Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen song)
Encyclopedia
"Dancing in the Dark" is a 1984
song, written and performed by American
rock singer Bruce Springsteen
. Adding up-tempo synthesizer
riffs and some syncopation
to his sound for the first time, it became his biggest hit and, as the first single released from Born in the U.S.A.
, started it off to becoming the best-selling album of Springsteen's career.
Springsteen's producer and manager Jon Landau
liked the album but wanted a sure-fire first single, one that was fresh and directly relevant to Springsteen's current state of mind (as much of Born in the U.S.A. had been written two years earlier). Landau and Springsteen got into an argument, but later on Springsteen wrote "Dancing in the Dark", and his irked mood from the day's argument combined with the frustrations at trying to complete the album quickly poured out into the lyrics.
created the 12-inch "Blaster Mix" of "Dancing in the Dark", wherein he completely reworked the album version. Overdubbed were tom-toms
, dulcimer
s, glockenspiel
, assorted backing vocals, bass and horn sythesizer parts, and gunshot
sounds. Springsteen's vocal part was chopped up, double-tracked, echoed and repeated, with certain lines such as "You sit around getting older" and "Heeey, baby!" made even more prominent. The remix was released on July 2, 1984.
The result generated a lot of media buzz for Springsteen, as well as actual club play; the remix went to #7 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play
chart, and had the most sales of any 12-inch single in the United States in 1984. However, many of Springsteen's hard-core rock fans, who had been suspicious of the new sound of "Dancing in the Dark" to begin with, despised the remix. Baker was subsequently quoted in angry response: "I got really offended. What is so different? It has a fucking glockenspiel, which Bruce has used before, background vocals ... it's no different. See, if any of those mixes had come out before, with no one knowing the other version, no one would have said a word."
, usually being played as the second song of the second set. Echoing the music video, the song's outro would be extended while Springsteen searched the front rows of the audience for a (usually cute young) woman to pull up onstage and dance with. This became quite the prize for the female faithful, and considerable jostling for position with stage security and each other could take place. Once up, some fans danced well, others wanted hugs more than steps, and some just froze.
During the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express, the song was usually the next-to-last song of the second set, but it was played much the same and the same pull-the-girl-on-stage routine took place. However, by the start of the 1992 "Other Band" Tour, the song was drastically reshaped as a slow, tired harangue on solo electric guitar with no fan and no dancing. This interpretation only lasted a dozen or so performances before it was dropped from the set list
.
Though it was his biggest hit, "Dancing in the Dark" gradually disappeared from Springsteen concerts for a decade, until it resurfaced as a regular encores selection shortly after the start of the 2002-2003 Rising Tour
. Now presented in a more rock-oriented arrangement, it was warmly received by fans and stayed in the show for the balance of the tour, after which it went back into retirement for Springsteen's subsequent not-rock-band tours.
The song found its revival on Springsteen's Magic Tour
in Fall of 2007, where it replaced "Waitin' on a Sunny Day
" as the penultimate encore song for the later shows on the tour. The song has been performed 429 times through 2008.
On the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour
, the song appeared intermittently during the encores. However, Springsteen for the first time played a number of music festival
s during the routing, and "Dancing in the Dark" closed all of them: Pinkpop Festival, Bonnaroo Music Festival
, Glastonbury Festival
, and Hard Rock Calling
. When played live in recent years, the song features a harder, guitar-driven sound, with the distinctive syntheizer riff being supplied by Soozie Tyrel's violin.
chart (his highest charting song to date) in June–July 1984 (it was kept off the #1 spot by Duran Duran
's "The Reflex
" and that year's song of the summer, Prince
's "When Doves Cry
"). It did reach #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart. It was also the first of a record-tying seven top 10 hit singles to be released from Born in the U.S.A. "Dancing in the Dark" also held the #1 spot for six weeks on Billboard's Top Tracks chart.
Although the song only peaked at #5 in Australia
, it remained on the charts for most of 1984 and was that country's highest selling single of the year. It spent a total of 64 weeks in the Top 100.
In the UK, "Dancing in the Dark" originally reached number 28 in the UK Singles Chart
when released in May 1984. However, the song was re-released in January 1985 and subsequently reached number 4 in the charts, becoming the 27th best-selling single of the year.
The recording also won Springsteen his first Grammy Award
, picking up the prize for Best Rock Vocal Performance
in 1985. It also won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance
. In the 1985 Rolling Stone
readers poll, "Dancing in the Dark" was voted "Song of the Year". The track has since gone on to earn further recognition and is as such listed one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
1984 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Janury-March:*January 21 – "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite being banned by the BBC; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.*January 27 – Michael Jackson's...
song, written and performed by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock singer Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
. Adding up-tempo synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
riffs and some syncopation
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
to his sound for the first time, it became his biggest hit and, as the first single released from Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984. A critical and commercial triumph, it found Springsteen marking a departure in his sound...
