"Do You Want to Dance" is a song written by American singer

Bobby Freeman Robert Thomas Freeman (June 13, 1940 – January 23, 2017)"Bobby Freeman"
Ace Records.co.uk. Retrieve ...

and recorded by him in 1958. It reached number No. 5 on the United States ''Billboard'' Top 100 Sides

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

chart, No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart, and No. 1 in Canada. Cliff Richard and the Shadows' version of the song reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom in 1962, despite being a B-side.

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

notably covered the song in 1965 for their album ''

The Beach Boys Today! ''The Beach Boys Today!'' is the eighth studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released March 8, 1965, by Capitol Records. It signaled a departure from their previous records with its orchestral sound, intimate subjec ...

''; retitled "Do You Wanna Dance?", their version reached No. 12 in the United States. A 1972 cover by

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

with the original title restored reached No. 17.

Bobby Freeman version

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

-born teenager Bobby Freeman had been a member of

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

groups the Romancers and the Vocaleers. When asked by a local DJ if he had written any songs, he wrote several and recorded them as solo

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...

. These included "Do You Want to Dance", which was heard by a visiting record label executive, Mortimer Palitz of

Jubilee Records Jubilee Records was an American independent record label, specializing in rhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. His partner was Jerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the company ...

. He signed Freeman to the label, and had the original recording overdubbed in New York by session musicians including guitarist

Billy Mure Sebastian "Billy" Mure (November 4, 1915 – September 25, 2013) was an American session musician, guitarist, and songwriter who recorded several albums in the 1950s and 1960s in a variety of styles, including surf, Hawaiian, swing, pop, twi ...

. Released on the Jubilee subsidiary label

Josie Josie may refer to: People * Josie (name), various people and fictional characters with the given name, a diminutive of Josephine * Edith Josie (1921–2000), Canadian writer and newspaper columnist * Peter Josie, Saint Lucia politician Music ...

, "Do You Want to Dance" quickly rose to number 5 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

and number 2 on the

R&B chart 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 ...

in early 1958, when Freeman was still only 17. Dik de Heer, "Bobby Freeman biography", ''Black Cat Rockabilly'', 2013
Retrieved 31 January 2017 Jeff Tamarkin, "‘Do You Wanna Dance’ Singer Bobby Freeman Dies", ''BestClassicBands.com''
Retrieved 1 February 2017 Contrary to some reports,

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

did not play on the record. The song was included in

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981).

Cliff Richard and the Shadows version

The

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

and

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

version also known as "Do You Wanna Dance" was released in the United Kingdom as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of " I'm Lookin' Out the Window" in May 1962. However, like seven other Cliff Richard singles released between 1959 and 1963, the B-side received a good amount of airplay and made the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' UK singles chart in its own right. On this occasion, it became Richard's second highest charting B-side (after "

Bachelor Boy "Bachelor Boy" is a song by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, written by Richard and Bruce Welch (from the Shadows). It became a hit when it was released as the B-side of Richard's single " The Next Time". Both sides of the single were regarded as ha ...

"), making it to number 10 (while "I'm Lookin' Out the Window" reached number 2). The single reached number 2 on the other UK chart, the official UK Singles Chart, listing both tracks. "Do You Want to Dance" went on to become the more successful charting track from the single in some countries, reaching number 1 in the Netherlands, Australia (based on the Sydney chart of the time, because an Australian nationwide chart had not yet started) and Flemish Belgium. The single went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide. "Do You Want to Dance" was included on the EP ''Cliff’s Hits'', released November 1962, and first appeared on LP with Richard's first compilation album ''Cliff's Hit Album'', released July 1963. A live version appeared on Richard's double album ''Japan Tour 74'' issued in 1975.

Recording

"Do You Want to Dance" was recorded on December 19, 1961 at

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

. The session, engineered by Malcolm Addy and produced by

's A&R man

Norrie Paramor Norman William "Norrie" Paramor (15 May 1913 – 9 September 1979) was a British record producer, composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and orchestral conductor. He is best known for his work with Cliff Richard and the Shadows, both togethe ...

, featured new drummer

Brian Bennett Brian Laurence Bennett (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band memb ...

and

Jet Harris Terence "Jet" Harris (6 July 1939 – 18 March 2011) was an English rock and roll musician. He was an original member of Cliff Richard's backing band the Shadows, serving as the bass guitarist from the group's inception until April 1962, aft ...

on bass, soon to leave the Shadows in 1962.

Charts

Chart entries as "Do You Want to Dance" or "Do You Want to Dance"/"I'm Looking Out the Window": Chart entries as "I'm Looking Out the Window"/"Do You Want to Dance":

The Beach Boys version

' version of "Do You Wanna Dance?" was released as a single in February 1965, and served as the opening track to their album ''

'' the following month. It is distinguished from the original through its lush orchestration, three-part vocal arrangement, and instrumental bridge key change. Dillon speculated that the rendition may have been inspired by the version by

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit " Runaway", which was covered la ...

