The relationship between music and dancing is eternal. As long as artists continue to create music, there will be compositions that either mention or are specifically about dancing and there will be listeners who'll enjoy dancing to or listening to those compositions.
In that spirit, I'm asking you to memorialize four songs containing the word dance that capture for you the magical synergy connecting music and dance. My Mt. Rushmore is listed alphabetically; order yours however you choose.
1.) Dance: David Baerwald - Without question, the most obscure of my Mt. Rushmore selections, picked because of the exuberant scream "Dance!" beginning each refrain. Baerwald's composition from his 1990 recording entitled Bedtime Stories captures perfectly for me how music and dance are inextricably linked.
2.) Dance Me to the End of Love: Leonard Cohen - I was first exposed Cohen's sly song via Madeline Peyroux, whose delivery of it seduced me immediately. Cohen's central metaphor reminds us of another elemental link in life. Many memorable moments with my partner of forty-five years have been on a dance floor.
3.) Dance With Me: Orleans - It doesn't matter how much airplay this massive hit got. A song this great reveals something new on each listening. Most recently, when lead singer/composer John Hall wailed "I can take you where you want to go" at the end of the repeat of the middle eight, I realized I'll never tire hearing this gem. Unimprovable internal rhyme scheme.
4.) Last Dance: Donna Summer - The disco era - like many similar periods preceding it - made clear how strongly music and dance are connected. And though I wasn't a big fan of much of the music that was popular from this niche, for me, Donna Summer always stood apart. And this huge hit - written by Paul Jabara - belongs on my Mt. Rushmore. Disco haters: You get to build your own mountain. Just make sure the word dance appears in the title.
Oops …
ReplyDeleteI Want To Dance With Somebody …Whitney Houston
Dancing in the Street ….Martha and the Vandellas
Anonymous; Nice job; thanks for the comment. On my original list (you don't want to know how many are on that list, really you don't), I had all four of the songs you ended up including on your monument. And one of your four - Dancing in the Streets - made it to my shortlist, even if I didn't end up enshrining it on my mountain. My favorite thing about that song - the cannon-like sound of the snare drum landing on 2 and 4 of every measure. Hard to not move your feet to that kind of sound.
DeleteI too like Anonymous' choices. Not being a music aficionado, I approach if from the dancer's perspective. This blog has inspired me to create a playlist of songs with dance in the title with a focus on joyfully moving to the music:)!
DeleteInes; Obviously, I'm thrilled I "...inspired..." you to create a playlist for your dance classes. If that's so, be sure to listen to the David Baerwald tune I enshrined. I think you may find it useful for your purposes. Obviously, the Donna Summer tune fits your need snugly.
DeleteChris; Figured you'd weigh in on this post; thanks for doing so. Similar to my response to anonymous (above), three of your four were on my original VERY LONG list; I'm unfamiliar with the Men Without Hats tune. Love your first three even if none of them made it to my monument. And though I know there are many great dance songs without the word "dance" in the title, that wasn't my focus here. I was going for songs that best embody the eternal link between music & dance. And of course, my four did that perfectly; ha!
ReplyDeleteDancing on my own - Robyn
ReplyDeleteThanks Anonymous. A 1/4 size Mt. Rushmore, huh? Which of the four presidents are you going to leave all alone in the Badlands?
DeleteThe first three came immediately into my mind, the last I did scope...
ReplyDelete1) Let's Dance - David Bowie
2) I Wanna Dance with Somebody- Whitney Houston
3). You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees
4) Tiny Dancer -Elton John
ML
"Anonymous" ML; Good work. Note the first anonymous comment (at the top) enshrined two of the songs from your Mt. Rushmore on his/her monument.
DeleteI too like Anonymous' choices. Not being a music aficionado, I approach if from the dancer's perspective. This blog has inspired me to create a playlist of songs with dance in the title with a focus on joyfully moving to the music:)!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob; You're right; lots of good ideas above. From your Mt. Rushmore, I had just the Bruce song on my longlist. Will have to keep an ear out for 1-3.
ReplyDelete