"Dancing Machine" is a song recorded by American R&B outfit the Jackson 5, and was the title track of their ninth studio album. The song was originally recorded for the group's 1973 album '' G.I.T.: Get It Together'' and was released as a remix for a response to the success of the single.

Background

The song, which reportedly sold over three million copies, popularized the physically complicated robot dance technique, devised by Charles Washington in the late 1960s.

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

first performed the dance on television while singing "Dancing Machine" with the Jackson 5 on an episode of ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series ...

'' on November 3, 1973. It was the group's first US top ten hit since 1971's " Sugar Daddy". "Dancing Machine" brought the Jackson 5 their second Grammy Award nomination in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, losing to Rufus and

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

's "

Tell Me Something Good "Tell Me Something Good" is a song by Rufus and Chaka Khan, written by Stevie Wonder and released in 1974. The single was a hit in the United States, peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spent one week at number one on the ...

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

and Jermaine Jackson *Background vocals by Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson,

Tito Jackson Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (born October 15, 1953) is an American musician. He is an original member of the Jackson 5 (later known as The Jacksons), who rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s with the Motown label, and later had continued ...

Jackie Jackson Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951) is an American singer best known as a founding member of the Jackson 5, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Jackson is the second child of the Jackson family, a ...

and

Marlon Jackson Marlon David Jackson (born March 12, 1957) is an American entertainer, singer and dancer best known as a member of the Jackson 5. He is the sixth child of the Jackson family. Marlon now runs Study Peace Foundation to promote peace and unity wor ...

*Instrumentation by Los Angeles area session musicians: **Bass by William Salter **Guitars by Dean Parks, David T. Walker and Arthur Wright **Drums by James Gadson **Percussion by

Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for Motown and move to ...

**Keyboards by Joe Sample *Produced by

Hal Davis Harold Edward Davis (February 8, 1933 – November 18, 1998) was an American songwriter and record producer. Davis was a producer and writer for Motown Records for nearly thirty years, and was a key figure in the latter part of the Moto ...

*Arranged by Arthur Wright

Charts

In Canada, "Dancing Machine" went to No. 2 on the ''RPM'' 100. In the United States, it hit No. 1 on ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' and reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, behind " The Streak" by Ray Stevens. In addition, it hit No. 1 on the

R&B charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1974.

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1974 This is a list of ''Billboard'' magazine's Top Hot 100 singles of 1974. The Top 100, as revealed in the Talent In Action section of ''Billboard'' dated December 28, 1974, is based on Hot 100 charts from the issue dates of November 24, 1973, through ...

All-time charts

Samples and cover versions

"Dancing Machine" was most notably

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

by MC Hammer, on his 1990 album ''

Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' is the third studio album by American rapper MC Hammer, released on February 12, 1990 by Capitol Records and EMI Records. The album was produced, recorded and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley. The album r ...

'', for "Dancin' Machine". It was also sampled again in 1990 by

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, ''Hooked'', ...

on the album ''

To the Extreme ''To the Extreme'' is the major label debut studio album of American rapper Vanilla Ice released on September 3, 1990. The album contains Vanilla Ice's most successful singles, "Ice Ice Baby" and a cover of "Play That Funky Music". Although reviews ...

'', later by

Too $hort Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...

(featuring

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with ...

) on the song "Shout It Out" and by Q-tip on the 2008 album '' The Renaissance'' for "Move".

Yung Wun James Carlton Anderson better known by his stage name Yung Wun is an American rapper from Atlanta. Biography Yung Wun was raised in Eastlake Meadows housing projects, otherwise known as "Little Vietnam". Yung Wun was very quickly exposed t ...

sampled it for " Tear It Up" on his album ''

The Dirtiest Thirstiest ''The Dirtiest Thirstiest'' is the only studio album by American rapper Yung Wun. The album reached #50 in ''Billboard's'' chart of 'R&B Albums' and #11 in its list of Top Heatseekers. The album included the rapper's biggest single to date, " T ...

'', in which the sample was uncredited and is taken directly from the film Drumline, when the marching band performed it in medley. Additionally, the song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

by Roni Griffith in 1984. Another alternate remix version was released on '' The Original Soul of Michael Jackson'' in 1987. It was remixed with extra vocals and many overdubbed instruments, giving it an 80's pop feel rather than a mid 70's disco feel. Paula Abdul covered the song in 1997 as an unreleased demo. It was also covered by

Suburban Legends Suburban Legends are an American ska punk band that formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1998 and later based themselves in nearby Santa Ana. After building a fanbase in the Orange County ska scene through their numerous regular perform ...

on their Japan-only EP, '' Dance Like Nobody's Watching: Tokyo Nights''. A longer alternate version (4:25) appears on the '' I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters'' compilation released in 2009. A remix by

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977, or 1978), professionally known as Polow da Don, is an American record producer and rapper. Jones has produced a variety of singles for a multitude of artists including "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj (2014) ...

was featured in a commercial for

Svedka Svedka is a mid-priced brand of vodka owned by New York-based Constellation Brands. The product name is a portmanteau of the words ''Sverige'' or ''Svenska'' ("Sweden" and "Swedish" respectively in the Swedish language) and "vodka". The spirit ...

. This version was later released on the 2009 album ''

The Remix Suite ''The Remix Suite'' (digital title: ''Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite'') is a compilation of remixed hits by singer Michael Jackson. Although labeled as a Michael Jackson release, the majority of remixes are of hits during his tenure with The J ...

''. In

D-TV ''D-TV'' was a series of music videos created by The Walt Disney Company and produced by Charles Braverman and edited by Ted Herrmann which premiered on May 5, 1984, by taking hit songs of the past and putting them together with various footage o ...

, it was set to the '' Dance of the Hours'' segment from '' Fantasia''. Justin Timberlake interpolated part of the song (''watch her get down, watch her get down'') for his 2013 album The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 for "Murder". The song was reworked and covered by English singer

Laura Mvula Laura Mvula ( Douglas; born 23 April 1986) is a British singer. A native of Birmingham, England, Mvula has gained experience as a young member or leader of a cappella, jazz/neo-soul and gospel groups and choirs. She was classically trained. ...

in 2017, with the song produced by

Naughty Boy Shahid Khan ( ur, شاهد خان; born 1 January 1981), better known by his stage name Naughty Boy, is a British DJ, record producer, songwriter and musician. In 2012, Khan signed a three–year publishing deal with Sony ATV, as well as a re ...

References

{{authority control 1973 songs 1974 singles The Jackson 5 songs Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Hal Davis Song recordings produced by Hal Davis Songs written by Dean Parks Motown singles