Surprised by Joy

As I got into the car late Saturday afternoon for a drive home from Philadelphia, my only question was how far I could go before I’d have to pull over for the night. I’d just finished six tennis singles matches in five days, including two that day. I was really only thinking about two things: dehydration and cramping.

The last thing I expected was eight hours of joy.

Great music makes me wanna… (photo from Austin Schmid, Unsplash)

Since I put together my crowdsourced playlists a few months ago (see this earlier post – thanks to so many of you for helping me fill it out), I’ve been dabbling with them. I’ll turn on “pump” when I am doing a workout. The “passion” list is strangely good for making dinner. I love the selections on my “sad” list but I haven’t wanted to dwell there much.  

But earlier on Saturday, just before I played my second match, I’d dialed up the “happy” list to get some energy. Three hours later when I collapsed into the car and plugged in my phone, it started up again.

And then for the next eight hours, I was reminded of how much joy music can bring. Dang if it doesn’t always find a way to “restoreth my soul.”

There are eight hours of music on the playlist and I don’t know that I can locate any single reason when these songs give me such joy. Sometimes it is being able to hear how delighted the singers and players are on the track. Sometimes it’s the lyrics – almost all of the songs are unashamedly optimistic. Sometimes it is remembering the moment I first heard the song or people I associate it with.

But they collectively made me so happy I wanted to offer you just 25 of the 120 songs I just listened to for the next time you have a long road trip, feel down, or just need a break. Making this cut-down list was painful for me. To do it I eliminated any recording I thought might ever have been in the top 10 (a lot of these are covers; some originals are listed as a PS) and picked only one song per artist.

So now your part. Pick any 5 of these at random, including at least 3 you haven’t heard before. Then let me know how they made you feel -- what you liked and didn’t, or share your favorite “happy” song that isn’t on this list.

Here we go (please try the version I am suggesting).  

The funkiest, funnest version of “Stand by Me” lives here

Stand By Me - Johnny Adams (in the “Best of New Orleans Volume I” version, the drummer and Johnny are feeding gold to each other)

Fishies – Cat Empire

Mack the Knife – Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffett (they recorded in different studios, but this is really fun)

Small is Tremendous – Zoe Lewis

Hit the Road Jack – Mo’ Horizons

How I Love You – Loudon Wainwright III

Over the Rainbow – Iz (ignore the lyrics on this one – had to have one ukulele song)

I’ll Never See You Smile Again – Earl Klugh, Bob James

Dance With Who Brung Ya – Asleep at the Wheel

Possibly the most unlikely group to cover a reggae classic

No Woman No Cry -- Nenes (from Okinawa)

New World Symphony (2nd movement) – Dvorak, London Symphony

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy – Bette Midler

I Want You Back (Motown Remix) --  Jackson 5 (shows what a good remix can do)

Baroque and Blue – Claude Bolling, Jean Pierre Rampal (they are having so much fun)

Barcelona – Ottmar Liebert

La Donna e Mobile – Three Tenors (the closing note!)

Oh What a Beautiful Morning – Ray Charles, Count Basie

Java Jive – Manhattan Transfer

Walk on the Wild Side – Albert Pla ((El Lado Mas Bestia) (another cover that is super fun)

You Gotta Have Skin – John Lithgow (if I could ever write one lyric this good…)

The Swan -- Yo Yo Ma, St. Saens

A Taste Of Honey – Herb Albert (I remember how happy it made my father!)

Nothin’s Too Good for My Baby – Louis Prima, Keely Smith

On the Sunny Side of the Street – Louis Armstrong (leaving out 4 Louis performances I heard on the ride home; I could listen to his Decca recordings for an hour easily)

Toure Kinda reimagine “In the Air Tonight” in this recording

Nobel (In the Air Tonight) – Toure Kinda (hypnotic drums)

In his autobiography Surprised By Joy, C.S. Lewis tries to describe the feeling of “joy,” a sensation so intense it cannot be described by words, something “distinct not only from pleasure in general but even from aesthetic pleasure. It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing.” For him, it is a word that captures his spiritual experience.

So it may sound strange to use that word to describe what these songs do to me (especially when some are just silly), but that’s another thing about joy – mine may not be yours.

So why am I sharing these songs? What this music and these artists do makes me feel newly, excitedly alive. I hope a few of them may do the same for you.

Have a great listen!

-Leslie

References:

Psalm 23:3

Surprised by Joy: https://www.amazon.com/Surprised-Joy-Shape-Early-Life/dp/0062565435

PS:Some top 10 songs on the list give me joy, but that my rules made me cut:

Valerie – Amy Winehouse (3:39 version; the drums!)

Love Shack – B-52’s

Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher – Jackie Wilson

Singin’ in the Rain – Gene Kelly (you have to imagine the dance that goes with it – or just take 4:17 to watch here)

I Say a Little Prayer – Aretha Franiklin (( have the Dione Warwick version too; this one edges it out)

Don’t Worry Be Happy – Bobby McFerrin (deceptively a capella)

Too Much Fun – Darryle Singletary

U Can’t Touch This – MC Hammer

I Can See Clearly Now – Johnny Nash (only song on the list with an accordion…)

Calm Down – Rema, Selena Gomez

Walking on Sunshine -- Katrina and the Waves

On Broadway (live version) – George Benson (everybody on this recording was just happy to be there)

Pink Panther Theme – Henry Mancini (of an era, but total 60’s cool)