Good Country West Coast Music?

V

vegas4x4

New Member
I'm looking for some suggestions from members for good country west coast swing music. Most country music doesn't seem to west coast too well, but since I mainly go out to the country joints, I have to find some better west coast music. A good tempo is all I really need, but also music with breaks and accents is a big plus.

Some of the stuff I'll west coast too:

Steam by Ty Herndon
My Give A Damn's Busted by Jo Dee Messina
Black Velvet by Alanna Myles

Also any of the cha cha songs, which aren't the best, but better than nothing! Songs like Kelly Pickler's Red High Heels or Gary Alan's Smoke Rings in the Dark.

Any other good suggestions?

Thanks!

Jeff
 
Bonnie Ryatt, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Lyle Lovett do a lot of west coast tempo. Almost everything Bonnie Riat does is west coast. Kindo of country/blues mixture. Why haven't I heard from you be Reba. Queen of denial by I don't remember the singer. Most country west coast is up tempo, unlike Black Velvet, which is one of my favorite songs.
 
Well, last night, I was going to stay home and read a book. Instead, I went out and did some research.
First, I have to say that there is no West Coast Swing tempo. There is what your instructors used, and what people dance to where you dance. But West Coast Swing can be danced very slow, or very fast. The farther you move from medium slow, the more you need to be pretty good to either keep up with the music, or keep a connection with less energy in the music.
I just heard a song on the radio that you could do a very slow two step to. But, you could also do triple two, or shuffle. And if you are doing triple step triple step slow slow, guess what you are doing if you do it in a slot?

OK. Songs they played last night where I dance that got a bunch of people doing West Coast :
Stars on the Water
Shut Up and Kiss Me
Ladies Love Country Boys
YeeHaw by Jake Ownes
Little Sister by Dwight Yoakam
Water Melon Crawl

We share the floor pretty well. so with Water Mellon Crawl you get the line dancers, and people do WC in the space around the outside of the floor.
If everyone else is doing two step, people will do WC in the middle of the floor.
 
Wade Hayes' "Don't Make Me Come to Tulsa."

I just got home from a country/swing comp in Ft. Worth and I noticed how few truly "country" WCS songs were played, both for the actual competition and for general dancing...
 
Steve mentioned this one . . . "Ladies Love Country Boys" . . .

I heard it this morning . . . really a good C&W WCS song . . . just a few breaks . . . I like it . . . could put some good choreography to it!
 
country wcs songs

Smooth Talk - Delbert McClinton
Givin' It Up For Your Love - Delbert McClinton
Old Weakness (Comin' On Strong) - Delbert McClinton
(actually lots of Delbert McClinton stuff works as a west coast)
Eat at Joe's - Suzy Bogguss
Trying to Find Atlantis - Jamie O'Neal
634-5789 - Trace Adkins
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm headed out dancing tonight, so I'll give some of these a try :)

I forgot about Me and My Gang, that is an excellent WCS. Ladies Love Country Boys should work well too. I'll check out some of the others as well. I honestly have no idea how anyone could WCS to Watermelon Crawl, that would be WAY too fast for me!

It does seem as a whole that country music doesn't work that well for WCS. If nothing else, it seems like many of the songs lack breaks and accents to do fun stuff with.

Oh well, work with what ya go!

-Jeff
 
Here's a few more:
Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On
Memphis WOmen
Boot Scootin Boogie
I Feel Lucky
Let's Get Drunk (and be somebody)

I think it's interesting that most of these songs are faster than the blues tunes that most people dance West Coast to. You do need a more energized, or tighter, connection to make it work. It's is probably closer to the way it was danced "in the beginning", as a swing dance.
 
Steve Pastor said:
Here's a few more:
Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On
Memphis WOmen
Boot Scootin Boogie
I Feel Lucky
Let's Get Drunk (and be somebody)

I think it's interesting that most of these songs are faster than the blues tunes that most people dance West Coast to. You do need a more energized, or tighter, connection to make it work. It's is probably closer to the way it was danced "in the beginning", as a swing dance.
Click to expand...

So that's what it takes to make the faster songs work...a more energized, tighter connection...well-said!

I'm getting ready to go out dancing...this is my night to start the "kick up the WCS a notch" project...wish me luck!
 
Good Luck!
Really, I'm crossing threads here, but when something "goes wrong", just give a little "who me?" look. Oh, back to the other thread.
 
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