"I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playin" is a 1968

psychedelic soul Psychedelic soul (originally called black rock or conflated with psychedelic funk) is a form of soul music which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s. The style saw African-American soul musicians embrace elements of psychedelic rock, ...

single by

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

girl group

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1973 as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas) were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s as a major act for Motown Records. Formed by friends Annett ...

(credited as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas).

Background

It's notable for featuring background vocals by

the Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by M ...

(who had been in a succession of Vandellas singles since " My Baby Loves Me") and

Syreeta Wright Syreeta Wright (born Rita Wright, February 28, 1946 – July 6, 2004), known mononymously as Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights were songs ...

, who had recently signed to the Motown label and was dating Motown artist

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, at the time. The song talked about how one woman's musician boyfriend leaving her with questions about how he was running off without giving the woman a hint of what he was exactly doing. Reeves would later say that the reason why the chorus was sung by Wright and not by Reeves was because she and the Vandellas had a touring schedule that did not allowed her to re-record the chorus, which had been changed with different music. The original recording circulates among collectors, but Reeves can be heard singing the new chorus with Wright and the Andantes in the end of the song, on the mix that was finally released.

Credits

*Lead vocals by

Martha Reeves Martha Rose Reeves (born July 18, 1941) is an American R&B and pop singer. She is best known for being the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, which scored several major Hot 100 hits such as " Nowhere to Run", "Heat ...

*Additional lead vocals by

(on the chorus) *Background vocals by

: Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps *Written by

Deke Richards Deke Richards (born Dennis Lussier;"Jackson 5 producer Deke Richards dies aged 68 ...

& Debbie Dean *Produced by Deke Richards

Chart performance

The song nearly returned the group to the top 40 on the ''Billboard'' singles chart peaking at number 42 and reaching number 24 on the R&B singles chart.

Beatmasters version

British group the

Beatmasters The Beatmasters are an English electronic music group who gained success in the UK in the late 1980s with four top 20 hit singles. They then went on to produce and remix records for other artists, including Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and Marc A ...

with

Betty Boo Alison Moira Clarkson (born 6 March 1970), better known as Betty Boo, is a British Singing, singer, songwriter and Rapping, rapper. She first came to mainstream prominence in the late 1980s following a collaboration with the Beatmasters on th ...

released their version in 1989 titled "Hey DJ/I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing)" which reached the top 20 in four countries as well as No. 8 on the US ''Billboard'' Dance chart. Its highest position was number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, and it also peaked at No. 10 in New Zealand, No. 14 in the Netherlands and No. 17 in Ireland.

References

1968 songs 1969 singles 1989 singles Martha and the Vandellas songs Betty Boo songs Songs written by Deke Richards Motown singles Songs about dancing {{1960s-single-stub