在街上跳舞 (1964)

"Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William Stevenson, and Ivy Jo Hunter for Martha and the Vandellas in 1964, whose version reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks, behind "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" by Manfred Mann. It also peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart following a rerelease in 1969. It is one of Motown's signature songs and is the group's premier signature song.

A 1966 cover by the Mamas & the Papas was a minor hit on the Hot 100, reaching No. 73. In 1982, the rock group Van Halen took their cover of "Dancing in the Street" to No. 38 on the Hot 100 chart and No. 15 in Canada on the RPM chart. A 1985 duet cover by David Bowie and Mick Jagger charted at No. 1 in the UK and reached No. 7 in the US. The song has been covered by many other artists, including the Kinks, the Mamas & the Papas, Tages, Grateful Dead and Van Halen.

Background

Reeves recounted that she initially regarded the song as too repetitive. Gaye and Stevenson agreed and including new Motown songwriter Ivy Jo Hunter added in musical composition. Martha Reeves remembered Marvin Gaye recorded the song first and sang it as though singing to a lover. Reeves, envisioning block parties and Mardi Gras, asked the producers to let her sing it her way. The song was recorded in two takes. The song's writers made sure to include Detroit as one of the cities mentioned with the lyric: "Can't forget the Motor City".

Civil rights anthem

"Motown records had a distinct role to play in the city's black community, and that community—as diverse as it was—articulated and promoted its own social, cultural, and political agendas. These local agendas, which reflected the unique concerns of African Americans living in the urban north, both responded to and reconfigured the national civil rights campaign" (Smith 227). The movement lent the song its secondary meaning and the song with its second meaning fanned the flames of unrest. This song (and others like it) and its associated political meanings did not exist in a vacuum. It was a partner with its social environment and they both played upon each other, creating meaning that could not have been brought on by one or the other alone. The song therefore became a call to reject peace for the chance that unified unrest could bring about the freedom that suppressed minorities all across the United States so craved.

Reception

"Dancing in the Street" peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart when it was originally released as the group's third album Dance Party's first single in 1964 (see 1964 in music), with "There He Is (At My Door)" included as a B-side. "Dancing in the Street" also reached the Top 5 on the UK Singles Chart peaking at No. 4 in a 1969 release after initially peaking at No. 28 on the chart and helped to revive the Vandellas' success in the UK. Cash Box described it as "an infectious romp that drops names of various locales as it declares that dancing is sweeping the country", stating that it is "one of those sure-fire sock-rock productions."

Martha and the Vandellas' version of "Dancing in the Street" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2006, this version was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. Lead singer Martha Reeves said she was thrilled about the song's perseverance, saying "It's a song that just makes you want to get up and dance".

Billboard named the song No. 29 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

"Street Fighting Man", a 1968 song from the Rolling Stones, slightly modifies a signature line from "Dancing in the Street" to be: "Summer's here and the time is right for fighting in the street."

In 2026, the song was included in Esquire's list of the "25 Most American Songs of All Time", with journalist Alan Light writing that the song "reminds us that in this country, strong Black voices are inherently and powerfully political."

Personnel

• Martha Reeves – lead vocals
• Betty Kelly, Rosalind Ashford, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Ivy Jo Hunter – backing vocals
• The Funk Brothers – instrumentation
• Robert White – guitar
• Eddie Willis – guitar
• Joe Messina – guitar
• James Jamerson – bass guitar
• Marvin Gaye – drums
• Jack Ashford – percussion, tambourine, vibes

Ivy Jo Hunter – percussion (tire iron)

• Henry Cosby – tenor saxophone
• Thomas "Beans" Bowles – baritone saxophone
• Russ Conway – trumpet
• Herbert Williams – trumpet
• Paul Riser – trombone
• George Bohanon – trombone

The Kinks version

British rock band the Kinks recorded "Dancing in the Street" for their second studio album Kinda Kinks in 1965. It was one of only two cover songs on the album, and was recorded on February 15–17, 1965 at Pye Studios Number 2 in London, United Kingdom. The song was rush-recorded, along with most of Kinda Kinks in order to get a quicker release date. The album was released on March 5, 1965 and reached number 3 in the UK, and number 60 in the US.