Duke DJ: Songs for a Spring Recharge

Colleagues share their picks for springtime tunes that help them feel refreshed

Duke DJ logo
Duke DJ logo
April Clark.

April Clark starts every workday commute from Angier to Durham by tuning into “Get Up! Mornings With Erica Campbell,” a syndicated morning radio show that plays gospel music.

“If I want something peaceful, something inspirational, I listen to gospel music,” said Clark, a counselor with Duke Personal Assistance Service (PAS).

By the time she reaches Interstate 40, the halfway point of her journey, stress-inducing thoughts have melted away because she’s singing along to the music. With key connections to mental well-being and good memories, Clark encourages her clients to find their own music that helps them relax, recharge and relieve stress.

According to the Global Council on Brain Health, adults who engage in music making and listening are more likely to report their overall health, brain health, and cognitive function as excellent or very good. Listening to music during the pandemic lowered stress and improved mood, providing beneficial health outcomes.

“There’s a reciprocity between the music you listen to and your mood,” said Dr. John F. Curry, a clinical child and adolescent psychology and Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke. “You can choose music to fit your mood or choose music to elevate your mood.”

For Working@Duke’s next Duke DJ playlist on Spotify, we asked Duke colleagues to share songs that help them recharge. The results? A playlist of 31 songs, from country and jazz to gospel, R&B and soul to enjoy this spring.

John F. Curry.

Curry, who has played saxophone and clarinet for more than three decades, suggested “April in Paris” by Count Basie for our playlist. Curry turns to jazz to help him recharge. He’s the saxophonist in the big band, Triangle Jazz Orchestra, and clarinetist in the New Orleans Masquerade jazz band.

“During the performance, you can get into a flow where you’re really concentrating on the music and you’re enjoying it,” Curry said. “If you’ve practiced enough, it flows and it’s very pleasant. Afterwards, I usually feel good; I feel happy.”

Along with “Goodness of God,” a song by gospel singer CeCe Winans, Clark, the PAS counselor, selected “Hold On” by Adele for the playlist.

“Although I think she's talking about love in that song, I think the implications can reach beyond love,” Clark said of Adele’s song. “It’s to hold on to whatever you have hope in, whatever you have faith in, and you believe in. Hold on to yourself and your beliefs. I’ll put that on repeat. That is my go-to song.”

In addition to Clark and Curry, the following colleagues shared songs for the playlist:

Teresa Keever, Duke Health and Well-being associate Vice President; Kenlyn Young of Duke Integrative Medicine; Cat de Montjoye, marketing manager of Duke Integrative Medicine; Dr. Will Yancy, director of the Duke Lifestyle and Weight Management Center; Duke Lifestyle and Weight Management Center dietitian Elisabetta Politi; Tom Szigethy, associate dean of students and director of the Student Wellness Center; and Jonathan E. Bagg, professor of the Practice of Music and violist in the Ciompi Quartet.

Listen to the playlist on the Working@Duke Spotify Channel

Got an idea for a playlist? Send your ideas through our story idea form or write working@duke.edu.