Dancing in the Street

Background

The original version of "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas was produced in 1964 by William "Mickey" Stevenson and released as a single on the Gordy Records label. The song was written by Stevenson, Ivy Jo Hunter, and Marvin Gaye. The song highlighted the concept of having a good time in whatever city the listener lived. The idea for dancing came to Stevenson from watching people on the streets of Detroit cool off in the summer in water from opened fire hydrants. They appeared to be dancing in the water. The song was conceived by Stevenson who was showing a rough draft of the lyrics to Gaye disguised as a ballad. When Gaye read the original lyrics, however, he said the song sounded more danceable. With Gaye and Stevenson collaborating, the duo composed the single with Kim Weston in mind to record the song. Weston passed on the song and when Martha Reeves came to Motown's Hitsville USA studios, the duo presented the song to Reeves.

Hearing Gaye's demo of it, Reeves asked if she could arrange her own vocals to fit the song's message. Reeves recounted that she initially regarded the song as too repetitive. Gaye and Stevenson agreed and including new Motown songwriter Ivy Jo Hunter adding in musical composition, the song was recorded in two takes. The song's writers made sure to include Detroit as one of the cities mentioned with the lyric: "Can't forget the Motor City".

Civil rights anthem

While produced as an innocent dance single (it became the precursor to the disco movement of the 1970s), the song took on a different meaning when riots in inner-city America led to many young black demonstrators citing the song as a civil rights anthem to social change which also led to some radio stations taking the song off its play list because certain black advocates such as H. Rap Brown began playing the song while organizing demonstrations.

"Dancing in the Street" had two meanings. The first is the one Martha Reeves asserted to reporters in England. "The British press aggravated Reeves when someone put a microphone in her face and asked her if she was a militant leader. The British journalist wanted to know if Reeves agreed, as many people had claimed, that "Dancing in the Street" was a call to riot. To Reeves, the query was patently absurd. 'My Lord, it was a party song,' she remarked in retrospect" (Smith 221). While Berry Gordy had created the Black Forum label to preserve black thought and creative writing, he kept the Motown record label and the popular hits it produced from being too political. "Berry Gordy Jr. was extremely wary about affiliating his business with any organization of movement that might negatively influence his company's commercial success" (Smith 230).

"Motown records had a distinct role to play in the city's black community, and that community—as diverse as it was—articulated and promoted its own social, cultural, and political agendas. These local agendas, which reflected the unique concerns of African Americans living in the urban north, both responded to and reconfigured the national civil rights campaign" (Smith 227). The movement lent the song its secondary meaning and the song with its second meaning fanned the flames of unrest. This song (and others like it) and its associated political meanings did not exist in a vacuum. It was a partner with its social environment and they both played upon each other creating meaning that could not have been brought on by one or the other alone. The song therefore became a call to reject peace for the chance that unified unrest could bring about the freedom that suppressed minorities all across the United States so craved.

Reception

"Dancing in the Street" peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart when it was originally released as the group's third album Dance Party's first single in 1964 (see 1964 in music), with "There He Is (at My Door)" included as a B-side. The song also reached the Top 5 on the UK Singles Chart peaking at No. 4 in a 1969 release after initially peaking at No. 28 on the chart and helped to revive the Vandellas' success in England.

On April 12, 2006, it was announced that Martha and the Vandellas' version of "Dancing in the Street" would be one of 50 sound recordings preserved by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry. Lead singer Martha Reeves said she was thrilled about the song's perseverance, saying "It's a song that just makes you want to get up and dance".

In 2013, the original Motown recording was remixed for club and summer celebration airplay by Minneapolis' Billboard charting producer/remixer Joel Dickinson as well as Danny Shaffer.

Personnel

Background

In 1966, the folk rock group, the Mamas & the Papas, recorded a cover version of the song "Dancing in the Street," which was taken from their second studio album The Mamas and the Papas. Mama Cass Elliot sang the lead vocal, while the other members did their harmonies in the background. This version featured an instrumental section. The song's ending is humorous, which featured Elliot and Papa Denny Doherty having a dialogue listing the cities in both the United States, as well as Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where Doherty was from, before the song's fade. At the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, the Mamas and the Papas ended their set with "Dancing in the Street" before Elliot told the audience at the festival: "You're on your own." This was the last time that the group performed live in concert.

