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Dance This Mess Around

1979 single by the B-52's

Summary

1979 single by the B-52's

Field	Value
name	Dance This Mess Around
cover	DanceYZmess.jpg
border	yes
caption	Original 1979 Japanese single cover
type	single
artist	the B-52's
album	The B-52's
B-side
released	1979
recorded	March–April 1979
studio	Compass Point, Nassau, Bahamas
genre
length	4:36
label
writer	The B-52's
producer
prev_title	Planet Claire
prev_year	1979
year	1979
next_title	Private Idaho
next_year	1980

| B-side = "Dance This Mess Around" is a song by American new wave band the B-52's. It was released in 1979 as the third and final single from their self-titled debut album. The song features Cindy Wilson on lead vocals, as well as Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson, and has become a live favorite, even 40 years after its release.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stated in his review of the band's debut album that, along with "Planet Claire" and "Rock Lobster", "It's all great fun, but [the album] wouldn't have resonated throughout the years if the group hadn't written such incredibly infectious, memorable tunes as ... 'Dance This Mess Around'." In his review of the track, Evan Sawdey of PopMatters mentions that "fans have known this track for years as not only one of the finest tunes the group has ever composed, but also one of the absolute best tracks of the era," and that "This, along with '52 Girls', are the kind of songs that gave the band's debut its distinct personality."

In their book The Story of the B-52s, Scott Creney and Brigette Herron wrote:

In other media

The B-52's played the song on the TV show Saturday Night Live in January 1980, together with "Rock Lobster". Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl mentioned seeing the B-52's on this TV episode as a memorable moment in their preteen lives.

"Dance This Mess Around" appears in the film Alex Strangelove.

Personnel

Cindy Wilson - vocals, tambourine
Fred Schneider - vocals, toy piano
Kate Pierson - synth bass, organ, vocals
Ricky Wilson - guitar
Keith Strickland - drums, percussion

Chart positions

Chart (1980)	Peak
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	24
Australia (Kent Music Report)	43
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	35

References

Bibliography

FORCETOC

References

(2007). "The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion". [[Canongate Books.
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. (August 26, 2019). "The B-52's – The B-52's – Review".
Sawdey, Evan. (July 14, 2014). "Dance This Mess Around: The B-52's – 'Dance This Mess Around'".
(February 23, 1980). "Billboard Archive".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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