"Touch Me When We're Dancing" is a song written by Terry Skinner, J. L. Wallace and Ken Bell. Skinner and Wallace headed the

Muscle Shoals, Alabama Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

session group

Bama Bama or BAMA may refer to: Places * Bama, shortened form of Alabama, a state of the United States of America ** The University of Alabama, a public university serving the state, often known as simply ''Bama'' * Bama, one of the colloquial Burmes ...

, who first recorded this song and released it as a single in 1979 reaching number 42 on the ''Billboard''

Easy Listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music, adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on ...

and number 86 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song was later recorded by

The Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

in 1981 for their '' Made in America'' album. In 1984, it was recorded by country music artists

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer, businessman, actor, and musician. Among his hits are " Room Full of Roses", " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and “ Lonely Nights”. ...

and

Charly McClain Charlotte Denise "Charly" McClain (born March 26, 1956) is a retired American country music singer, best known for a string of hits during the 1980s. McClain's biggest hits include " Who's Cheatin' Who", " Sleepin' with the Radio On", and " Radi ...

for their 1984 duet album ''It Takes Believers'' and in 1986 by the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

group

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Bama version

The version by Bama was produced by Jim Vienneau and released on the Free Flight label. It received a positive review in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' which praised the "smooth production" and said that the song "allows the group to achieve a strong identity".

Charts

Weekly charts

Carpenters' version

The Carpenters' version of "Touch Me When We're Dancing" was released on their '' Made in America'' album in the summer of 1981. Placing at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it was the last of their singles to reach the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

after not having a song appear on that chart for over three years. It was also their fifteenth (and final) number-one song on the

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stati ...

. The B-side, "Because We Are in Love", was played at

Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and early drummer of the highly successful duo the Carpenters, formed with her older brother Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard. Wi ...

's wedding to Thomas Burris on August 31, 1980.

Music video

The video for "Touch Me When Were Dancing" can be found on The Carpenters video collection ''

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

''. The video consists of Karen Carpenter singing and slowly dancing by her brother Richard Carpenter's piano. Footage of a couple dancing is

superimposed Superimposition is the placement of one thing over another, typically so that both are still evident. Superimpositions are often related to the mathematical procedure of superposition. Audio Superimposition (SI) during sound recording and repro ...

onto Richard's black piano, as is a view from behind Richard of his hands as he plays. In the background are the guitar player and the drummer.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals *

Richard Carpenter Richard Carpenter may refer to: * Richard Carpenter (theologian) (1575–1627), English clergyman and theological writer * Richard Carpenter (ca. 1700–1750), original owner of the Belvale property in Virginia * Richard Cromwell Carpenter (1812� ...

– backing vocals, Fender Rhodes electric piano, piano,

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

Joe Osborn Joe Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Tony Peluso Anthony F. Peluso (March 28, 1950 – June 5, 2010) was an American guitarist and record producer. He was lead guitarist for pop duo Carpenters from 1972 to 1983. Peluso played the fuzz guitar solo on the Carpenters' song "Goodbye to Love". He al ...

– acoustic and electric guitars *Tim May – acoustic and electric guitars *

Larrie Londin Ralph Gallant (October 15, 1943 − August 24, 1992), known professionally as Larrie Londin, was an American drummer and session musician. According to journalist James Byron Fox, "If not the best known, Larrie is one of the most listened to dr ...

– drums *

Paulinho da Costa Paulinho da Costa (, born Paulo Roberto da Costa on May 31, 1948) is a Brazilian percussionist. Beginning his career as a samba musician in Brazil, he moved to the United States in the early 1970s and worked with Brazilian bandleader Sérgio Me ...

–

wind chimes Wind chimes are a type of percussion instrument constructed from suspended tubes, rods, bells, or other objects that are often made of metal or wood. The tubes or rods are suspended along with some type of weight or surface which the tubes or ro ...

cabasa The cabasa, similar to the shekere, is a percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a wooden cylinder. The cylinder is fixed to a long, wooden or plastic handle. The metal cabasa was created by Mar ...

shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

, tambourine,

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell (instrument), bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. ...

* Tom Scott – tenor saxophone *Earl Dumler –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

Carolyn Dennis Carolyn Dennis (born April 12, 1954), sometimes known professionally as Carol Dennis or Carol Dennis-Dylan, is an American singer best known for her work with and marriage to Bob Dylan. Career Dennis sang back-up on most of Bob Dylan's albums du ...

– backing vocals

Alabama version

The Alabama version was released in September 1986 as the first single from the album '' The Touch''. It went on to become a number one hit on ''Billboard''s

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart later that year, their 20th straight chart-topper in a string that dated back to 1980.

Music video

A music video was made for the song, and was directed by Marc Ball.

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1979 singles 1981 singles 1986 singles 1979 songs The Carpenters songs Mickey Gilley songs Charly McClain songs Alabama (American band) songs A&M Records singles RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Harold Shedd Songs written by Terry Skinner Songs written by Ken Bell (songwriter) Songs written by J. L. Wallace Songs about dancing