, started it off to becoming the best-selling album of Springsteen's career.
History
"Dancing in the Dark" was the last song written and recorded for Born in the U.S.A.Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984. A critical and commercial triumph, it found Springsteen marking a departure in his sound...
Springsteen's producer and manager Jon Landau
Jon Landau
Jon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
liked the album but wanted a sure-fire first single, one that was fresh and directly relevant to Springsteen's current state of mind (as much of Born in the U.S.A. had been written two years earlier). Landau and Springsteen got into an argument, but later on Springsteen wrote "Dancing in the Dark", and his irked mood from the day's argument combined with the frustrations at trying to complete the album quickly poured out into the lyrics.
Remixes
In a first-for-Springsteen effort to gain dance and club play for his music, and more non-whites in his audience, remix maestro Arthur BakerArthur Baker (musician)
Arthur Baker is an American record producer and DJ best known for his work with hip hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Planet Patrol, and the British group New Order.-Early career:...
created the 12-inch "Blaster Mix" of "Dancing in the Dark", wherein he completely reworked the album version. Overdubbed were tom-toms
Tom-tom drum
A tom-tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snare.Although "tom-tom" is the British term for a child's toy drum, the name came originally from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala; the tom-tom itself comes from Asian or Native American cultures...
, dulcimer
Appalachian dulcimer
The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
s, glockenspiel
Glockenspiel
A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, assorted backing vocals, bass and horn sythesizer parts, and gunshot
Gunshot
A gunshot is the discharge of a firearm, producing a mechanical sound effect and a chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a gunshot wound caused by such a discharge. Multiple discharges of a firearm or firearms are referred to as gunfire. The word can connotate either the sound of a...
sounds. Springsteen's vocal part was chopped up, double-tracked, echoed and repeated, with certain lines such as "You sit around getting older" and "Heeey, baby!" made even more prominent. The remix was released on July 2, 1984.
The result generated a lot of media buzz for Springsteen, as well as actual club play; the remix went to #7 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart, and had the most sales of any 12-inch single in the United States in 1984. However, many of Springsteen's hard-core rock fans, who had been suspicious of the new sound of "Dancing in the Dark" to begin with, despised the remix. Baker was subsequently quoted in angry response: "I got really offended. What is so different? It has a fucking glockenspiel, which Bruce has used before, background vocals ... it's no different. See, if any of those mixes had come out before, with no one knowing the other version, no one would have said a word."
Live performance history
"Dancing in the Dark" was a featured song throughout the 1984-1985 Born in the U.S.A. TourBorn in the U.S.A. Tour
The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteen's massively popular Born in the U.S.A. album. It was his longest and most successful tour to date. It featured a physically transformed Springsteen. After two years of bodybuilding, Springsteen had bulked up...
, usually being played as the second song of the second set. Echoing the music video, the song's outro would be extended while Springsteen searched the front rows of the audience for a (usually cute young) woman to pull up onstage and dance with. This became quite the prize for the female faithful, and considerable jostling for position with stage security and each other could take place. Once up, some fans danced well, others wanted hugs more than steps, and some just froze.
During the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express, the song was usually the next-to-last song of the second set, but it was played much the same and the same pull-the-girl-on-stage routine took place. However, by the start of the 1992 "Other Band" Tour, the song was drastically reshaped as a slow, tired harangue on solo electric guitar with no fan and no dancing. This interpretation only lasted a dozen or so performances before it was dropped from the set list
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
.
Though it was his biggest hit, "Dancing in the Dark" gradually disappeared from Springsteen concerts for a decade, until it resurfaced as a regular encores selection shortly after the start of the 2002-2003 Rising Tour
The Rising Tour
The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003...
. Now presented in a more rock-oriented arrangement, it was warmly received by fans and stayed in the show for the balance of the tour, after which it went back into retirement for Springsteen's subsequent not-rock-band tours.
The song found its revival on Springsteen's Magic Tour
Magic Tour (Bruce Springsteen)
The Magic Tour was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2007–2008 concert tour of North America and Western Europe.The tour began October 2, 2007, in Hartford, Connecticut, and concluded August 30, 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
in Fall of 2007, where it replaced "Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
"Waitin' on a Sunny Day" is a song by Bruce Springsteen that was first released in a recording with the E Street Band on his 2002 album The Rising. Although the song was not released as a single in the United States, it was released as a single in Europe, and was a hit in Sweden...
" as the penultimate encore song for the later shows on the tour. The song has been performed 429 times through 2008.
On the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour
Working on a Dream Tour
The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009...
, the song appeared intermittently during the encores. However, Springsteen for the first time played a number of music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s during the routing, and "Dancing in the Dark" closed all of them: Pinkpop Festival, Bonnaroo Music Festival
Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four day music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. It hosted its tenth annual event June 9–12, 2011...
, Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, and Hard Rock Calling
Hard Rock Calling
Hard Rock Calling is an annual music festival held in Hyde Park, London, which first took place on Saturday July 1 and Sunday July 2, 2006. The music played is primarily rock music, and various performers, including Bon Jovi, The Who, Aerosmith, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen have played at the...
. When played live in recent years, the song features a harder, guitar-driven sound, with the distinctive syntheizer riff being supplied by Soozie Tyrel's violin.
12": Columbia / 44-05028
- "Dancing in the Dark" (Blaster Mix) - 6:09
- "Dancing in the Dark" (Radio) - 4:50
- "Dancing in the Dark" (Dub) - 5:30
- The B-side of the single, "Pink CadillacPink Cadillac (song)"Pink Cadillac" is a humorous song by Bruce Springsteen which though a minor item in his canon of recorded music was a prominent concert number during Springsteen's 1984-85 Born in the U.S.A. Tour...
", was a comic rockabillyRockabillyRockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
tale about the virtues (and vices) of a colourful CadillacCadillacCadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
; in 1988 it became a #5 hit for Natalie ColeNatalie ColeNatalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
.
Chart success
Released as a single prior to the album's release, the song spent four weeks at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart (his highest charting song to date) in June–July 1984 (it was kept off the #1 spot by Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
's "The Reflex
The Reflex
"The Reflex" is the eleventh single by Duran Duran, released worldwide on 16 April 1984.The song was heavily remixed for single release and was the third and last to be taken from their third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger.-Song history:...
" and that year's song of the summer, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
's "When Doves Cry
When Doves Cry
A hit cover version by R&B singer Ginuwine was produced by Timbaland in 1996 for Ginuwine's The Bachelor album, Ginuwine's cover uses actual dove sound effects as texture for its jungle music-inspired instrumental track.-Charts:-Other cover versions:...
"). It did reach #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart. It was also the first of a record-tying seven top 10 hit singles to be released from Born in the U.S.A. "Dancing in the Dark" also held the #1 spot for six weeks on Billboard's Top Tracks chart.
Although the song only peaked at #5 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, it remained on the charts for most of 1984 and was that country's highest selling single of the year. It spent a total of 64 weeks in the Top 100.
In the UK, "Dancing in the Dark" originally reached number 28 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
when released in May 1984. However, the song was re-released in January 1985 and subsequently reached number 4 in the charts, becoming the 27th best-selling single of the year.
The recording also won Springsteen his first Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
, picking up the prize for Best Rock Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to male recording artists for works containing quality vocal performances in the rock music genre...
in 1985. It also won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance
MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance in a Video was first awarded at the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. The last of this award was given out in 1989.- See also :* MTV Europe Music Award for Best Live Act...
. In the 1985 Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
readers poll, "Dancing in the Dark" was voted "Song of the Year". The track has since gone on to earn further recognition and is as such listed one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
| Chart (1984/85) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 3 |
| UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 1 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 5 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 2 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 7 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 2 |
Cover versions
- 1985: Big DaddyBig Daddy (band)Big Daddy was an American satire/parody band, that was among the first groups to create mashups - in this case, of oldies and modern pop songs.-History:...
- 1986: The ShadowsThe ShadowsThe Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
- 1989: London Philharmonic OrchestraLondon Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
- 1998: Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers (Rock the Party)
- 1999: Mary Chapin CarpenterMary Chapin CarpenterMary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
- 2001: Pete YornPete YornPeter Joseph Yorn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who first gained international recognition after his debut record, Musicforthemorningafter, was released to critical acclaim in 2001.-Early history:Yorn's father is a dentist and his mother is a former concert pianist who worked as a...
- 2006: Tegan and SaraTegan and SaraTegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...
- 2006: Faro
- 2009: Amy MacDonaldAmy Macdonald (singer)Amy Macdonald is a Scottish recording artist. Macdonald rose to fame in 2007 with her debut album, This Is the Life and its fourth single, "This Is the Life". The single charted at number one in six different countries worldwide, and charted inside the top ten in another eleven countries worldwide...
(Live version) - 2010: The Temper TrapThe Temper TrapThe Temper Trap is an Australian indie rock band which formed in 2005. The core members are Jonathon Aherne on bass guitar and vocals, Toby Dundas on drums and programming, Dougy Mandagi on vocals and guitar, and Lorenzo Sillitto on guitar, keyboards and vocals. They are supplemented on tours with...
(Triple J Like a Version) - 2010: Julian CasablancasJulian CasablancasJulian Fernando Casablancas is an American singer-songwriter and musician of The Strokes. Casablancas pursued a solo career during The Strokes' hiatus, releasing the album Phrazes for the Young on November 3, 2009....
(Live version)