"Dance, Dance, Dance" 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 Wale ...

band

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 ...

from their 1965 album '' Beach Boys Today!''. Written by

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 ...

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, ...

, and

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 ...

, it was first issued as a single in October 1964, backed with " The Warmth of the Sun". "Dance, Dance, Dance" marked Carl's first recognized writing contribution to a Beach Boys single, his contribution being the song's primary guitar riff and solo.

Composition

"Dance, Dance, Dance" was composed by

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...

and

, while the lyrics were written by Brian and

. Although many pop songs raise their key at the start of a final chorus, "Dance, Dance, Dance" subverts this convention by modulating in the middle of the verse. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the song as having a "tremendous rock -surfin' beat and groovy lyrics," saying that the Beach Boys "have never sounded better." ''

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 a "sensational hot-rod-surfin' ocker... that zips along with money-makin' glee."

Variations

The song was originally released in mono, while a remixed

stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

version was released on the compilation ''Hawthorne, CA''. An early version of the song, with different lyrics and arrangement, appears as a bonus track on ''

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 ...

''/'' Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)'' two-fer CD.

Personnel

Credits from 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 ...

– backing and harmony vocals; rhythm guitar *

– lead, backing and harmony vocals *

– lead, backing and harmony vocals; bass guitar *

– backing and harmony vocals; lead guitar (twelve-string) *

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 ...

– backing and harmony vocals; drums Additional musicians *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

– sleigh bells,

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument ( idiophonic), used in Spanish, Calé, Moorish, Ottoman, Greek, Italian, Mexican, Sephardic, Portuguese, Filipino, Brazilian, and Swiss music. In ancient ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

– acoustic rhythm/lead guitar * Steve Douglas –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

*Carl Fortina –

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

* Jay Migliori –

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

*Ray Pohlman – 6-string bass guitar

Charts

Cover versions

Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips is an American pop vocal group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of sisters Carnie and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phi ...

– featuring Brian Wilson's daughters Carnie and

Wendy Wendy is a given name generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, a male Captain Wendy Oxford was identified by the Leveller John Lilburne as a spy reporting on his activit ...

– recorded the song for their album ''California''. *

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013, featuring the band Big Time Rush portrayed as a fictional version of th ...

sang a cover of this song on the special " Big Time Beach Party". * The song was recorded and released by Jan & Dean on their 1982 album, ''One Summer Night/Live''. * Joanie Bartels covered this song on her 1991 album, ''Dancin' Magic''.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1964 singles The Beach Boys songs Jan and Dean songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Songs written by Mike Love Songs written by Carl Wilson Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Capitol Records singles 1964 songs Songs about dancing