There’s a nice Silver Sounds version of this one.

Relevant Records

• Back Home Again (Silver Sounds 191)

Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the operation at Cape Town, South Africa.

Both yesterday (first artificial heart transplant) and today (first real heart transplant) could be an excuse to break out some heart songs…My Heart Skips a Beat, Rhythm of my Heart, etc.

Relevant Records

• Rhythm of My Heart (Rhythm 241)
• Achy Breaky Heart (ESP 177)
• My Heart Skips a Beat (Eagle 2901)
• Let Me into Your Heart (Global Music 205)
• Mend a Broken Heart (Mountain 63)
• Heart of My Heart (Chaparral 3504)
• Hole In My Heart (Platinum 108B)
• My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme from Titanic) (ABC 9)

Randy Owen is a member of Alabama.

Good excuse to do Alabama songs (not that one needs an excuse, especially when calling with other callers). Two of the most popular “group” singing calls are Tennessee River and Mountain Music.

Singer: Put on a Happy Face, from Bye Bye Birdie. Dick did it in the movie version.

Relevant Records

• Put on a Happy Face (DJ 124)

I have no idea what the point of this day is: maybe to encourage people to use gasoline? Of course, one could go for a ride all kinds of ways.

Possible songs:

• Transportation Medley (includes Merry Oldsmobile)
• Pink Cadillac
• Ride, Ride, Ride
• Charlie and the MTA (“He may ride forever ‘neath the streets of Boston”)
• …I’m sure there are more

Relevant Records

• Transportation Medley (ESP 902)
• Pink Cadillac (Red Boot 3017)
• Charlie and the M.T.A. (Silver Sounds 206)

Nothing square dance about this; it’s just too significant to let it pass without noting.

Hoagy Carmichael wrote a ton of songs. I have a singing call version of “(Up a) Lazy River”, but there are probably others.

Relevant Records

• Up a Lazy River (Rhythm 240)

These are songs that I know have singing call versions that were at the top of the charts on November 22:

• 1945: Sioux City Sue – Dick Thomas
• 1954: Mr. Sandman – The Chordettes
• 1961: Runaround Sue – Dion
• 1963: Dominique – The Singing Nun

Relevant Records

• Runaround Sue (Ocean 68)
• Sioux City Sue (Dance Ranch 667)
• Dominique (Pioneer 113)

Can’t think of any tennis-related singing calls…of course, there’s always “Rubber Ball” (“I’m like a rubber ball, I come bouncing back to you, bouncey bouncey…).

But with Billie Jean, one can always hark back to The Battle of the Sexes and play boys against girls games.

The Lennon Sisters made their debut on Lawrence Welk in 1955. Currently, they perform in Branson. Check their bio

I’ll bet most of our current dancers remember the Lennon Sisters. They didn’t do much in the way of original songs, but they’ve probably done covers of most of the non-rock, non-country songs in your case.