"Dancing Machine" is a song recorded by American R&B outfit

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

, and was the title track of their ninth studio album. The song was originally recorded for the group's 1973 album '' G.I.T.: Get It Together'' and was released as a remix for a response to the success of the single.

Background

The song, which reportedly sold over three million copies, popularized the physically complicated

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

dance technique, devised by Charles Washington in the late 1960s.

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

first performed the dance on television while singing "Dancing Machine" with the Jackson 5 on an episode of ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...

'' on November 3, 1973. It was the group's first US top ten hit since 1971's " Sugar Daddy". "Dancing Machine" brought the Jackson 5 their second

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

for

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1970 and 2011. From 1967 to 1969 and in 1971 the award included instrumental performances. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1967 to 1968 the ...

, losing to

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus Al ...

and

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

's "

Tell Me Something Good "Tell Me Something Good" is a song by Rufus and Chaka Khan, written by Stevie Wonder and released in 1974. The single was a hit in the United States, peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spent one week at number one on the ' ...

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

and

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jackson ...

*Background vocals by Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson,

Tito Jackson Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (born October 15, 1953) is an American musician. He is an original member of the Jackson 5 (later known as The Jacksons), who rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s with the Motown label, and later had continued ...

Jackie Jackson Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951) is an American singer best known as a founding member of the Jackson 5, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Jackson is the second child of the Jackson family, a ...

and

Marlon Jackson Marlon David Jackson (born March 12, 1957) is an American entertainer, singer and dancer best known as a member of the Jackson 5. He is the sixth child of the Jackson family. Marlon now runs Study Peace Foundation to promote peace and unity wor ...

*Instrumentation by Los Angeles area session musicians: **Bass by William Salter **Guitars by

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...

, David T. Walker and Arthur Wright **Drums by

James Gadson James Gadson ( James Edward Gadson; born June 17, 1939) is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B. He is also a singer and ...

**Percussion by

Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for Motown and move to ...

**Keyboards by

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

*Produced by

Hal Davis Harold Edward Davis (February 8, 1933 – November 18, 1998) was an American songwriter and record producer. Davis was a producer and writer for Motown Records for nearly thirty years, and was a key figure in the latter part of the Motown ...

*Arranged by Arthur Wright

Charts

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, "Dancing Machine" went to No. 2 on the ''RPM'' 100. In the United States, it hit No. 1 on ''

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 ...

'' and reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, behind "

The Streak Streak or streaking may refer to: *Streaking, running naked in a public place *Streaking or surfactant leaching in acrylic paints * Streaking (microbiology), a method of purifying micro-organisms *Streak (mineralogy), the color left by a mineral ...

" by

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...

. In addition, it hit No. 1 on the

R&B charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1974.

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1974 This is a list of ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine's Top Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 singles of 1974 in music, 1974. The Top 100, as revealed in the Talent In Action section of ''Billboard'' dated December 28, 1974, is based on Hot 100 c ...

All-time charts

Samples and cover versions

"Dancing Machine" was most notably

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...

, on his 1990 album ''

Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' is the third studio album by American rapper MC Hammer, released on February 12, 1990 by Capitol Records and EMI Records. The album was produced, recorded and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley. The album ...

'', for "Dancin' Machine". It was also sampled again in 1990 by

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, ''Hooked'', ...

on the album ''

To the Extreme ''To the Extreme'' is the major label debut studio album of American rapper Vanilla Ice released on September 3, 1990. The album contains Vanilla Ice's most successful singles, " Ice Ice Baby" and a cover of " Play That Funky Music". Although revie ...

'', later by

Too $hort Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...

(featuring

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with ...

) on the song "Shout It Out" and by Q-tip on the 2008 album ''

The Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

'' for "Move".

Yung Wun James Carlton Anderson better known by his stage name Yung Wun is an American rapper from Atlanta. Biography Yung Wun was raised in Eastlake Meadows housing projects, otherwise known as "Little Vietnam". Yung Wun was very quickly exposed t ...

sampled it for " Tear It Up" on his album ''

The Dirtiest Thirstiest ''The Dirtiest Thirstiest'' is the only studio album by American rapper Yung Wun. The album reached #50 in ''Billboard's'' chart of 'R&B Albums' and #11 in its list of Top Heatseekers. The album included the rapper's biggest single to date, " T ...

'', in which the sample was uncredited and is taken directly from the film

Drumline Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...

, when the marching band performed it in medley. Additionally, the song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Roni Griffith Roni Griffith is an American former 1980s disco musician and model from Bloomington, Indiana. Career She was one of the original Coconuts in the popular 1980s group Kid Creole and the Coconuts. They opened up for The B-52's, Huey Lewis and the Ne ...

in 1984. Another alternate

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

version was released on ''

The Original Soul of Michael Jackson ''The Original Soul of Michael Jackson'' is a remix album by American singer Michael Jackson. It features songs recorded early in his career mainly during the 1970s and remixed in 1987, before its release that year by Motown. Release While the ...

'' in 1987. It was remixed with extra vocals and many overdubbed instruments, giving it an 80's pop feel rather than a mid 70's disco feel.

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

covered the song in 1997 as an unreleased demo. It was also covered by

Suburban Legends Suburban Legends are an American ska punk band that formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1998 and later based themselves in nearby Santa Ana. After building a fanbase in the Orange County ska scene through their numerous regular perform ...

on their

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

-only EP, '' Dance Like Nobody's Watching: Tokyo Nights''. A longer alternate version (4:25) appears on the ''

I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters ''I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters'' is a Jackson 5 compilation released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band's debut on Motown Records; their debut single "I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Ja ...

'' compilation released in 2009. A remix by

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977, or 1978), professionally known as Polow da Don, is an American record producer and rapper. Jones has produced a variety of singles for a multitude of artists including "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj (2014) ...

was featured in a commercial for Svedka. This version was later released on the 2009 album ''

The Remix Suite ''The Remix Suite'' (digital title: ''Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite'') is a compilation of remixed hits by singer Michael Jackson. Although labeled as a Michael Jackson release, the majority of remixes are of hits during his tenure with The J ...

''. In

D-TV ''D-TV'' was a series of music videos created by The Walt Disney Company and produced by Charles Braverman and edited by Ted Herrmann which premiered on May 5, 1984, by taking hit songs of the past and putting them together with various footage of ...

, it was set to the ''

Dance of the Hours ''Dance of the Hours'' (Italian: ') is a short ballet and is the act 3 finale of the opera '' La Gioconda'' composed by Amilcare Ponchielli. It depicts the hours of the day through solo and ensemble dances. The opera was first performed in 187 ...

'' segment from ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

''.

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

interpolated part of the song (''watch her get down, watch her get down'') for his 2013 album The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 for "Murder". The song was reworked and covered by English singer

Laura Mvula Laura Mvula ( Douglas; born 23 April 1986) is a British singer. A native of Birmingham, England, Mvula has gained experience as a young member or leader of a cappella, jazz/neo-soul and gospel groups and choirs. She was classically trained. In ...

in 2017, with the song produced by

Naughty Boy Shahid Khan ( ur, شاهد خان; born 1 January 1981), better known by his stage name Naughty Boy, is a British DJ, record producer, songwriter and musician. In 2012, Khan signed a three–year publishing deal with Sony ATV, as well as a rec ...

References

{{authority control 1973 songs 1974 singles The Jackson 5 songs Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Hal Davis Song recordings produced by Hal Davis Songs written by Dean Parks Motown singles