Whether you are a dance enthusiast, a DJ, instructor, or new to WCS and just looking for music to practice to, this is a great place to find current, appropriate music to dance to!
Even though West Coast Swing is the most versatile partner dance and can be danced to a huge range of music styles, some styles are more dance-able than others. Some speeds are better than others, and some tempos are more appropriate.
Here we will keep a current list of the most popular songs to dance to in each music style. Please feel free to contribute your music suggestions for the list.
Here is a link to a DJ site which is regularly updated with National WCS DJs’ favourite music
Contemporary/Top 40
| Title | Artist | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Counting Stars | One Republic | Fast |
| One More Night | Maroon 5 | Slow |
| Troublemaker | Olly Murs | Fast |
| Fast Car | Wyclef Jean | Medium |
| Seven Nation Army | Ben l’Oncle | Fast |
| Talk Dirty | Jason Derulo | Medium |
| Crazy for You | Hedley | Fast |
| Don’t | Ed Sheeran | Medium |
| Crickets | Drop City Yacht Club | Medium |
| Don’t Wait | Mapei | Slow |
| Latch | Sam Smith | Medium |
| Royals | Lorde | Slow |
| Maps | Maroon 5 | Fast |
| Uptown Funk | Mark Ronson | Fast |
| Treasure | Bruno Mars | Medium |
| Low | Flo-Rida | Fast |
| Titanium | Madeline Bailey | Medium |
| Sing | Ed Sheeran | Fast |
| Safe and Sound | Capital Cities | Fast |
| Pompeii | Bastille | Fast |
Old school classics
| Title | Artist | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Tired of Being Alone | Al Green | Slow |
| Thriller | Michael Jackson | Medium |
| Think | Aretha Franklin | Medium |
| Superstition | Stevie Wonder | Slow |
| Signed Sealed Delivered | Stevie Wonder | Medium |
| Step in the Name of Love | R.Kelly | Slow |
| Skillz | All 4 One | Slow |
| Shambala | Rockapella | Fast |
| Joy & Pain | RobBase/DJ EZ Rock | Fast |
| No Diggity | Blackstreet | Slow |
| Get Up Offa That Thing | James Brown | Medium |
| Get Down On It | Kool | Slow |
| Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough | Michael Jackson | Fast |
| Chain of Fools | Joe Cocker | Medium |
| Black Velvet | Alannah Myles | Slow |
| Black Betty | Tom Jones | Medium |
| Billie Jean | Michael Jackson | Medium |
| Back to Life | Soul II Soul | Slow |
| Aht Uh Mi Head | Shuggie Otis | Slow |
| Thuderstruck Remix | AC/DC | Fast |
Slow/smooth
| Title | Artist |
|---|---|
| If I Were A Boy | Beyonce |
| Try | Pink |
| Freefallin | John Mayer |
| Back to the Middle | India Arie |
| Give Me One Reason | Tracy Chapman |
| Secret | Maroon 5 |
| Son of A Preacher Man | Aretha Franklin |
| Ascention | Maxwell |
| The Way You Make Me Feel | Adam Rafferty |
| I’m The Only One | Melissa Etheridge |
| Chains | Tina Arena |
| Five Women | Prince |
| Tonight | John Legend |
| Reign | Bad News Brown |
| Ode to Billie Joe | Bobby Gentry |
| Madness | Muse |
| Your Body is a Wonderland | John Mayer |
| She Will Be Loved | Maroon 5 |
| Magic | Cold Play |
| Whatever Happens | Michael Jackson |
Blues
| Title | Artist | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Wade in the Water | Eva Cassidy | Medium |
| Try Matty’s | Aretha Franklin | Medium |
| Signed Sealed Delivered | Stevie Wonder | Medium |
| Cold Shot | Stevie Ray Vaughan | Slow |
| Soon As I Get Paid | Keb’ Mo | Medium |
| Red House | Jimi Hendrix | Slow |
| Layla | Eric Clapton | Slow |
| I’ll Take You There | BeBe & CeCeWinans | Medium |
| If You Want Me to Stay | Etta James | Medium |
| How Long Can a Fool Go Wrong | James Cotton | Fast |
| Give Me One Reason | Tracy Chapman | Medium |
| Fever | Elvis Presley | Fast |
| Down in the Valley | Otis Redding | Slow |
| Come Back | Josh Rouse | Medium |
| Cocaine | Eric Clapton | Medium |
| Cleo’s Mood | Junior Walker | Medium |
| Blue Bop | Johnny Ferreira | Slow |
| BB King & T. Chapman | The Thrill is Gone | Slow |
| Alva’s Baby Blues | Ray Sharpe | Medium |
| Ain’t No Sunshine | D’Angelo | Slow |
Great songs that aren’t WCS
To DJ’s and those who are curious: You may notice that some of these songs are played at dances intended for West Coast Swing. This can be for one of 2 reasons: 1. To provide a “break” and offer a different dance as an opportunity to so a different dance. 2. To force dancers into frustration as they try to find a Swing beat where none exists.
| Title | Artist | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| All for One | Bryan Adams | NightClub2 |
| Ac-en-tu-ate the positive | Aretha Franklin | Lindy Hop |
| Beautiful | Christina Aguilera | NightClub2 |
| Bie Mer Bist Du Shon | Swing Kids | Lindy Hop |
| By your side | Sade | NightClub2 |
| Come What may | Ewan Macgregor | NightClub2 |
| Crazy Little thing called Love | Queen | Lindy Hop |
| Dance with Me | Debelah Morgan | Cha Cha |
| Days go By | Dirty Vegas | Hustle |
| Don’t Know Much | Aaron Neville | NightClub2 |
| Flower that shattered the stone | Steve Wariner | Waltz |
| Home | Micheal Buble | NightClub2 |
| If I were a painting- | Kenny Rogers | Waltz |
| Incomplete | Backstreet Boys | NightClub2 |
| Insatiable | Darren Hayes | NightClub2 |
| Shout and Feel it | Swing Kids | Balboa |
| Sing, Sing, Sing | Swing Kids | Lindy Hop |
| Smooth | Santana | Cha Cha |
| Open Arms | Mariah Carey | Waltz |
| Voice within | Christina Aguilera | NightClub2 |