Friday, May 17, 2024

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "You Make Me Feel Like Manson” Edition

[Apologies to Leo Sayer for today's title -- S.S.]

Still recovering from seeing Neil Young and Crazy Horse down the street from Casa Simels in Forest Hills last night -- but that's a whole other story; let's just say, I wanted to kill the audience.

In the meantime, let's get immediately to the weekend's business, which is inspired by the brilliant choreography in The Heart of Rock and Roll that I mentioned yesterday.

To wit:

...and your favorite post-Elvis, non-Disco pop/rock/soul/country song referencing a dance or dancing in its title or lyrics is...???

No arbitrary rules, you're welcome very much, but a warning -- I'm gonna enforce that exclusionary No Disco clause big time. Seriously, if you mention any of that Boogie Oogie Oogie shit I will come to your house and slap you with a dead fish.

Oh -- and my nominee?

The Beach Boys. "Dance, Dance, Dance."

A Rickenbacker 12-string, one of the all-time killer riffs, and those harmonies = one of the greatest singles of the 60s.

I should add that A) I've never seen that clip before, and have no clue from whence it derives -- anybody have an idea? B) If you ever wondered if the original BB lineup could cut it live, the above should settle the issue. Brian, in particular, shines -- trust me, simultaneously playing that riff and singing like an angel is not a skill to be sneezed at,

Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

33 comments:

Allan Rosenberg said...

Walking The Dog - Rufus Thomas

Captain Al

edward said...

Mystery Dance - Elvis Costello
I Wish You Could Have Seen Her Dance - T-Bone Burnett
Dancing Barefoot - Patti Smith
Land of 1000 Dances - Wilson Pickett
Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen
Dancing With Tears in My Eyes - X
When You Dance - Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes

Cleveland Jeff said...

Dance Me To The End of Love, written by Leonard Cohen, sung by Madeleine Peyroux

Anonymous said...

Monster Mash - Bobby Pickett
The Crawl - The Fabulous Thunderbirds
Reelin' and Rockin' - Chuck Berry
The Funky Western Civilization- Tonio K
rs

John K said...

Dancing With Myself. Billy Idol
Lord Of The Dance. Donovan
Let Her Dance. The Bobby Fuller Four
Dance With Me. Steeleye Span
The Loco-Motion. Little Eva

Anonymous said...

Dance with Me-Mojo Men
Dance with Me-Orleans
Dance with Me-Peter Brown
She Can't Dance-Marshall Crenshaw

I believe Glen Campbell played the "Dance, Dance, Dance" lick on the record, flubbed a note or two but decided to leave it in.

Bob in IL

steve simels said...

I must admit to a sneaking fondness for that Orleans song. I kinda learned how to play bass by emulating the fabulous part on the record.

Gummo said...

I have a sneaking fondness for that Orleans song, too. Mainly because right when their first album came out, I saw them in our college gym with an unknown warm-up band called Hall & Oates.

As for the topic of this discussion, I also have a sneaking fondness for Grand Funk Railroad's version of Loco-Motion, only because how out-of-tune the singing is. GFR did that a LOT.

In fact, there's a subject for ya - Most Out-of-Tune Singing on a Released Record.

cthulhu said...

I have a fondness for the Dictators’ version of California Sun :-)
And the Wicked Pickett’s version of Land of 1000 Dances.

Alzo said...

Re: No Disco: Why move from side-to-side when you can jump up and down?

Chris Spedding + Vibrators: Pogo Dancing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5zhXJxnU1Q

J. Loslo said...

Dancing with Joey Ramone-- Amy Rigby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqGPTFZ-fxM

billy b said...

Keep on Dancing - The Gentries
Mary Jane's Last Dance - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Bill said...

Waltzing's for Dreamers--Richard Thompson
The Old Country Waltz--Neil Young
The Band Played Waltzing Matilda--The Pogues

Anonymous said...

- --Steve, here is my Neil Young story
I am 15 years old, doing roast for a band signed to Buddha
We open for Neil/Crazy Horse in a small basement cafe
I was able to sit about 5' from Neil and later C/H
Afterwards vsited C,/H in the "Green Room"" (lol) Neil took off with his long
haired California beauty
rob

JD Goldberg said...

