"Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" is a song by American R&B band Chic. It was the group's first single, a hit in the United States (reaching number 6 on both the pop and R&B charts), as well as in the United Kingdom and Canada. In addition, along with the tracks "You Can Get By" and "Everybody Dance", the single reached number one on the

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

chart.

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

provided backup vocals. He was working as a session vocalist at the time. The "yowsah, yowsah, yowsah" part of the title, which appears as a spoken interjection in the middle of the song, originated with the American jazz violinist and radio personality

Ben Bernie Benjamin Anzelevitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 20, 1943),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P ...

, who popularized it in the 1920s. The phrase was revived in 1969 by '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'', a film about a Depression-era dance marathon. According to co-writer

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...

Reception

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 ...

'' called it "pure disco with something extra." ''Oakland Tribune'' critic Larry Kelp called it "one of the worst records of the year."

Track listing and formats

;Buddah 7" BDA 583, 1977 / Atlantic 7" 3435, September 30, 1977 *A. "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" (7" Edit) - 3:41 *B. "São Paulo" - 5:01 ;Buddah 12" DSC 121, 1977 / Atlantic 12" DK 4600, 1977 *A. "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" - 8:21 *B. "São Paulo" - 5:01 ;Atlantic 12" promo DSKO 101, 1977 *A. "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" - 8:21 *B. "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" (7" Edit) - 3:41 ;Atlantic 12" DK 4621, 1978 *A. "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" - 8:21 *B. "Everybody Dance" (12" Mix) - 8:25

Charts

References

External links

* Song Reviewfrom

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

1977 debut singles Chic (band) songs Songs written by Bernard Edwards Songs written by Nile Rodgers Song recordings produced by Nile Rodgers Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards 1977 songs Atlantic Records singles {{1970s-single-stub