"Dancing in the Street" was produced by Lou Adler and issued as the B-side of the single Words of Love (The Mamas & the Papas song) on the Dunhill Records label. It reached No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Background

The psychedelic rock band Grateful Dead began performing "Dancing in the Street" live in 1966, and through 1971 played the song about 40 times. The song returned to their rotation in 1976, and was played about 80 more times before being retired in 1987. Live recordings from both periods have been released. In that second period, the group recorded a cover version of the song in the studio, and released it as a single taken from their 1977 album Terrapin Station, with the title track on the B-side. This version is credited to Stevenson, Gaye, and Hunter, but is titled "Dancin' In the Streets" rather than "Dancing In the Street".

Bassist Phil Lesh has described "Dancing in the Street" as the first song the band stretched out in the live setting from a short pop song into drawn out improvisational jam piece, a practice that would become a Grateful Dead signature.

Black Oak Arkansas version

The American southern rock band Black Oak Arkansas recorded a cover version of "Dancing in the Street", and released it as a single in 1974, taken from their 1974 studio album Street Party.

7" single (UK)

1. "Dancing in the Street" - 2:34
2. "Dixie" - 3:38

7" single (US)

1. "Dancing in the Street" - 2:34
2. "Dixie" - 3:38

Background

The American rock band Van Halen recorded a cover version of "Dancing in the Street" in 1982. This version features heavy use of the electric guitar, played by Eddie Van Halen. Speaking about the cover, group member David Lee Roth said: "It sounds like more than four people are playing, when in actuality there are almost zero overdubs — that's why it takes us such a short amount of time [to record]." Group member Eddie Van Halen, discussing the cover and discussing his synthesizer part in the track, said: "It takes almost as much time to make a cover song sound original as it does writing a song. I spent a lot of time arranging and playing synthesizer on 'Dancing in the Streets,' and they [critics] just wrote it off as, 'Oh, it's just like the original.' So forget the critics! These are good songs. Why shouldn't we redo them for the new generation of people?"

Reception

Van Halen released "Dancing in the Street" as the second single from their 1982 studio album Diver Down. Their version attracted decent commercial success, reaching the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and becoming a top 15 hit on the Canadian Singles Chart.

Personnel

7" single (Germany)

1. "Dancing in the Street" - 3:43
2. "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" - 3:02

7" single (U.S.)

1. "Dancing in the Street" - 3:43
2. "The Full Bug" - 3:18

Background

A hit cover version of "Dancing in the Street" was recorded by the English rock singers Mick Jagger and David Bowie as a duo in 1985, to raise money for the Live Aid famine relief cause. The original plan was to perform a track together live, with Bowie performing at Wembley Stadium and Jagger at John F. Kennedy Stadium, until it was realized that the satellite link-up would cause a half-second delay that would make this impossible unless either Bowie or Jagger mimed their contribution, something neither artist was willing to do. In 1968, Jagger and Keith Richards had already "borrowed" a line from the song in "Street Fighting Man" - "'Cause summer's here and the time is right for fighting in the street, boy."

In June 1985, Bowie was recording his contributions to the Absolute Beginners soundtrack at Abbey Road Studios, and so Jagger arranged to fly in to record the track there. A rough mix of the track was completed in just four hours. Thirteen hours after the start of recording, the song and video was completed. Jagger arranged for some minor musical overdubs with Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero in New York.

Reception

The David Bowie and Mick Jagger recording of "Dancing in the Street" was issued as a single on EMI, with all profits going to the charity. The song topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks, and reached No. 7 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Bowie and Jagger would perform the song once more, at the Prince's Trust Concert on June 20, 1986. The song has been featured since on several Bowie compilations. In a survey conducted by PRS for Music, the song was voted as the top song the British public would play at street parties in celebration of the 2011 Royal Wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William.

Music video

The pair went to London Docklands to film a video with director David Mallet. The music video was shown twice at the Live Aid event. It was also shown in movie theaters before showings of Ruthless People, for which Jagger had recorded the theme song.

7": EMI America / EA 204 United Kingdom

1. "Dancing in the Street" (Clearmountain Mix) – 3:07
2. "Dancing in the Street" (instrumental) – 3:17

12": EMI America / 12EA 204 United Kingdom

1. "Dancing in the Street" (Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero Mix) – 4:40
2. "Dancing in the Street" (dub version) – 4:41
3. "Dancing in the Street" (edit) – 3:24

Personnel