Mystery Achievement - The Pretenders
All of your promises
Don't fill me with pride no
I just wanna get out on the floor
And do the Cuban slide, slide, slide, slide

steve simels said...

Ah Doug -- the Pretenders. Say no more.

mistah charley, sb, ma, phd, jsps said...

moondance - van morrison

Anonymous said...

Results of too much energy drink followed by intense workout. I guarantee it's much better than Harrelson's Own. All synapses firing and I can't sit down.

You Can't Sit Down - Dovells

Here's soome more that crossed my noggin:

Ain't Nothin But a House Party - Showstoppers/J. Geils Band
Dance Along the Ledge - Concrete Blonde
Twist and Shout - Isleys-Beatles
Dance to the Music - Sly & Family Stone
C'mon Everybody - Eddie Cochran (gonna dance with 3 or 4)
Dance the Night Away - Cream (psychedelic 12-string) (super underrated)
Save the Last Dance for Me - Drifters
Dancing Queen - Abba
Walk This Way - Aerosmith (took a big chance at the high school dance)
Hey Negrita - Rolling Stones
For a Dancer (for Vito) - Jackson Browne
Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum (Skip the light Fandango)
Tiny Dancer (for Genie the Tailor) - Elton John
Dancing Girl - Dion with Mark Knopfler
Dance the Night Away - Van Halen
Your Mama Don't Dance - Loggins & Messina
Like An Old Fashioned Waltz - Sandy Denny
Dancing In the Moonlight - Thin Lizzy
Land - Patti Smith
I Saw Her Standing There - Beatles
All the Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople (boogaloo dudes)
Do You Wanna Dance - Bobby Freeman
Boogaloo Down Broadway - Dyke & the Blazers/Fantastic Johnny C.
Mr. Bojangles - Jerry Jeff Walker
Cool Jerk - Capitols
Blondie - Rapture
Orlons - Wah-Watusi
Come Dancing - Kinks
Bang a Gong (Get It On) - T. Rex (so let's dance, take a chance, understand me - you're dirty, sweet and you're my girl)
Dancing Days - Led Zeppelin
Cherry - UFO (On the tabletops she's dancing, sit and smile into your beer
Turn around now Cherry for me, let me know you know I'm here)
Let Her Dance - Bobby Fuller Four
Moonchild - King Crimson
Celebrate - Three Dog Night
Joni Mitchell - In France They Kiss On Main Street
Honoloochie Boogie - Mott the Hoople
Same Old Song and Dance - Aerosmith
Hot Stuff - Rolling Stones
Cosmic Dancer - T. Rex (I danced myself right out of the womb)
Miracles - Going To a Go Go
Midnight Dancer - The Cars
When the Music's Over - Doors (the whole "dance on fire" bit)
Dance with the Dragon - Jefferson Starship
Lady of the Dancing Water - King Crimson
Spanish Dancer - Steve Winwood

VR

Anonymous said...

Seconding the Bobby Fuller Four "Let Her Dance," and adding "No Kinda Dancer" by Robert Earl Keen and "Tom Traubert's Blues" by Tom Waits. Delightful, always

getawaygoober said...

Dancing The Night Away~The Amazing Rhythm Aces

steve simels said...

VR—

Very cool list. And I had completely forgotten the Capitols song, which totally rocks.😎

BG said...

I won’t name them all, but there were zillions of dance songs in the ‘60’s, all of which spawned actual dances … in addition to the Locomotion, the Twist, there was the Stroll, Mashed Potato Time, Bristol Stomp, Pony, Hitchhike, Watusi, Fly, Mickey’s Monkey, the Jerk … all of which I knew how to do!

Guypinot said...

Tom T. Hall - I Can't Dance

Alzo said...

How could I have forgotten one of my favorite Stones numbers?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9jpREFU4yY Dance, Little Sister, Dance!

Jimbo said...

And continuing the Neil Young theme: When You Dance I Can Really Love

The guitar intro still randomly pops into my head and stays there for hours.

Anonymous said...

