In many large cities there are lots of swing and lindy hop events to choose from in a given week. How does one choose which ones to attend? Here are three tips from our dance experience:

1. Go to events you have enjoyed before.

2. Select swing dance and lindy hop events where you feel the neighborhood is safe and you can get there easily or park.

3. If you’re going on a live band night the cover may be higher. It could be much more fun seeing a live band, but only if it is a band people like. Live band nights are sometimes on a Friday or Saturday, and when this is the case you may want to check and see if friends are available to go dancing.

Tags : events, Lindy Hop, Swing

These are the top five swing dancing and Lindy hop books in my opinion. You can learn about history, music, famous dancers, teachers, and more from these books.

1. Swingin’ at the Savoy is a great book by Norma Miller about the history of swing and Lindy hop.

2. The Swing Book is packed with swing dance history from over the years.

3. The Frankie Manning book is an amazing collection of history for any swing or Lindy hop dancer to enjoy.

4. The Social Dancing in American History and Reference book, volume 2, covers Lindy hop through hip-hop. This book covers the years 1901 through 2000.

5. Swing Dancing tells a lot of great history about swing and dance from over the years.

This top 20 list of swing and big band CDs demonstrates more than a decade of my experience listening to great albums. I have listened to near thousands of albums. These are all albums that you can dance to and also listen to for fun. To help you find and look over these albums, I’ve included a link for each CD so you can read more reviews, a description, etc.

1. Live at the Hollywood Palladium is an amazing Bill Elliott Orchestra swing CDs. Of all amazing CDs on this list below, this is the first one I would suggest to buy. You can’t beat this album!

2. Calling All Jitterbugs is a spectacular 1998 big-band swing album from Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra. The album offers 14 tremendous songs.

3. This is my favorite Indigo Swing album. Indigo Swing used to play in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their cool and jazzy yet upbeat style is a blast to listen to and dance anytime.

4. This is my second favorite Indigo Swing album. It is mellow and upbeat, perfect for dancing.

5. While the Music Plays On is a spectacular Eddie Reed album. This is one of my top favorite CDs.

6. Swingin in the Century is a 1998 Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra album with 15 songs. This is a tremendous album.

7. Swing Fever is a great original Bill Elliott swing Orchestra Album. This big band really rocks.

8. Lavay Smith has a beautiful voice. Her band is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. This spectacular album is a pleasure to listen, dance, and play at special events.

9. This 1999 George Gee swing album and offers 18 songs. It is their first CD, and honors Frankie Manning.

10. The Swing broadway recording features 21 songs from the year 2000. This CD offers 21 swinging tunes which would not only be great to see on Broadway, but also dance to.

11. This 1998 Steve Lucky album offers 13 great songs. Their high-energy boogie-woogie piano swing is a lot of fun to listen and dance to.

12. This Louis Prima album is a great collection. It features a whopping 26 songs! Louis Prima who is quite the lounge and big band leader. This is a very upbeat album which can be listened to over and over.

13. This Swing Kids soundtrack released in 1993 offers 16 great songs from the movie. This music from the original motion picture contains great swing dance music, including the song “Sing Sing Sing”.

14. This is the best Royal Crown Revue album, released in 1998. There are many danceable songs including “Sing Sing Sing”. This album features 14 songs and is a blast to listen to.

15. This Wild Cool and Swingin album features 18 songs in this 1996 CD release. This is not only a great lounge CD but also perfect for swing and Lindy hop dancing. I also find it a blast also to listen to in the car as I drive.

16. Best of the Songbooks is an Ella Fitzgerald album with 16 spectacular songs. These are some of Ella Fitzgerald’s best. They’re great for listening and dancing. Ella Fitzgerald jazz in this CD is truly refreshing to listen to.

17. This Cab Calloway album offers an amazing 22 songs at an unbeatable price. This collection from the 30s and 40s features some of the best Cab Calloway tracks.

18. This Big Bad Voodoo Daddy album is terrific. It features 12 songs which you can dance to.

19. This greatest hits Glenn Miller album features 15 songs with Glenn Miller and his orchestra, and others. Famous songs such as “In the Mood”, “Little Brown Jug”, and “American Patrol” are a blast to listen to. This is certainly the best Glenn Miller album you can buy to experience great vintage music. It is the best!

20. This ultimate rat pack collection is an album featuring 24 tracks. This album features Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Junior. The rat pack sings songs such as “My Kind of Town” and “Fly Me to the Moon”. This CD is a great value, tops for history, and terrific to experience this live concert as if you were there.