SONGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE

I was driving around the Berkshires a few days ago, scanning radio stations looking for something to listen to when the song “Afternoon Delight” came on. Even though I wasn’t that crazy about it when it first came out, I found myself smiling, and even singing along.

I couldn’t stop grinning.

So last night when I needed something to help me fall back to sleep after being woken up by some loud voices in the alley between my bedroom window and the Indian restaurant next door, I came up with an alphabet list of songs that make me smile when I hear them:

AFTERNOON DELIGHT (Starland Band?)
BLUE MOON (Elvis Presley’s Sun Session version, when he kind of yodels in falsetto)
CLOUDBURST (Lambert, Hendricks & Ross)
DON’T LET IT BOTHER YOU (Fats Waller)
EPISTROPHY (Eric Dolphy on his LAST DATE lp)
FILTHY MCNASTY (Horace Silver’s original recording)
GHOST OF A CHANCE (Thelonious Monk solo)
HARD NEW YORK DAYS (aka SAINTS, by Terence Winch and Celtic Thunder)
I’VE GOT A GAL IN KALAMAZOO (the original Glen Miller band recording)
JUMPIN’ AT THE SAVOY (Count Basie’s version)
KICK OUT THE JAMS (MC5)
LAY IT DOWN (Lonnie Mack)
MY FOOLISH HEART (Bill Evans version on his WALTZ FOR DEBBY lp)
NEARNESS OF YOU, THE (Nat Adderly on his NAT TO THE IVY LEAGUE lp)
OOH CHILD (The Five Stairsteps)
PURE IMAGINATION (from the original Willy Wonka with Gene Wilder)
QUEEN OF THE SLIPSTREAM (Van Morrison)
ROCKY RACCOON (The Beatles)
SO WHAT (from Miles Davis KINDA BLUE lp)
'TIS A GIFT TO BE SIMPLE (the Shaker song incorporated into Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring)
UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF LOVE (Barry White and Love Unlimited)
VOLARE OH OH (? Can’t remember his name)
WINDY (The Association)
X?
YOUV’E GOT A FRIEND (Carole Kibng’s vocal on her song)
ZIPPITY-DOO-DAH (Johnny Mercer’s vocal on his tune)

I can think of others as well, but what about you? Any songs that always make you smile when you hear them?