Song / Made famous by: "The Beat Goes On" /Sonny & Cher
West says…I’ve always loved that song—it really swings. We’re probably going to give it an African-Cuban beat to make it sound a little different. I hope there’s a “wow” factor. You should never do something exactly like the person that’s best known for doing it: You’re gonna lose every time. You gotta take it to a different place. We don’t want to sound like a wedding band.

Song / Made famous by: "The Times They Are A-Changin'" /Bob Dylan
West says…I’ve been planning for years to do this song in 2008. I don’t like to preach to anybody, and it’s not my job in any way to make the show into a political rally—and if I said something, it would be something that most people aren’t going to agree with. So this song has to do the talking for me. When I last spoke to George, we wanted to give it a percussive thing that reminded you of “Give Peace a Chance.”

Song / Made famous by: "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" /Bing CrosbyWest says…We decided on this before the recent financial troubles. Yes, it’s a downer, but people have a lot of respect for the song. You cannot dismiss those lyrics and play it upbeat and muddle through it. It is a serious song. It’s a dramatic song. The music, of course, is really important in what we do, but I never want the lyrics to get lost.

Song / Made famous by: "Gimme a Pigfoot" /Bessie Smith
West says…I always like to include a song you would have maybe heard at the Cotton Club or something back then. It’s really fun—and people love it. It surprised me how well it went when we did it [in San Francisco]. Sometimes you’re surprised when you learn certain songs: “Wow, I didn’t realize that was gonna sound that good,” you know? People really get into it.

Song / Made famous by: "Gentle On My Mind" Glen Campbell
West says…We want it to have a combination of country and swing. I love to include a country song in every show. You’re kind of surprised: A black woman doing a white man’s country song? But I like to do stuff like that. It actually helps, when you interpret a song by somebody that’s really well-known, if you’re the total opposite. You don’t have to worry about people saying, “Oh, I like Ella Fitzgerald better.”

Paula West plays the Oak Room Tue 14–Nov 8.