Song Spotlights

Mood: Optimistic  Themes: Jobs, Changes in Life, and Rock and Roll Tempo: Slow start to Up-beat Genre/Style: R&B/Soul Before her stunning comeback solo career, Tina Turner was known for the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. Starting in the late 1950s, the group made step after step towards fame, recording many songs and touring widely, including…

Mood: Cheerful  Themes: Travel Tempo: Medium Genre/Style: Country Here’s a great song to celebrate travel, at any time of year.  This song is also a great start to dreaming up all of the places you could possibly go.  In 1959, an Australian songwriter named Geoff Mack wrote this tune to highlight many Australian towns. It…

Mood: Contemplative, Sweet Themes: Love, Dreaming Tempo: Slow Genre/Style: Jangle Pop, 1950s Having beautiful experiences to dream about or something special to look forward to can boost our outlook on current life circumstances. Daydreaming about things we enjoy can give us a much needed rest from attending to all of the things that can be…

Mood: Peaceful, Love Themes: Musicals, Love Songs Tempo: Slow Genre/Style: Musicals Musicals come in all shapes and sizes. Musicals combine the elements of acting, singing songs that detail the story, spoken dialogue, and dancing. The stories convey a wide range of emotions and are sometimes adapted from book and plays. Musicals can be based around…

Mood: Wistful, Excited Themes: Musicals, Marni Nixon Tempo: Up-Beat Genre/Style: Musical When watching musicals and films, a lot happens behind the scenes to create movie magic. Some of these tricks are scene edits and cuts, creating mystical words, and even changing whose voice is heard in the film. Enter Marni Nixon, a professional singer whose…

Mood: Cheerful, Optimistic Themes: Colors, Weather, Moods Tempo: Upbeat Genre/Style: Progressive Pop The bright blue sky after days of gray and cloudy days can feel like a fresh, bright start to a new day and can set a cheerful and optimistic tone for the rest of the day and sometimes even the week. We can…

Mood: Contemplative, Joy Themes: Weather, Happiness Tempo: Slow Genre/Style: Country/Folk Sunshine is necessary for the survival and well being of all living things. We as humans depend on the sun to make vitamin D and being out in the sunshine (with proper sun protection) can promote good mental health. John Denver’s song “Sunshine On My…

Mood: Cute, Relaxed  Themes: Love, Letters of the Alphabet Tempo: Relaxed, Slow Genre/Style: 1940s Popular song There are many different kinds of love songs that have been written over the years. Some tell of heartbreak, while others tell of unending love. This particular song is a lighthearted ditty that is cute and communicates the light…

Mood: Empowerment Themes: Identity, Strength Tempo: Moderate Genre/Style: Dance-pop Cher is an American singer, actress, and a television personality, who has been in the arts industry for six decades. Cher has been referred to as the “Goddess of Pop,” and has journeyed through a variety of styles of music and has sold over 100 million…

Mood: Reflective, Happy Themes: Reminiscing, Through the Years Tempo: Moderate Genre/Style: Soft Rock  Engaging in positive reminiscence can give opportunities to share stories and create space to share legacies. Humorous memories and meaningful stories can also bring a smile to everyone’s face involved. Our song spotlight encapsulates the feelings that come from looking back at…