ing fun with friends, adding a few new twists to an old idea can make yourparty a hit...a musicalhit, that is, if you con- sider hosting a sing-alongparty. Here are a few tips that can help: e You can rent a karaoke machine or just make your own music,singing old and new favorites around the piano or along with vinyl on a turntable, CDs or computer downloads—orjust go a cappella andlift your voices in song. Get a few songbooks in different genres. (You may want to take a good look at some of the words before youall start singing them.) You'll probably want to avoid rap or patter songs, which can be complicated to sing. Consider show tunes, country songs, American stan- dards, pop tunes and the long popular calypso. It’s always been “in” on Carib- “Calypso” was not only the first mil- Dinner guests singing along with the calypso hit “Day-O” was a popular part of the movie “Beetlejuice.” can still be found today in more kinds of Consider a singing competition. Di- In fact, the man known as the Father which can sing louder, softer or most bean islands, and in the United States, lion-seller album in the 1950s, the genre entertainment than many people realize. of Modern Calypso,Irving Burgie,isstill playing and singing in the genre at the age of 93. Although Burgie was born in Brooklyn, New York, his mother was from Bar- bados and he authored that country’s national anthem in the 1960s. Hes probably best known, however, for such songs as “Day-O?“Jamaica Farewell,” “Yellow Bird? “Island in the Sun”and dozens more. You can get a 36-tune collection ofhis music scored for piano and a CD of many of his most popular hits—all of them a delight to sing along with—at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and on his website, www.irvingburgie.com. There, you can also find Burgie’s autobiography, so you can read up on the man andthe music. vide your guests into groups and see dramatically. Try singing songs but leaving out a common word such as “love” or “you.” Compete over who can create the funniest pastiche in the shortest time. Or have the groups sing roundsorcall and response. Record yourselves on tape or film. Playingit back during the party can be a lot of fun. Serve light snacks and noncarbonated drinks. You don’t want the food to interfere with the singing. Whenit comes to deciding whether to serve beer, wine or liquor, think about your guests and determine whetherthe alcoholwill make their singing better or worse—and which youdrather. Finally, just have a singing good time.
