I’m sure you’re wondering why I put new in quotations for the title of this post. Well the reason is because none of these songs were released in 2019, but they are all new to me, meaning I heard them for the first time ever within the past 12 months. There’s a whole lot of “new” music that I heard in 2019, but I’m going to try and break some songs down by genre. Here is Part 1, hope you enjoy!

Blues 

I Shall Be Released – Nina Simone (1969)

Written by Bob Dylan and originally released by The Band, this is a version I hadn’t heard before and you should take opportunities to listen to more than just “Feeling Good” from Miss Simone. Unfortunately I don’t remember where/when I heard it, might have been a TV show or a movie, but it’s a really good version to check out!

Classical

The Magic Flute, Overture, K620 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1791)

I guess this is a pretty popular piece in the opera community, but the video above is just the overture because I can’t find the full operatic performance. When I was first told about “The Magic Flute” I learned that it’s a super hard aria to sing. And in doing some research, that was confirmed. From Wiki:

The vocal ranges of two of the original singers for whom Mozart tailored his music have posed challenges for many singers who have since recreated their roles. Both arias of the Queen of the Night, “O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn” and “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” require high F₆, rare in opera. At the low end, the part of Sarastro, premiered by Franz Xaver Gerl, includes a conspicuous F₂ in a few locations.

Negro Folk Symphony: 1. The Bond of Africa: Adagio – Allegro con brio – composed by William Dawson, conducted by Leopold Stokowski (1934)

I heard this while scanning the radio on my drive home from work one day. If a classical song catches me at the right moment I could go hours listening to it. This one did and I always like to Shazam it to find out the name. I never know where they’re from but I almost always go back and listen to them. If you enjoy classical music, trust me on this one. Also, fun fact, Leo conducted the music for Fantasia.

Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 20 “First of May”: I. Allegretto – Dmitri Shostakovich (1930)

This was another one I heard while driving and basically took the same steps as above. 1. Listen for like a minute and a half. 2. Decide I like it. 3. Shazam it. 4. Look it up later and listen again.

Country

Answer The Phone – Ernest Tubb ft. Loretta Lynn (1956)

I was watching the Ken Burns Country Music special on PBS a few months ago and some country artist mentioned listening to Ernest Tubb, and I think this song played in the background so I of course had to check out some songs.

Boston Jail – Carl Belew (1966)

Can’t remember for the life of me where I heard this, but it’s got Boston in the title so I gotta share.

Strawberry Wine – Deana Carter (1996)

Heard about this song while listening to the Bobby Bones show one morning when they were talking about 90s country songs. I hadn’t heard of it before but everyone on the show was singing it and saying how much they liked it.

Dance

Do It – Tuxedo (2015)

I made a “DANCE” playlist on Spotify that contains Yung Bae, Dua Lipa, Robin S., etc. (it’s a fun playlist if you’re interested). And this was a song recommended for the playlist. So I listened to a few songs by Tuxedo and really liked a couple, this one probably being my favorite and another good one is “2nd Time Around”.

Kill The Lights (with Nile Rogers) (Audien Remix) – Alex Newell, Jess Glynne & DJ Cassidy (2016)

Might be the best “new” song I heard in 2019. Don’t remember when I first officially heard this, but I texted my friend asking if I needed to listen to more Alex Newell because this and “Nobody To Love” are bangers. He replied an emphatic “YES!”. The regular version of “KTL” is great too, but I love this remix. Also, shout out Alex who is from Lynn, MA.

Push The Feeling On (MK Dub Remix) – Nightcrawlers, MK (1995)

To be honest, I think I heard this on a viral video. It’s another fun one though!

Disco

Native New Yorker – Odyssey (1977)

One of my old coworkers used to do “Disco Fridays” where he’d play a disco song at like 4:50 pm and dance around the office. This was a song he played one Friday and I kinda liked it.

Easy Listening 

Drinkin’ Champagne – Dean Martin (1983)

Let Me Try Again (Laisse Moi le Temps) – Frank Sinatra (1973)

Non Dimenticar – Jerry Vale (1955)

On the Sidewalks of New York – Nat ‘King’ Cole (1963)

As much as I love Dino, Frank and NKC, I had never heard these songs. I really like all of them. And 2019 was a big year for Jerry Vale, which according to Spotify, I listened to like 4 hours worth of his music. “Non Dimenticar” is just one of the many I enjoyed.

Hip-Hop/Rap

I’ll Do 4 U – Father MC (1990)

Unfortunately, I don’t remember where I heard this, but the only other Father MC song I knew before was “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”

Use Me Up – UGK (1992)

Heard this while watching some documentary on the history of hip-hop on Netflix. And if I catch you using a killer sample (“Use Me” by Bill Withers), I’m gunna listen ASAP

Plain Jane – A$AP Ferg (2017)

Don’t remember where I heard this, don’t even know who A$AP Ferg is, but it contains portions of “Slob On My Knob” by Three 6 Mafia so it makes sense why I must’ve stopped to take note of the song. Could’ve been the remix I heard with Nicki Minaj though, so check that out as well.

Irish

Cork Loves a Stranger – The Irish Weavers (1999)

Not too many songs about Cork out there in my opinion. I can’t pinpoint exactly when I heard this, but if I were to guess, it would be have been some Saturday or Sunday on 950 AM. This song has less than a thousand streams on Spotify.

I Will Love You Every Time – The Fureys & Davey Arthur (1988)

Love me some Fureys, especially “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” and “Green Fields of France”. I again bet I heard this on the Irish Hit Parade or Bailey Ceili on 950. BTW, I would be a good host for a show on that station. WROL, if you’re reading this, let me host a show for an hour or two on Saturdays!

The Village of Cloch Bhuí – John Beag (1994)

Pretty beautiful song reminiscing about one’s home and how you don’t forget it (about 75% of all Irish songs). My best friend told me about this song (and John Beag – see “Now I’m Easy”) although there are conflicting stories about when. He thinks it was years ago on a drive home from the NH airport after he completed boot camp. I think it was in 2019 when he had had a few and was missing home so he texted me that he was listening to this song.