Another vote for St. James Infirmary. I just listened to four versions. Cab Calloway’s voice is the best of all of them, but my favorite version for the instrumental varies.
I have Begin the Beguine as the ringtone for my parents.
How about Moonlight Becomes You, sung by Der Bingle?
As a big band fan since, I dunno, age 12, I’ve always been interested in what kind of folks from later generations gravitate to this music.
Maybe it’s something you get from parents or grands. OK, but what kind of folks are closer to their parents or grands?
I still think there’s something “off” about us. We fall into a category, maybe several.
what? Naw! it’s just that it’s good music, no matter what your age! 
another thanks for the upchucky site; I’m enjoying it. (currently listening to 70s One Hit Wonders)
I Get Along without You Very Well. It’s on the soundtrack to The Singing Detective which has a ton of great music.
Sorry, Chucka, prodicus beat you to it (and I commented on it upthread).
Maybe once, but things are changing. Old music is getting exposure in ways it never did before. It shows up in games, trailers, amateur videos, Facebook posts, and so forth. The Fallout series, for instance, has in-game radio stations playing oldies, and the opening sequence to Fallout 3 is actually set to “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire”; a lot of my friends first encountered the song that way, and it makes an impression.
A lot of old music is more accessible than it’s ever been. If I’m playing, say, Bioshock 2, and I hear “20th Century Blues” and like it, it takes only a moment’s effort to learn that it was by Noël Coward. A few seconds later, I could be listening to “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”. Once people are exposed to it, they may or may not like it, just like any other music. The internet enables an eclectic taste in music.
Not sure if this counts, but my favorite old pop standard is “Die Moritat von Mackie Messer” and its various incarnations as “Moritat”, “Mack the Knife”, “The Ballad of Mack the Knife”, etc.
I love almost every version I have heard in various languages and musical styles.
I was familiar from my father’s music collection when I was very young. I also remember when it was brought back in a TV commercial quite a few years ago.
Indeed. I mentioned upthread that one of my favourites was first exposed to me via Fallout 3.
For what it’s worth, my parents have always been baffled by my love of Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, etc. And they grew during the period when that stuff was popular, so it’s not like it’s totally foreign music to them.
When explaining my musical taste to other people, they say, “Rollo is very retro.” Which would be fine, if the tone of their voices didn’t indicate that they were really saying, “Rollo is a bit of a weirdo.”
The Band Played On
Can I include some classic western swing?
San Antonio Rose, by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys
Darling, by George Gershwin
Ruby, My Dear by Thelonius Monk
Blue World, by the Four Freshmen
Rum and Coca Cola is a favorite of mine.
I also love String of Pearls (?).