"Soca Dance" is a 1990 song written and recorded by the artist Charles D. Lewis. It was released as a single from his album ''Do You Feel It'' and became a summer hit, topping the charts in France and Belgium. The song also gave its name to the dance performed on it.

Background and writing

In France, in 1989, TF1 had sponsored

Kaoma Kaoma was a French-Brazilian band formed in 1988 by Loalwa Braz (lead vocals), Chyco Dru (bass), Jacky Arconte (guitar), Jean-Claude Bonaventure (keyboard), Michel Abihssira (drums and percussion) and Fania (backing vocals). Dru is from Martini ...

's "

Lambada Lambada () is a dance from State of Pará, Brazil. The dance became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in the Philippines, Latin America and Caribbean countries. It has adopted aspects of dances such as forró, salsa, merengue, ...

", which was huge success presented by the TV channel as the summer hit. TF1 decided to repeat the experience seeking a new song combining exoticism and suggestive dance. Finally, "Soca Dance" was chosen.. The song was written by the singer Charles D. Lewis himself (he also composed the music) and Gary Gordon-Smith who also produced it.

Chart performances

In France, "Soca Dance" went straight to number 12 on the chart edition of 14 July 1990, climbed to number seven, then was blocked at number two by

Zouk Machine Zouk Machine is an all-female zouk group from Guadeloupe which had several hits, particularly in France, such as the summer number-one single on French SNEP Singles Chart "Maldòn (la musique dans la peau)", in 1990 that sold over 1 million cop ...

's hit "

Maldòn "Maldòn" is a 1989 song recorded by the Guadeloupean band Zouk Machine. Written and produced by Guy Houllier and Yves Honoré, the song is the first single from the album of the same name, and was released in May 1990. In France, it achieved a h ...

" for consecutive two weeks. Then it topped the chart for six weeks, but was dislodged by Zouk Machine who reached number one again. After that, it almost did not stop to drop, first slowly, then more quickly, remaining for 14 weeks in the top ten and 20 weeks in the 50. It achieved

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

status awarded by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Lewis thus became the first artist from Saint Vincent, Antilles, to reach the top ten in the country, followed in 2004 by

Kevin Lyttle Lescott Kevin Lyttle Coombs (born 14 September 1976) is a Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Vincentian soca music, soca artist, who had a worldwide hit record, hit with "Turn Me On (Kevin Lyttle song), Turn Me On" in 2003, recorded with the danc ...

with his hit " Turn Me On". "Soca Dance" was also successfully in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

(

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

), topping the chart for five weeks from 18 August to 15 September 1990, and remained in the top three for nine weeks; in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, it entered at number 35 on 11 August 1990 and peaked at number five in the eighth week, and totalled 12 weeks on the chart. It was also a hit in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where it peaked at number ten in October 1990, but appeared for a single week on the chart at number 30, on 11 November 1990, in Austria. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Soca Dance" started at number 36 on 28 July 1990 and peaked at number three for two weeks, in the ninth and tenth weeks. It totalled nine weeks in the top ten and 20 weeks in the top 100, and ranked at number 25 on the year-end chart. On the European Airplay Top 50, it charted for 13 weeks with a peak at number eight in its sixth week, on 6 October 1990.

Track listings

; 7" single, 7" single France (Charles D. Lewis – "Soca Dance") (accessdate: 3 September 2021)., 7" single Germany (Charles D. Lewis – "Soca Dance") (accessdate: 3 September 2021)., 7" single Spain (Charles D. Lewis – "Soca Dance") (accessdate: 3 September 2021). # "Soca Dance" (bajan edit) — 3:56 or 3:39 (according to the editions) # "My Life, Your Life" (edit) — 4:23 ; CD maxi, CD maxi Germany (Charles D. Lewis – "Soca Dance") (accessdate: 3 September 2021)., CD maxi France (Charles D. Lewis – "Soca Dance") (accessdate: 3 September 2021). # "Soca Dance" (bajan mix) — 6:31 # "Soca Dance" (bajan edit) — 3:39 # "My Life, Your Life" (edit) — 4:23 ; 12" maxi, 12" maxi France (Charles D. Lewis – "Soca Dance") (accessdate: 3 September 2021)., 12" maxi Netherlands (Charles D. Lewis – "Soca Dance") (accessdate: 3 September 2021)., 12" maxi Germany (Charles D. Lewis – "Soca Dance") (accessdate: 3 September 2021)., 12" maxi Spain (Charles D. Lewis – "Soca Dance") (accessdate: 3 September 2021)., 12" maxi Portugal (Charles D. Lewis – "Soca Dance") (accessdate: 3 September 2021). # "Soca Dance" (bajan mix) — 6:31 # "Soca Dance" (bajan edit) — 3:39 # "My Life, Your Life" (edit) — 4:23

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

"Soca Dance", lyrics

{{Authority control 1990 songs 1990 singles Charles D. Lewis songs Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Polydor Records singles