Benny Goodman "Sing, Sing, Sing"

The archetypal big-bang, swinging-jazz song, "Sing, Sing, Sing" is probably the song you think of when you think swing.

Its infectious horns and up-tempo rhythm laid the groundwork for many future genres. In fact, it isn't a stretch to say swing was the punk of jazz, a punk-ish style in its own right at the time, and "Sing, Sing, Sing" was its "Blitzkrieg Bop."

The unsung heroes of "Sing, Sing, Sing" are the percussionists, who uniformly speed up and slow down the song over and over. Remember, this was recorded at a time when everything had to be done in one take in the studio. There were no punch-ins, overdubs, or edits. The entire band had to be on point from start to finish.

Nonetheless, there hardly any blemishes on the studio recording, and the few that are even remotely noticeable are more charming than interruptive -- cute relics of their time.

Over 60 years after it was released, NPR included "Sing, Sing, Sing" on its NRP 100, a list of important American recordings from the 20th Century. That story includes a complete performance of the song from 1938 at Carnegie Hall. Two years before NPR 100 was released, I took a music-appreciation class at Grand Valley State University, and the professor spent half a class talking about how that very performance may have altered the course of music history because many contemporary composers were present and undoubtedly picked up some things they heard and incorporated them into their own music.

As the song played, some students danced and some others nodded along. I simply enjoyed it until I heard the series of solos and interpolations that make it stand out. Before then, I enjoyed live performances because they allowed for diversion from popular, studio recordings. However, that class and that recording made me appreciate that relationship even more.