I Gotta Dance to Keep from Crying
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2014) |
"I Gotta Dance to Keep from Crying" | |
---|---|
Song |
"I Gotta Dance to Keep from Crying" was a 1963 hit by the Miracles on Motown's Tamla label. It was a Billboard Top 40 Pop hit,reaching #35 on that chart, and a Top 20 hit on its R&B chart, peaking at # 17 . It was written and produced by Motown's main songwriting team, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland, and was the follow-up to the group's Top 10 pop hit, "Mickey's Monkey", written by the same team.
The smash success of that song, according to Motown policy, automatically gave Holland-Dozier-Holland the green light to write and produce the Miracles' next release, which resulted in this song.[1] Like "Mickey's Monkey", "I Gotta Dance to Keep from Crying" features a "live party" feel. The song's title is a play on the old expression, "I Gotta Laugh to Keep from Crying", highlighting the all-too-human tendency to escape from heartbreak or personal pain by dancing, laughing and having a good time. Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson, as the song's narrator, portrays a young man trying to get over the heartbreak of a recent breakup with his girl: "Gather 'round me, swingers and friends...help me forget my hurt within...I lost the only girl I've ever loved...the only one I'm thinking of...and I've gotta dance to keep from crying..." Holland-Dozier-Holland later went on to write another Top 20 hit for the Miracles in 1966, "(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need", which was the last song to bill the group as "The Miracles" before their name was officially changed to "Smokey Robinson and the Miracles". "I Gotta Dance to Keep from Crying" has inspired cover versions by The Who and Jimmy James, and was included on the group's albums The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey, I Like It Like That (withdrawn from the U.S.), Greatest Hits from the Beginning, and several other Miracles "greatest hits" albums and CD anthologies. However, the original stereo version[2] of this song (as found on Greatest Hits from the Beginning and other compilations) does not fade out the background music towards the end of the song, as it does in the single version[3]. This is corrected in the stereo mix found in 2002's Ooo Baby Baby: The Anthology.[4]
The song was ranked Number 356 out of the 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made by the American rock critic Dave Marsh, who wrote: "no band ever cut a deeper groove than the Motown group does here".[5] The British rock journalist Jon Wilde ranked it Number 6 among his top ten favourite songs in 2007, calling it "pure Motown gold and the greatest party-on record there ever was".[6]
Personnel
The Miracles
- Smokey Robinson – lead vocals
- Bobby Rogers – background vocals
- Marv Tarplin – guitar
- Claudette Robinson – background vocals
- Pete Moore – background vocals
- Ronnie White – background vocals
Other Credits
- The Funk Brothers – instrumentation
- Holland–Dozier–Holland producer
References
- ^ "356. The Miracles: "I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying"". Motown Junkies. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
- ^ SambaRock Nostalgia. Nando (2015-04-24), Smokey Robinson the Miracles - i gotta dance to keep from crying, retrieved 2018-08-24
- ^ jrocuts (2010-12-07), I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying - The Miracles - HQ, retrieved 2018-08-24
- ^ luvnhappinezz's juke joint (2010-03-07), I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying Smokey Robinson.wmv, retrieved 2018-08-24
- ^ Dave Marsh (1999). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Da Capo Press. p. 246. ISBN 030680901X.
- ^ Wilde, Jon (9 August 2007). "Would your favourite songs pass the Weller taste test?". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2013.