How fortunate we are to live in a time when all this can be pulled together into a single post. You didn’t put a lot of miles on the dance floor with these songs. You stood still.
To me all these are #1 when I’m listening to them.
Maybe #1. Pick your own performance:
Nat King Cole – Stardust
Stardust – Hoagy Carmichael – Original Version
Artie Shaw‘s Stardust
Possibly #2:
Jo Stafford – Begin the Beguine
Artie Shaw‘s Begin The Beguine
#3?
Steve Goodman : Would You Like To Learn To Dance (Live 1974)
#4? For me this one fights for #1.
Leonard Cohen – Take This Waltz
#5?
The Inkspots – If I Didn’t Care
#6 One, or all?
Johnny Mathis – Heavenly (Original Stereo)
Johnny Mathis – Misty
# 7
Moonlight Becomes You
Count Basie
Johnny Mathis
#8
Four Aces – Stranger In Paradise
#9
The Platters – Twilight Time
#10
Vera Lynn – As Time Goes By
#11
Teach Me Tonight – Jo Stafford
12
Eartha Kitt – C’est Si Bon (Live Kaskad 1962) [French]
Eartha Kitt – C´est Si Bon
C’ EST SI BON EARTHA KITT [My favorite version though not live]
13
Julie London – Fly Me To The Moon (1964)
14
Peggy Lee – Fever
15
‘With my eyes wide open I’m dreaming’–Patti Page ‘Quartet’ (1949)
16
Lena Horne – Stormy Weather (1943)
17
Billie Holiday – The Very Thought of You
18
Sarah Vaughn The Nearness of You
19
Glen Campbell & John Hartford – Gentle On My Mind
20
Ray Charles – I Can’t Stop Lovin You
21
Nat King Cole-Unforgettable (On TV)
22
Cyd Charisse (Red Sails In The Sunset)
Patti Page – Red Sails In The Sunset
“Red Sails in the Sunset” Vera Lynn (1935)
23
Roy Fox Orchestra “Harbor Lights” (1937)
The Platters Harbor Lights
HARBOR LIGHTS – SAMMY KAYE
Harbor Lights by Guy Lombardo
24
Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love (Live from How the West Was Won) Part 1
25
Something’s Burning-1970 Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
26
Bob Lind “Elusive Butterfly” 1966
So Far From Heaven 
Absolutely wonderful.(of course, many were before my time)
Hi michael ultra: So were operas, mostly. Doesn’t keep you from listening to them, I’ll bet. Thanks for coming by for a read. Gracias, Jules
And, include any recording by Roy Orbison! Start with “Only The Lonely” — thanks for the memories, Jules. I’m older than I thought, I remember each and every one you mentioned.
Morning June. Thanks for the visit and read. The moisture in the air’s giving me fits here, fingers sticking to the mouse and keyboard making posting a challenge. I agree about Orbison, but decided he fit better into a ‘hurting’ genre, which I might put together and post in the future. But nobody much is clicking the links, so I might not bother. Gracias, Jules
Fantastic. I listen to mostly more recent stuff, but some of your listings (Fever, Nat King Cole, anything by Eartha Kitt) are why I love music – the emotion it can stir and the feeling in can yank out of the listener.
Going to have to revisit some of the older stuff in my collection – maybe cue up a little Django…
Hi El Guapo. I appreciate you coming for aread. Glad to here there are others out on the web with a promiscuous taste in music. Gracias, Jules
Well, damn, Jules, Lots of good music here. Some thoughts on a misty Sunday morning: Misty by Mathis. It doesn’t get a whole lot better, but then there’s Nat and “Unforgettable,” which should be slow-danced to in the late evening hours in the middle of nowhere.
Leonard Cohen belongs almost in a category by himself. No one, and I do mean no one, like Leonard, in my book. His poetry/songwriting is beyond this world almost.
Steve Goodman. What a great singer and songwriter he was. I have come to that party way too late. I got stuck on “You never even called me by my name…” unfortunately. What a Great song you’ve included here. Thank you so much. It deserves its own post.
“Red Sails in the Sunset.” Nice choices, but I have to say my favorite performer for this is Jim Ed Brown, of the Browns.
Ray Charles and “I Can’t Stop Loving You” gives a whole new meaning to the word hurt.
“Gentle on My Mind” is Definitely one of my faves….
As is “Elusive Butterfly.” Love, love, love that song. Every good song has a personal story. What are yours?
Morning Teresa Evangeline: Thanks for coming by. You and I certainly harmonize in our thoughts about Leonard Cohen. Chicago Shorty [Steve Goodman] probably deserves a class all his own, also. Talk Backwards, City of New Orleans, The Lincoln Park Pirates, so many of his songs are up there near the top of my list of what’s good. I’m particularly gratified that John Prine founded Red Pajama Records after Steve died so’s to keep the Goodman songs alive and available a while longer. Thanks for reminding me about the Browns. They’d slipped my mind. Some song they did back in the day resonated hard with me, but I’ll have to search them to be reminded what it was. Gracias, Jules
Thanks I just got reminded of such great singers and songs. Thank you Thank you 🙂
The Tale of My Heart: Glad you enjoyed them too. I can’t stop loving those songs. Thanks for the visit. Jules