, who had recently recorded the song, although the Beach Boys' version bears a "closer resemblance" to an earlier version by Cliff Richard and the Shadows. It was the first song the group recorded at Gold Star, Spector's favorite studio, and their second song that employed a

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

Recording

"Do You Wanna Dance?" was recorded on January 11, 1965 at

Gold Star Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California. In its entire history, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded by David S. Gold ...

and was produced, arranged and conducted by Brian Wilson. Take 3 of the song was used as the master. It was the Beach Boys' first single to feature session musicians playing most of the backing track while the group overdubbed vocals, an arrangement Wilson would maintain for the next two years. Additionally, "Do You Wanna Dance?" marked the first single released by the group following Wilson's nervous breakdown the previous year. Dennis Wilson 1966

The band's drummer

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their drummer and the middle brother of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Carl Wilson as well as ...

sang lead on the song. This came at a time in the band's history when Brian began giving more leads to Dennis. On ''The Beach Boys Today!'', Dennis sang the first and last songs of the album ("Do You Wanna Dance?" and " In the Back of My Mind"). This was because Brian had felt that Dennis "never really had a chance to sing very much", and so he gave him more leads on the album.

Release

"Do You Wanna Dance?" was released as a single through

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

on February 15, 1965. It peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was the highest charting Beach Boys song to feature

on lead vocals. According to the contemporary United Press International (UPI) chart published by newspapers across the United States it was number eight in April 1965. It did best in regional playlists in the Twin Cities, Baltimore and San Jose, where it was number two; Dallas, Seattle and San Diego to number three; Portland to number four; and Chicago, Washington DC, Phoenix, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Hartford, Tulsa and Lincoln, number five. The B-side of the single was " Please Let Me Wonder". The song was later released as the opening track of the group's 1965 album ''The Beach Boys Today!''. On February 28, the band (with Brian) appeared on the television show ''

Shindig! ''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,

Alternate versions

In 2008, the Beach Boys compilation ''U.S. Singles Collection: The Capitol Years 1962-1965'' featured an instrumental mix of "Do You Wanna Dance?" A stereo remix of the song was released in 2012 on the stereo remaster of ''The Beach Boys Today!''. A live version recorded in March 1965 was released in 2015 for the archival live album '' Live in Chicago 1965''.

Critical reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 ...

'' described it as having "an infectious neo-surfln’ style complete with rapidly-changing, danceable

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

s." Retrospectively, commentators have noted "Do You Wanna Dance?" as emblematic of the growing complexity in Wilson's work on ''The Beach Boys Today?''. Musicologist

Philip Lambert ''Inside the Music of Brian Wilson'' (subtitled ''The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius'') is a 2007 book that analyzes the music of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, authored by American musicologist Philip Lambert. ...

described "Do You Wanna Dance?" as an example of a song that "highlights the difference between ‘a song covered by the Beach Boys’ and an existing song transformed into ‘a Beach Boys song". Journalist Scott Iterrante praised "Do You Wanna Dance?" as a "sophisticated reinterpretation" by Wilson of the original song, additionally saying "Wilson proves that he can be just as harmonically and structurally inventive with catchy dance songs as he can with emotional ballads."

Personnel

Sourced from Musician's Union AFM contract sheets and surviving session audio, documented by Craig Slowinski. ;The Beach Boys *

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as number-one hit ...

– harmony and backing vocals *

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...

– harmony and backing vocals *

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

– harmony and backing vocals; acoustic grand piano *

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Dennis Wilson, ...

– harmony and backing vocals; electric lead and rhythm guitar *

– lead vocals ;Additional musicians and production staff

Charts

Bette Midler version

Bette Midler included the song—with the original title restored, "Do You Want to Dance"—on her 1972 debut album ''

The Divine Miss M ''The Divine Miss M'' is the debut studio album by American singer and actress Bette Midler, released in 1972 on the Atlantic Records label. The title of the album refers to Midler's famous stage persona. The album was co-produced by Barry Manil ...

'' as its opening track. In contrast to the Bobby Freeman, Cliff Richard, and Beach Boys versions, which are uptempo rock and roll songs, Midler slowed the tempo of the song down to a soulful sultry-sounding ballad. Midler's version was her first single release, reaching #17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in early 1973 and the top 10 of the Go-Set National Charts in Australia during April 1973. The song was #76 on

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973 This is a list of ''Billboard'' magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1973. The Top 100, as revealed in the year-end edition of ''Billboard'' dated December 29, 1973, is based on Hot 100 charts from the issue dates of November 25, 1972 through Nove ...

