"And We Danced" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Hooters The Hooters are an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band combines elements of rock, reggae, ska, and folk music to create its sound. The Hooters first gained major commercial success in the United States in the mid-1980 ...

, released as the first single from their second album, ''

Nervous Night ''Nervous Night'' is a 1986 film starring American rock band The Hooters and directed by John Jopson, John Charles Jopson. Background As a follow-up to The Hooters' 1985 Columbia Records debut album ''Nervous Night (album), Nervous Night'', a f ...

''. "And We Danced" was released in 1985 and became the band's first major hit, just missing the top 20 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart (peaking at #21), but reaching #3 on the Mainstream Rock charts. It became the band's second consecutive Top 10 hit in Australia, reaching #6. The band performed the song at the

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

benefit concert in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, on July 13, 1985. The music video for the song, featuring live footage of the band filmed at the now-demolished Exton Drive-In in

Exton, Pennsylvania Exton is a census-designated place (CDP) in West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population was 5,622 at the 2020 census. The Exton Square Mall and Main Street at Exton are both located within Exton along w ...

, in the summer of 1985, was nominated for the Best New Artist in a Video award at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards. One of the members is shown playing a

Hohner Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner (1833–1902). The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg. Since its foundation, and though known ...

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

(the "hooter" from whence the band got their name), a

reed instrument Reed aerophones is one of the categories of musical instruments found in the Hornbostel-Sachs system of musical instrument classification. In order to produce sound with these Aerophones the player's breath is directed against a lamella or pair of ...

played by mouth with keyboard notes which can be fingered to produce a harmonica-like sound.

Background

Singer Eric Bazilian said,

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the song shows the "band’s flair vocally and instrumentally" and has "an appealing

Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

-like purely American sound."

Cover versions

Canadian duo

Sons of Maxwell Sons of Maxwell is a Canadian music duo who perform both traditional Celtic folk music and original compositions with a pop-folk sound. The duo consists of brothers Don Carroll and Dave Carroll, originally from Timmins, Ontario, residing in Hali ...

covered the song on their 1998 album ''The Neighbourhood''. Their version was released as a single in 1999 and peaked at number 54 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country Tracks chart. Fellow Philadelphia artist

Atom and His Package Adam Goren (born January 14, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and teacher best known as the artist Atom and His Package. Goren is a singer and guitarist who has released more than 18 albums under various aliases. His music is i ...

incorporated a cover of the chorus into the end of his 1997 song "Goalie" off the ''A Society of People Named Elihu'' album. British/Australian folk duo The April Maze released a cover of the song on their 2012 album ''Two.''

Accolades

"And We Danced" was ranked as the 88th greatest song of the 80's on

internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

station WDDF Radio's "The 88 Greatest Songs of the 80's" second annual

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

countdown in 2017.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1985 singles Songs written by Rob Hyman Songs written by Eric Bazilian The Hooters songs Sons of Maxwell songs Song recordings produced by Rick Chertoff 1985 songs Columbia Records singles Songs about dancing American power pop songs