"Dr. Beat" is the first international single released by the American band

Miami Sound Machine Miami Sound Machine was an American Latin pop band of Latin-influenced music that featured the vocals of Cuban-born recording artist Gloria Estefan (née Fajardo). Established in 1975 by Emilio Estefan, the band was originally known as the Mia ...

, led by Cuban-American singer

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

, on their first

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, but eighth overall,

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, '' Eyes of Innocence''. The song was written by the band's drummer Enrique "Kiki" García and was released worldwide in 1984, becoming a hit in several European countries and propelled the album to success.

Song history

"Dr. Beat" was not quite as popular in the US as some of Miami Sound Machine's later singles, only peaking at number 17 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart. However, it became one of the group's biggest international hits, reaching the top 10 in Spain and peaking at number six in the United Kingdom. The song has maintained popularity through inclusion on a number of 1980s retrospective albums. It also became popular again in 2005 when Scottish DJ and producer

Mylo Myles MacInnes (born 10 May 1978), better known by his stage name Mylo, is a Scottish electronic musician and record producer. His 2004 album '' Destroy Rock & Roll'' peaked at number 26 on the UK Albums Chart. He is best known for his 2005 si ...

mashed the song up with his hit " Drop the Pressure" to create "

Doctor Pressure "Doctor Pressure" is a mash-up song of the two songs by Mylo and Miami Sound Machine, from the re-issue of Mylo's debut studio album ''Destroy Rock & Roll'' (2004). The song was written by Elias Enrique Garcia and the producer Mylo. It was rel ...

", which became a hit single in its own right. In 2024, the song's 2000 remix "Emergency 911" by

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went viral on social media, becoming popular on video-sharing platforms like

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and

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. It was remixed again in

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style by Dj Johnrey as "Emergency Budots" in 2024 which would spawn a viral TikTok dance trend that same year.

Chart performance

Although "Dr. Beat" did not chart on the main US Hot 100, it saw success in various countries in Europe. The song entered the chart in the UK in the top 10, helped in large part by an appearance on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' by the band, and then started to make debut on other European charts. The song was less popular in the

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in comparison to the other countries, but became a dance hit, peaking in the top 20 on the US

Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

charts. The song was certified Silver by the BPI in the

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for its sales of 200,000 copies and Gold by the

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for its sales of 35,000 units.

Music video

At the beginning of the music video for the song, which was shot on location on the rooftop of the Bacardi Imports Tower where Enrique García and Emilio Estefan worked for a short time, Gloria Estefan is singing and dancing on the roof of a tall building, in front of frantic crowd. Estefan is calling for Dr. Beat, which is played by songwriter and drummer Enrique García, to help cure her from her desire to dance continuously. Dr. Beat takes her from the scene to the hospital, as Estefan performs a choreography on the way. In the hospital, Dr. Beat conducts some investigations and performs surgery on Estefan. In the end a boom box is removed from inside of Estefan where it was attached to a cord similar to a umbilical cord on a child and cut by Dr. Beat.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Dr. Beat". * US 12" vinyl maxi-single () #"Dr. Beat" (long version) #"Dr. Beat" (instrumental version) * US 7" vinyl single () #"Dr. Beat" (album version) #"When Someone Comes Into Your Life" (album version)

Official versions

Original versions #Album version – 4:26 #Long version – 6:26 #Instrumental version – 5:26 #Hustlers Up-Town full length disco remix – 6:51

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1984 singles 1984 songs Epic Records singles Miami Sound Machine songs Songs written by Enrique Garcia (songwriter)