"Dance On!" is an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

by British group

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

, released as a single in December 1962. It went to number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. A vocal version, with lyrics by Marcel Stellman, was recorded by British female vocalist Kathy Kirby, whose version reached number 11 on the UK chart in September 1963.

Release and reception

"Dance On!" was written by Valerie Murtagh, Elaine Murtagh and Ray Adams, better known for being the members of pop vocal group the Avons. It was released with the B-side "All Day", written by Bruce Welch and Hank Marvin. In the US and Canada, "Dance On!" was released with the B-side "The Rumble", written by guitarist Ike Isaacs. Reviewed in '' New Record Mirror'', "Dance On!" was described as sounding "rather reminiscent of Duane Eddy ... which soon falls into the jug-along formula that we're used to. Tuneful and exciting in parts, there's a lot of versatility involved in this one. Not as original as we expected though – but perhaps originality for this sort of group has been exhausted". Reviewing for '' Disc'',

Don Nicholl Donald Nicholl (August 9, 1925 – July 5, 1980) was an English screenwriter and producer who later worked in the United States. Early life Nicholl was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Sunderland, England. He worked as a journalist, columnis ...

wrote that the song "beats a very infectious path and the side has a lot more to offer than their "Guitar Tango" dramaties".

Track listings

7": Columbia / DB 4948 # "Dance On!" – 2:22 # "All Day" – 2:34 7": Atlantic / 45-2177 (US and Canada) # "Dance On!" – 2:20 # "The Rumble" – 1:52

Personnel

* Hank Marvin – electric lead guitar * Bruce Welch – acoustic rhythm guitar * Brian Locking – electric bass guitar * Brian Bennett – drums, sistrum

Charts

Kathy Kirby version

Release and reception

Kirby's version of "Dance On", with lyrics by Marcel Stellman, was released in June 1963 and became her first charting single, though it did not enter the UK Singles Chart until the third week of August, reaching its peak four weeks later. However, it became more successful in Australia, where it topped the charts. The song features guitar by

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

as well as an orchestral arrangement by Charles Blackwell. It was released with the B-side "Playboy", written by Clive Westlake and Richard Gregory. Reviewing for ''Disc'', Don Nicholl described the orchestra as an "excellent compelling noise" and that "Kirby's vocal of this melody is well up to the standard of that start. The girl sings the song strongly and in a manner which should make it a very commercial proposition". In ''New Record Mirror'', it was described as having "a nicely-handled vocal", with "some good drumming behind her and a general sense of drive and urgency without anything being overdone".

Track listing

7": Columbia / F 11682 # "Dance On" – 2:28 # "Playboy" – 2:34

Charts

Other versions

* In 1963,

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

recorded the song in French ("Je me sens bien auprès de toi") and Italian ("Sto volentieri con te"), the former of which made the top 5 in France and peaked at number 2 in Wallonia. She also recorded an English version for album release on the Canadian market. Clark also recorded a vocal version of another of the Shadows' UK chart topper, " Foot Tapper", mainly for the French market and sung entirely in French as "Mon bonheur danse". * In 1963, Wyn Hoop record a German-language version ("Warum gehst du an mir vorbei"), which peak at number 45 in Germany. * In 1964, Bill Haley and His Comets released a Spanish-language version of the song, "A Gusto Contigo", on their album ''Surf, Surf, Surf'' ( Orfeon Records LP-12-354). Haley's recording is patterned after the Clark "Je me sen bien" arrangement.Otto Fuchs, ''Bill Haley: Father of Rock 'n' Roll''. Gelhausen, Germany: Wagner Verlag, p. 564

References

{{authority control 1962 singles UK singles chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Australia Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Petula Clark songs 1960s instrumentals 1962 songs Columbia Graphophone Company singles Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor Songs written by Valerie Murtagh The Shadows songs