When the music plays, your body sways to the beat! Since the dawn of human civilization music and dance have complemented each other. Dance is a physical way of expressing the feelings and emotions music stirs. So, it should come as no surprise that so many songs from all genres have had the word "dance" in their titles. Take some time to enjoy over 20 of the best, and let the music take you away!
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
C&C Music Factory's Everybody Dance Now spent more than six months on the Billboard Hot 100 after being released in October 1990 and helped solidify the dance-pop era of the early 90s. It has soundtracked countless movies and TV shows, including Space Jam, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Simpsons, and The Office. It even appeared on a 2013 compilation of dance music released by Ellen DeGeneres, and in a 2016 Applebee's commercial.
Let's Dance
Let's Dance was the title track from David Bowie's 1983 album of the same name. Let's Dance was a success and was nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy Award in 1984. Bowie would later say that in 1984 Let's Dance was virtually a new kind of hybrid, using blues-rock guitar against a dance format.
Magic Dance
Magic Dance was written for and sung by David Bowie in the 1986 George Lucas and Jim Henson film Labyrinth. In the film, Bowie plays Jareth. Interestingly, it's said Jareth's "magic dance" refers to the 1947 Cary Grant Shirley Temple movie The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.
Blood on the Dance Floor
Michael Jackson co-directed the Blood on the Dance Floor short film with choreographer Vincent Patterson. It made its world premiere on the long-running U.K. music program Top of the Pops. RIP Michael Jackson. May you dance forever.
Dancing on my Own
Dancing on my Own, a song by Swedish singer Robyn, is an electronic and pop dance song that was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dancing Record. While Robyn's original version became a cult favorite, it had little commercial success. All that changed six years later when it was covered, in a very different form, by Calum Scott. His version was a fixture on the charts for many weeks and even went gold, selling over 400,000 copies.
Dance With Me
Dance With Me was the fifth studio album by Canadian country music artist Johnny Reid. It was released in 2009. Dance With Me, the title track of the album, was released as a single and reached # 10 on the country charts. When Johnny Reid decided to name his album Dance With Me, it was an invitation to his fans to get up and dance.
Batdance
Prince recorded the entire soundtrack for Batman. Both the single Batdance and soundtrack hit number one on the US Billboard charts. Batdance marked Prince's fourth number one single.
Dancing in the Dark
This was the last song written for Bruce Springsteen's Born In The U.S.A album. Springsteen wrote it after his manager, Jon Landau, demanded a hit single for the album. Ironically, it was Bruce Springsteen's first hit single.
You Should Be Dancing
The Bee Gees disco hit, You Should Be Dancing, was one of the biggest hits of the era. It was included in the movie Saturday Night Fever, along with several other Bee Gees songs, and it was recently featured at the end of the animated movie Despicable Me.
Tiny Dancer
Tiny Dancer was the opening track on Elton John's 1971 album Madman Across the Water. Though it didn't make much of a splash at that time, it has gone on to become an Elton John classic. Elton sang Tiny Dancer at the 2007 Concert for Diana. The concert was held on the 10th anniversary of Diana's death and was broadcast to 140 different countries around the world.
Dancing Queen
Dancing Queen was from Abba's fourth studio album, Arrival. Released in 1976, Dancing Queen is still one of the most highly acclaimed songs ever produced and the first song in the Europop Track genre.
Last Dance
Sung by Donna Summer in the film Thank God it's Friday, Last Dance won the 1978 Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and Donna Summer also won the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Last Dance was one of the best disco songs of all time.
Private Dancer
Private Dancer, sung by the iconic Tina Turner, was the title track of her 1984 album of the same name. It was one of five singles released from the album, and the track reached number three on the US R&B chart.
Your Mama Don't Dance
Your Mama Don't Dance was a 1972 hit song by Loggins and Messina. In early 1973 it reached number four on the Billboard pop chart and number 19 on the Billboard Easy Listening Chart. In 1989 Poison released a single that reached # 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Dancing On The Ceiling
Dancing on the Ceiling was the title track of Lionel Richie's 1986 album of the same name and was his second biggest single from the album. It reached #2 in the US and # 7 in the UK. Following the success of the album and single, Richie almost entirely disappeared from the music industry for six years.
Dance With the one That Brought You
This song was released in 1993 and sung by country singer Shania Twain. It had only a so-so success on the radio, but the music video that was directed by Sean Penn and starred Charles Durning put tears in everyone's eyes. Many Shina fans now consider Dance with the One That Brought You the best song she ever recorded.
Dancing with Myself
Third time was a charm for Billy Idol. Idol and bassist Toy James wrote Dancing with Myself and it was first recorded by their band Generation X in 1979. Generation X re-branded itself and re-released the song as Gen X, but that was also a sales failure. However, in 1981, after Gen X broke up, Idol released Dancing with Myself as a solo single in the US and the release became his first hit in America.
Just Dance
Just Dance is the debut single by Lady Gaga. It was released in 2008, topped the charts around the world, and spent five months on Billboard Hot 100. In 2009, it received a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording category, and it's one of the top-selling singles of all time. In an article written for The Guardian, Gaga said; "That record saved my life."
I Hope You Dance
A crossover song, I Hope You Dance was country singer Lee Ann Womack's pop crossover and signature song. It was the title track of her album of the same name, reached number one on both the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts, and number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100.
Save the Last Dance for Me
Save the Last Dance for Me was first recorded in 1960 by The Drifters. It was the B side of the record, and it was Dick Clark that turned the record over and made Save the Last Dance for Me one of the Drifters greatest hits. It spent 3 non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the U.S. Pop Charts. It has also been recorded by French singer Dalida, Dolly Parton, and Michael Bublé.
Let the Music Take You Away
There are so many songs with dance in the title, so, here's a few more you'll enjoy: Come Dance with Me, Dance Little Sister, After the Dance, You Should Be Dancing, Do You Wanna Dance?, and on and on. Everybody has a favorite that will spark a memory and take them to another time and place.
