"Dance This Mess Around" is a song by American new wave band

the B-52's The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...

. It was released in 1979 as the third and final single from their self-titled debut album. The song features

Cindy Wilson Cynthia Leigh Wilson (born February 28, 1957) is an American musician and one of the vocalists, songwriters and founding members of New wave music, new wave rock band the B-52s. She is noted for her distinctive contralto voice and also plays per ...

on lead vocals, as well as

Fred Schneider Frederick William Schneider III (born July 1, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and frontman of the rock band the B-52s, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well known for his '' sprechgesang'', which he developed from reciting ...

and

Kate Pierson Catherine Elizabeth Pierson (born April 27, 1948) is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of the B-52s. She plays guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments. In the early years, as well as being a vocalist, Pierson was the main ...

, and has become a live favorite, even 40 years after its release.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

stated in his review of the band's debut album that, along with "

Planet Claire "Planet Claire" is a song the B-52's released in July 1979 as the second single from their first album ''The B-52's''. Based on Duane Eddy's version of Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn theme, the single reached number 43 on the Australian Kent Music R ...

" and "

Rock Lobster "Rock Lobster" is a song by American band the B-52's, written by their singer Fred Schneider and guitarist Ricky Wilson. It was twice recorded and released as a single, first by DB Records as their debut release in April 1978, and again the ...

", "It's all great fun, but he albumwouldn't have resonated throughout the years if the group hadn't written such incredibly infectious, memorable tunes as ... 'Dance This Mess Around'." In his review of the track, Evan Sawdey of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' mentions that "fans have known this track for years as not only one of the finest tunes the group has ever composed, but also one of the absolute best tracks of the era," and that "This, along with '52 Girls', are the kind of songs that gave the band's debut its distinct personality." In their book ''The Story of the B-52s'', Scott Creney and Brigette Herron wrote:

In other media

The B-52's played the song on the TV show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' in January 1980, together with "

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...

and

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

mentioned seeing the B-52's on this TV episode as a memorable moment in their preteen lives.Creney and Herron (2023), p. 95. "Dance This Mess Around" appears in the film ''

Alex Strangelove ''Alex Strangelove'' is a 2018 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Craig Johnson and starring Daniel Doheny, Antonio Marziale, and Madeline Weinstein. The film had its world premiere at the San Francisco International Film Fe ...

''.

Personnel

- vocals, tambourine *

- vocals,

toy piano The toy piano, also known as the ( in German), is a small piano-like musical instrument. Most modern toy pianos use round metal rods, as opposed to strings in a regular piano, to produce sound. The U.S. Library of Congress recognizes the toy pia ...

synth bass Keyboard bass (shortened to keybass and sometimes referred as a synth bass) is the use of a smaller, low-pitched keyboard with fewer notes than a regular keyboard or pedal keyboard to substitute for the deep notes of a bass guitar or double bass ...

, organ, vocals * Ricky Wilson - guitar *

Keith Strickland Julian Keith Strickland (born October 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and one of the founding members of the B-52s. He was born in Athens, Georgia. Originally the band's drummer, Strickland ...

- drums, percussion

Chart positions

References

__FORCETOC__ {{authority control The B-52's songs 1979 singles 1979 songs Island Records singles Songs about dancing Song recordings produced by Chris Blackwell Songs written by Kate Pierson Songs written by Fred Schneider Songs written by Keith Strickland Songs written by Cindy Wilson Warner Records singles