if you know how your guests will react to certain songs), you may have to do a little coaching, such as dictating what songs on your list you want played approximately when. For example, you might explain that certain country “flashback” songs from the '70s work great for dancing toward the end of the night, when people have had some drinks and have loosened up, but these won't go over that well at the start of prime-time dancing – at least around these here parts.

Another thing that prevents clients we've met with from including country in their events is they simply don't know enough of it that they like beyond a few songs. So, to help introduce you to some accessible, fun, and often simply just cool and badass country music, I've made an iMix of 30 songs of vintage country tunes that contains a wide variety of artists and moods from the genre, from roughly 1950 to 1980. (A post about, and a list of, newer country songs will be coming soon.)

I’ve tried to exclude songs you already probably know would go over well for guests, like many hits of Johnny Cash (“Ring of Fire,” “I Walk the Line”) and Hank Williams (“Hey, Good Lookin’”), Tammy Wynette (“Stand By Your Man”) as well as some later hits that are often played at events, like “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by the Charlie Daniels Band. But some of the aforementioned artists’ lesser-known songs are included in the mix, such as Cash’s rockabilly-tinged “Get Rhythm,” the ramshackle swing of Williams’ “Move It On Over” (which would be covered more aggressively later by George Thorogood), and Wynette’s equally sly, sweet and sexy “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad,” the chorus of which I hope will pleasantly stick in you head and make you wonder with me why it’s not a more of a first-tier country classic. But there's also some songs are from artists you may not be very familiar with, like Faron Young or Buck Owens, but don't let that scare you. These lesser-known songs have been carefully picked because I think they'll be very instantly likeable to even non-country fans – most of these tight retro tunes have a rockabilly or pop influence, and will grab you right away since they have fun lyrics, catchy melodies, and infectious rhythms.

Now, anyone who is even remotely familiar with country knows that it has a long and proud history of capturing, among many other things, lovin' gone bad, cheatin' hearts, the truck drivin' life, lamenting crappy jobs, and the solace found in drinkin' until your tears drop into your beer. In this mix, though, I’ve tried to keep those subjects – that, not suprisingly, result in largely downbeat songs – to a minimum. This mix showcases country songs of a variety of upbeat moods – whether it be swingin,' rockin,' tender, whimsical, jubilant, and some that blend some of these moods together.

That said, it's hard to put together a list of country songs and not include any songs about break-ups, infidelity, 18-wheelers, ungrateful bosses, and beer, so these subjects do make their appearance here and there – but with a tempo that will make you tap your toes or dance. Rest assured, though: In this mix, there are no ballads about the loss of a beloved pet dog, loving one’s truck more than a woman, or, most fortunately, ballads about the loss of a beloved truck.

Finally, I've included, especially toward the bottom of the mix, some vintage country songs from the early to mid '70s that we've found work great for dancing during the end of events, often at ones even where country music isn't featured much. Keep in mind, though, that the end of an event is the time when you have had a few (or more) drinks, have been bonding with friends or family or both for several hours, and it’s often the late evening. All this tends to take away the desire to act cool and aloof, and instead makes it easier for some guests to get in touch with their childhood love for Smokey and the Bandit when they hear a certain theme song about heading eastbound, or to display their inner hoe-downer when the fiddles of a famous bespectacled singer from Colorado kick in and he starts expressing his gratefulness to the Lord that he's a rural youth. 

Overall, hopefully this mix will introduce you to – and maybe re-introduce you to – some excellent, very likable vintage country songs that will add just the right dash of sexy drawl, festive twang, and outlaw attitude to your event.

Listen to the mix here.