John Dokes Gets Times Square To Swing
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
John Dokes recently performed at Swing 46, a jazz club in Times Square, to promote his first CD, "John Dokes Sings, George Gee Swings."
George Whipple: What is swing music?
Dokes: It's music that kind of makes you move, connect with your partner and share an experience. We just love telling stories to music and getting people to dance to them. It just feels great.
Dokes' songs span generations.
"It was started in the late 1920s and this is big band music, it's the best music from that era. We even picked even songs from the '70s. We picked 'Walk On By' by Burt Bacharach," says Dokes.
Another hit that Dokes sang was "Alright, Okay, You Win," by Maymie Watts and Sid Wyche.
Whipple: Tell me a little bit about some of the influences on you and your music.
Dokes: I actually got into singing influenced by Miss Dawn Hampton. She is my dance partner, she's 82 years old of loving goodness. And she heard me singing one day while we were dancing and she said, you need to get your "expletive" up there and start singing, and so I did.
Dokes will be at Swing 46 in the Times Square area every Tuesday night. Come check him out, and you won't be disappointed.