Night-Time A-List
On singing my baby to sleep each night...
I want to talk about the singing recital I give each night. The set list I am continually perfecting for my audience of one. I’d like to boast about the way I open the show with something upbeat and attention-grabbing — not so upbeat as to inspire dancing — just upbeat enough so my audience member doesn’t feel they are being lured into lying down — whilst simultaneously luring them into lying down. This performance, you see, is more challenging than any club gig or festival appearance, where the aim is simply to entertain and emotionally engage with the crowd. This performance has a tangible end goal, and, if I fail, an exhausting number of encores.
Once I’ve introduced a reliable rhythm, the trick is to both stick to it and break it up. To alternately settle and surprise. To establish a status quo without ever crossing the line into the perils of boredom. Only once my audience has been won over do I attempt — very slowly and with great caution — to wind down the pace, turn down volume and dumb down the lyrical content, until I have successfully induced a trance-like state of looped melodies and lyrical mantras. Then begins the world’s longest fadeout, after which, if I’m lucky, I can slip backstage and enjoy the drinks and snacks in my rider, my singing barely audible as I shut the door behind me. I have learnt to battle the temptation of ending with a bang, or leaving my loyal fan wanting more... I can say from experience that this is highly unadvisable.
In terms of material, I am not unlike like the station in Joni Mitchell’s You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio. The songs on heavy rotation are saccharine, nostalgic, a little bit corny… and it is very rare for a new song to enter the playlist. This is not BBC 6 Music; my listener wants the hits. I should clarify that bedtime has it’s very own cannon with little connection to the real world pop charts. I will list a sample of A-List tracks below for your perusal. Some choices are self-explanatory, for others I have no explanation.
There’s been a lot of talk this week about how touring is no longer sustainable. So many friends have had to cancel their long-awaited tours, either before setting off or mid-way through. I really hope we can come together to find solutions, so that when my private nightly concert bookings come to an end I can get back to ending with a bang and leaving you all wanting more…
Thank you and good night!
Night-Time A-List
(I’ve linked to live versions where possible. Enjoy!)
Riding In My Car - Woody Guthrie
Iko Iko - The Dixie Cups
Down Down Baby - Sesame Street
Oh Mister Sun - Raffi
How Much Is That Doggy In The Window - Patti Page
Lean On Me - Bill Withers
Black Hills Of Dakota - Doris Day
Golden Slumbers - The Beatles
The White Cliffs Of Dover - Vera Lynn
Ave Maria - Schubert
Emergency Encore: The Ugly Ducking - Danny Kaye
I love it!
"Always The Sun" used to put my oldest sun to sleep. Worked like a charm every time...or maybe he just wanted my horrible warbling to stop. lol.
An interesting song list. I too have done my share of singing out the kids. They are music lovers, so I obviously didn’t damage them :D