. In 1985, Ula Hedwig, a Bette Midler- soundalike and former backup singer, sang the song emulating Bette Midler's version for a

Mercury Sable The Mercury Sable is a range of automobiles manufactured and marketed by the Mercury brand of Ford Motor Company. Introduced on December 26, 1985, as the replacement for the Mercury Marquis, the Sable marked the transition of the mid-size Mercur ...

television commercial after Midler refused to sing in the commercial herself. Midler sued

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

in response in the now-memorable case '' Midler v. Ford Motor Co.'' in which she argued that utilizing a voice impersonator without her permission constituted appropriation of her personality rights. The

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...

ruled in favor of Midler and made Ford pull the advertisement.

Charts

Other versions

Bobby Fuller & the Fanatics The Bobby Fuller Four (sometimes stylized as Bobby Fuller 4) was a popular mid-1960s American rock & roll band started by Bobby Fuller. First formed in 1962 in Fuller's hometown of El Paso, Texas, the group went on to produce some of its most m ...

recorded a version, probably in 1964, in the Fuller home recording studio in El Paso.

had a version in 1963 that reached #43 on the US charts.

The Mamas and the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group that recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, with a brief reunion in 1971. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York C ...

included a version of the song on their debut album ''

If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears ''If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears'' is the debut studio album by the American vocal group the Mamas & the Papas (stylized as ''The Mama's and the Papa's''), released on February28, 1966. The stereo mix of the album is included on '' All th ...

'' in 1966.

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

included a version of the song on his album ''

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

'' released in 1975. The

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

' released a version of "Do You Wanna Dance?" in their album

Rocket to Russia ''Rocket to Russia'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. It is the band's last album to feature original drummer Tommy Ramone, who left the band in 1978 ...

released in 1977. It was used in the film ''

Rock 'n' Roll High School ''Rock 'n' Roll High School'' is a 1979 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, produced by Michael Finnell, and starring P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, Clint Howard and Dey Young. The film features the punk rock group Ramones ...

'', and in a television advertisement for the release of ''

Wall-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American animated Romance film, romantic science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, produced b ...

'' on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that the Ramones' treatment "is brief, rough and to the point."

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

performed the song live on tour in 1983 with his rockabilly backing band

The Shocking Pinks Shocking Pinks is the project of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nick Harte from New Zealand. History Founded in Christchurch, New Zealand, Nick Harte has played in many New Zealand bands such as the CM Ensemble, The Incisions, Mont ...

. One performance in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

was captured for the 1984

Hal Ashby William Hal Ashby (September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988) was an Cinema of the United States, American film Film director, director and Film editing, editor. His work exemplified the countercultural attitude of the era. He directed wide-rangi ...

concert film ''

Solo Trans ''Solo Trans'' is a concert film by Neil Young, directed by Hal Ashby and released in 1984. It was recorded at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio on September 18, 1983, during Young's ''Solo Trans'' tour. Originally released on only LaserDisc, the fil ...

'' from the tour of the same same.

In popular culture

* The original

Bobby Freeman Robert Thomas Freeman (June 13, 1940 – January 23, 2017)"Bobby Freeman"
Ace Records.co.uk. Retrieve ...

recording features in the comedy-drama film ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat ...

'' (1973). *

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

is rumored to have recorded the guitar on the original Bobby Freeman version. However, there is no definitive documentation of this. *

D-TV ''D-TV'' is a music video television series produced by Charles Braverman and edited by Ted Herrmann. Premiering on May 5, 1984 on the Disney Channel, the series combined both classic and contemporary popular music with various footage of vintag ...

set the original Bobby Freeman recording to ''

Flowers and Trees ''Flowers and Trees'' is a '' Silly Symphonies'' animated short film produced by Walt Disney, directed by Burt Gillett, and released to theatres by United Artists on July 30, 1932. It was the first commercially released film to be produced in t ...

'' and the ''

Nutcracker Suite ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. The plot is a ...

'' segment (''Chinese Dance'') from ''

Fantasia Fantasia may refer to: Film and television * ''Fantasia'' (1940 film), an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney ** '' Fantasia 2000'', a sequel to the 1940 film * ''Fantasia'' (2004 film), a Hong Kong comedy film * ''Fantasia'' (201 ...

''. Notes

References

Sources

* * * * {{authority control 1958 songs 1958 debut singles 1965 singles 1972 debut singles Bobby Freeman songs The Beach Boys songs Jan and Dean songs Cliff Richard songs Del Shannon songs The Mamas and the Papas songs We Five songs Bette Midler songs Dave Edmunds songs Ramones songs Songs about dancing Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements Capitol Records singles Atlantic Records singles Columbia Graphophone Company singles Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor