Jukebox Hero

You’re at a bar, and there’s a jukebox. It’s not one of those old-school, charming jukeboxes with a limited selection of classic albums to play. Nay, sir, it’s one of those digitized ones, where you can play pretty much anything, from Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 to Sam Cooke’s Live at the Harlem Square Club. With such a range of options available, picking a song is rather daunting. What would fit the mood of the establishment? Or, better yet, what would keep the mood but bring all of the patrons to bob their heads and connect with the music?

DJs are familiar with this problem, and, if good, know how to solve it. But I’m not a DJ. And, for now, let’s assume that neither are you. What do we common, music-loving folk do?

I found myself in such a situation tonight. People’s jukebox choices created a playlist that consisted primarily of the Grateful Dead, country music, and country-tinged classic rock (à la the Allman Brothers). And, just like at every other bar these days, there was a dose of Michael Jackson. I thought through my options—I really wanted to drop a dollar to play the perfect song for the occasion. But, I’m afraid to say I failed. I froze up, and couldn’t think of a single song that fit my demanding terms. What did I know that was country-tinged, yet head-bobbingly good? I thought of the Band, I thought of Skynyrd, I thought of Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline. Nothing seemed to satisfy the parameters in play. So, my dollar stayed in my wallet, and the playlist remained in the hands of others.

Frankly, I was being silly. My parameters were much too constricting. I should have simply played a song that I loved and hoped that—but not cared whether—others enjoyed the song as well. Here are a few songs that I could have chosen (they certainly evidence my enduring obsession with soul music):

Sam Cooke – Tennessee Waltz (YSI) (filesavr)
Stevie Wonder – Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours (YSI) (filesavr)
Blue Oyster Cult – Cities on Flame with Rock n’ Roll (YSI) (filesavr)

How about you? When you find yourself in such a situation, what songs do you choose in order to be the best jukebox hero that you can be?