And some more

Good Times - Easybeats (Bony Maronie)
We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together - Velvet Underground
Woman from Tokyo - Deep Purple (dancing in an Eastern dream)
Sookie Sookie - Steppenwolf, Don Covay (do the Baltimore jig...boomerang with me)
Bron Y-Aur Stomp - Led Zeppelin
Shake a Tail Feather - Mitch Ryder & Detroit Wheels/Five Du-Tones
Dancing In the Moonlight - King Harvest
Step On Out - Chris Hillman (love this song and album) (She's front page news in her dancin' shoes - a screamin' headliner romance)
Don't Forget to Dance - Kinks
The New Softshoe - Gram Parsons
Surrender to the Rhythm - Brinsley Schwarz
Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - Genesis
Wang Dang Doodle - Howlin' Wolf / Koko Taylor / Grateful Dead
Do the Strand - Roxy Music
Lido Shuffle - Boz Scaggs
Song and Dance - Heads, Hands & Feet
John, I'm Ony Dancing - David Bowie
Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air) - Captain Beyond
Little Latin Lupe Lu - Righteous Brothers
Sabre Dance - Love Sculpture

Good Times - Easybeats (Bony Maronie)
We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together - Velvet Underground
Woman from Tokyo - Deep Purple (dancing in an Eastern dream)
Sookie Sookie - Steppenwolf, Don Covay (do the Baltimore jig...boomerang with me)
Bron Y-Aur Stomp - Led Zeppelin
Shake a Tail Feather - Mitch Ryder & Detroit Wheels/Five Du-Tones
Dancing In the Moonlight - King Harvest
Step On Out - Chris Hillman (love this song and album) (She's front page news in her dancin' shoes - a screamin' headliner romance)
Don't Forget to Dance - Kinks
The New Softshoe - Gram Parsons
Surrender to the Rhythm - Brinsley Schwarz
Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - Genesis
Wang Dang Doodle - Howlin' Wolf / Koko Taylor / Grateful Dead
Do the Strand - Roxy Music
Lido Shuffle - Boz Scaggs
Song and Dance - Heads, Hands & Feet
John, I'm Ony Dancing - David Bowie
Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air) - Captain Beyond
Little Latin Lupe Lu - Righteous Brothers
Sabre Dance - Love Sculpture

VR

Anonymous said...

How'd that happen?

VR

How'd that happen?

VR

steve simels said...

VR — thanks for the Chris Hillman. That was a new one on me…

Allan Rosenberg said...

Everybody Danced:

two versions -

Peter Spencer
and
Steve Simels


Old Captain Al

elroy said...

I love Dance, Dance Dance but love Do You Wanna Dance even more - the way they burst into the chorus!

Anonymous said...

Steve Simels -

That Hillman song features Steve Cropper, George Terry, Paul Harris and Jim Gordon with Chris on bass and vocals. It's easy to hear Timothy B on the harmonies along with Herb Pedersen.

The first time I heard that song was at a huge outdoor concert that was headlined by the Beach Boys. It sounded great playing through the massive sound systen betweeen sets. It was around the fourth of July and I was dancing around to it in my bikini. They played the whole first side of Hillman's "Slippin' Away" album before the Beach Boys took the stage with "California Girls." I recognized Chris' voice and went directly to the legendary Beggars Banquet record store and bought it after the show. It's worth checking out. Good songs, great players and clean production. Some may say it's too "L.A." But they're prejudiced.

Years later, after his gig at McCabe's, I told him how much I loved that song. We ended up informally singing it together in the front seat of his car.

VR

Anonymous said...

WORST

Do the Freddie - Freddie & the Dreamers

VR

Speaking of dancing, my Junior High aspiration was to be a Gazzarri's dancer. Gazzarri's, of course, is a Sunset Strip club of legend. Sam Riddle's "Hollywood a Go Go" was shot there and they used the club's dancers for the TV show. The Gazzarri's dancers were the hippest, foxiest and most intelligent of all the TV Go-Go dancers. They were the cream. Check out the beginning of this clip. They're on fire. I want a copy of that record they're dancing to. I'll also have some of whatever it is they're taking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPPuds5QkG8

Anonymous said...

BTW, the record (vehicle) the Gazzarris' Dancers are letting loose to is "Whittier Blvd" by Thee Midniters. I soooo wanted to be Gwen. DO try this at home. Be the dream.

VR