"I Will Dare" is a song by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band The Replacements, written by

Paul Westerberg Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Replacements. Following the breakup of the Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him re ...

. The song's pop stylings were a departure from the band's punk origins and its lyrics reflected the band's willingness to "dare to do anything." The track also features guitar performed by

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his car ...

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative ...

The song was released as a single on

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Twin/Tone Records Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the T ...

in July 1984, shortly before the release of the band's album ''

Let It Be Let It Be most commonly refers to: * ''Let It Be'' (Beatles album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970 * "Let It Be" (Beatles song), the title song from the album It may also refer to: Film and television * ''Let It Be'' (1970 ...

'' that October, on which the song served as the opening track. The song has since seen critical acclaim and has been named by music writers as one of the band's best songs.

Background

"I Will Dare" was written by Replacements frontman

shortly after the band completed their ''

Hootenanny A hootenanny is a party involving music in the United States. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Placeholder Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in the early twentieth century U.S. as a placeholder name ...

'' album. According to producer

Peter Jesperson Peter Jesperson is an American music industry businessman from Minneapolis, Minnesota, known for his involvement in discovering the Replacements, and for later serving as their manager. He also co-founded Twin/Tone Records along with Paul Stark an ...

, Westerberg attempted to get the song onto ''Hootenanny'': "I got a call from Paul saying, 'I've just finished the best song I've ever written. We need to record it now.' But the record was already done, so we couldn't do it." Westerberg has called the song as an answer to U2's "

I Will Follow "I Will Follow" is a song by rock band U2. It is the opening track from their debut album, ''Boy'', and it was released as the album's second single in October 1980. Lead singer Bono wrote the lyrics to "I Will Follow" in tribute to his mother, ...

" and has also described the track as "a kind of love song." He further noted that the song's title was an apt motto for the band, and said, "We'll dare to flop . .We'll dare to do anything." The song is based on a shuffle rhythm and features Paul Westerberg playing a mandolin.

plays guitar on the song, including the solo after lead guitarist

Bob Stinson Robert Neil Stinson (December 17, 1959 – February 18, 1995) was an American musician best known as a founding member and lead guitarist of the American rock band The Replacements. Biography Early life Bob Stinson was born on December 17 ...

couldn't come up with an adequate solo himself. Buck recalled, "I was just sitting there, and Bob said something like, 'I can't play a solo on this fucking thing.' Those weren't his chords. And Paul goes, 'Hey, Peter, you do it.

Release

"I Will Dare" was released as the opening track and debut single from the band's 1984 album ''

''. Though it did not reach any national charts, the song was a college radio hit, reaching number one on 55 college radio stations and saw play on local stations in Chicago and Long Island. For the single release, "I Will Dare" was backed by cover recordings of

T.Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

's "

20th Century Boy "20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan, released as a stand-alone single on 2 March 1973. It entered in the UK Singles Chart at number 3, on 10 March 1973 and peaked three weeks in a row at that position. It stayed a ...

" and

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

' " Hey Good Lookin'." The cover of "Hey Good Lookin'" was recorded at a club performance in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. Although Replacements guitarist

claimed his guitar solo on the recording was deliberately off-key, Stinson tried to grab the tape of the recording from his bandmates as they replayed it endlessly and laughed at the solo after the show. A 1986 live recording of the song is found on the 2017 album '' For Sale: Live at Maxwell's 1986''.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

writes that the song "stands as perhaps the band's most beloved song and is a touchstone for their mid-'80s heyday, not to mention its status in the

jangle Jangle or jingle-jangle is a sound typically characterized by undistorted, treble-heavy electric guitars (particularly 12-strings) played in a droning chordal style (by strumming or arpeggiating). The sound is mainly associated with pop m ...

and

college rock College rock was the alternative rock music played on student-run university and college campus radio stations located in the United States and Canada in the 1980s. The stations' playlists were often created by students who avoided the mainstream ...

canons." The song has been ranked by many music writers as one of the best Replacements songs. ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' ranked the song as the best Replacements song, calling it "As bouncy, jangly and infectious as an early

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

hit." ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' named it their second best song, dubbing it "without a doubt the band's most consumable and forthright pop song" and calling it the best opening track on any Replacements album. ''

Diffuser.fm Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' ranked it the band's ninth best song. The song has been included in

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

Track listing

# "I Will Dare" (Westerberg) – 3:18 # "

" (Bolan) # " Hey Good Lookin'" (Williams)

Notes and references

{{authority control 1984 singles The Replacements (band) songs 1984 songs Songs written by Paul Westerberg