Forgettable versus Unforgettable - What Makes The Difference?

Older music carries such magic. We can learn from masterpieces of the past. Still, time moves on. Trends change. Fashion blows like the wind. Music evolves; songs are forgotten, and only a few stay with us decades later.

What Makes A Song Unforgettable?

There is no one magic ingredient that makes a song unforgettable. If there were, every musical chef would sprinkle it on their creations. However, every unforgettable song does have some magic we can detect. That's what keeps us coming back for more, even when the times have moved on.

Louis Prima's gem was recorded for his November 1956 Album The Wildest! It remains one his most popular hits. Fans still dance to it in 2019. It's magic is that the song is actually two separate, older compositions expertly spliced together into one jump jivin' medley.

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"I'm just a gigolo and everywhere I go
People know the part I'm playing
Paid for every dance, selling each romance
Ooh, and they're sayin'
There will come a day when youth will pass away
What will they say about me?
When the end comes, I know
They was just the gigolos
Life goes on without me"

Although it has all the ingredients of a pleasant and catchy swing-tune, if it ended right here it wouldn't capture hearts for decades. The tangible magic happens when the harmony leaps forward on the words I Ain't Got Nobody. Listen closely at 1:07 when this occurs, then listen again at 1:13 when the bass and drums open up and the feel of the recording changes. That's when you can feel tingles in your whole body. That's the magic!

The band plays joyfully and the tune is undeniably catchy. There may not be one specific magic ingredient that works for every song, but this medley clearly won't let itself be forgotten.

This is an original post by @CosmicVibration for Steemit on 10 December 2019.