Listening to Martha & The Vandellas on Radio Paradise

Martha & The Vandellas — Dancing In The Street

Album: The Definitive Collection
Avg rating:

7.7

Your rating:

Total ratings: 749

Released: 1964
Length: 2:33
Plays (last 30 days): 0

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Callin' out around the world
Are you ready for a brand new beat
Summer's here and the time is right
For dancing in the street

They're dancing in Chicago (chicago echo)
Down in New Orleans (down in New Orleans echo)
In New York City
All we need is music, sweet music
There'll be music everywhere

There'll be swingin' and swayin' and records playing
Dancing in the street

Oh it doesn't matter what you wear
Just as long as you are there
So come on ev'ry guy grab a girl
Everywhere around the world

There'll be dancing
Dancing in the street

It's just an invitation across the nation
A chance for folks to meet
There'll be laughing, singing and music swinging
Dancing in the street

Philadelphia, PA
Baltimore and D.C. now
Can't forget the Motor City
All we need is music, sweet music
There'll be music everywhere
There'll be swingin', swayin' and records playing
And dancing in the street

Oh, it doesn't matter what you wear
Just as long as you are there
So come on, every guy grab a girl
Everywhere around the world

There'll be dancing
Dancing in the street
Way down in L.A., every day
Dancing in the street
Across the ocean too, me an you
Dancing in the street

Comments (108)add comment

1964.

Posted 2 months ago by Stefen [ Reply ]

KevinM wrote:

99% of the time, RP is spot on. It's extremely rare but every once in a while they play a Sucko Barfo set, which just concluded:

The Black Keys — Little Black Submarines
Led Zeppelin — Heartbreaker
Martha Reeves And The Vandellas — Dancing In The Street

2 outa 3 of those ain’t bad….

Posted 2 years ago by ckcotton [ Reply ]

every version of this song is bad….

Posted 2 years ago by ckcotton [ Reply ]

This song soars above the poor production. Such a classic!

Posted 2 years ago by stevesaw [ Reply ]

Time test: Passed

Posted 2 years ago by KalleB [ Reply ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7NLWCt_KdE

Posted 3 years ago by palatin8 [ Reply ]

Man, this evening on RP just gets better and better!

Posted 3 years ago by maxvonevil [ Reply ]

I grew up in Detroit with this music as background. It still sounds great.

Posted 3 years ago by garyalex [ Reply ]

Never trust a cop

Posted 3 years ago by ExploitingChaos [ Reply ]

I had that tutti-frutti cool dress. I

Posted 3 years ago by smorgan [ Reply ]

Baltimore and DC now ...!

Posted 4 years ago by Sam_Hill [ Reply ]

Last play four years ago. For shame.

Posted 5 years ago by Stefen [ Reply ]

"Can't forget the Motor City" ${#Dancingbanana_2}$ CKLW MEMORIES

Posted 9 years ago by willmcnaught [ Reply ]

junebaby65 wrote:

Play the Van Halen version.

Nope, RP is "VH free"!
Just dial in a classic rock station, and you'll hear "Eruption/You Really Got Me" by the time you need your first bathroom break...

Posted 9 years ago by treatment_bound [ Reply ]

Play the Van Halen version.

Posted 9 years ago by junebaby65 [ Reply ]

KevinM wrote:

The beautiful thing about RP is that you are dead wrong—about that being a Sucko Barfo set.

Posted 9 years ago by gillespp [ Reply ]

All we need is sweet music - 10!!

Posted 10 years ago by Jannne [ Reply ]

Posted 10 years ago by Peter_Bradshaw [ Reply ]

Posted 10 years ago by KevinM [ Reply ]

Still sounds just great!

Posted 10 years ago by Pedro1874 [ Reply ]

Jelani wrote:

Funny how their heights seem to have equalized since the cover shoot.

platform shoes? the smiles are more real....

Posted 10 years ago by oldfart48 [ Reply ]

Posted 10 years ago by Dahlia_Gumbo [ Reply ]

Nice album cover! Ladies are looking good!

Posted 10 years ago by unclehud [ Reply ]

Cynaera wrote:

Ages since I've heard this version - the BEST version, IMO. I be dancin'...

Miss you so much, Cynaera...

love this song...

Posted 10 years ago by Lazarus [ Reply ]

Nice segue! Led Zep to Martha in one well thought out jump.

Posted 11 years ago by hoppin_bob [ Reply ]

What? Nobody be dancing in their hotel room?

Posted 11 years ago by Gajdzin [ Reply ]

stunix wrote:

nothing wrong with this.

except that Bowie/Jagger cover

Posted 11 years ago by max_p [ Reply ]

nothing wrong with this.

Posted 11 years ago by stunix [ Reply ]

Stingray wrote:

Did you know that Rihannas Grandma was one Vandella?

No, but it makes more sense than her grandma being two Vandellas.

Posted 11 years ago by ziggytrix [ Reply ]

Did you know that Rihannas Grandma was one Vandella?

Posted 11 years ago by Stingray [ Reply ]

odd transition

Posted 12 years ago by dew34 [ Reply ]

Any version of this is unbearable....

Posted 12 years ago by ckcotton [ Reply ]

KILLER COVER-DESIGN!

Posted 12 years ago by Stingray [ Reply ]

A sentimental 8.

Posted 12 years ago by Lrobby99 [ Reply ]

My sister did, as well as the beatles, chuck berry, temptations, roy orbison, all motown stuff.....
Got lucky, I love to dance!

Posted 12 years ago by DanFHiggins [ Reply ]

my parents did not play this when I was just beginning to listen to music, and they should have.

Posted 12 years ago by cohifi [ Reply ]

jagdriver wrote:

I'll also remind you audiophiles that these mixes were optimized to sound best on that tinny little AM radio speaker in your '64 Falcon, said speaker aimed directly upward at the reflective surface of the windshield. It also had to stand out when listening to a single earpiece connected to your Magnavox transistor radio.

For those who don't know, everything was monoaural back then. Stereo LPs didn't appear en masse until about '66, and even then they were hither and yon. They also cost a buck more than their monaural counterparts.

This was when a buck bought three gallons of gas, four packs of smokes, eight comic books (or four so-called "annuals"), ten packs of baseball cards with the pink slab of bubble gum, or twenty pieces of "penny candy" at the Country Store in Concord, Mass. Stereo was an investment.

Posted 12 years ago by WonderLizard [ Reply ]

mgoldman wrote:

Ms. Reeves is now a member of the Detroit City Council and has been since 2005. Wonder if they are still Dancing in the Streets there?

Ms. Reeves is no longer a member of the City Council, which is cause for dancing in the streets. She should have kept her night job.

Posted 12 years ago by Grammarcop [ Reply ]

"Ivory Joe Hunter had a few hits of his own but felt more at home producing records. Hunter liked everything about the song except the drum track - it needed more "bump and grind." An idea hit him and he excused himself, went to his car, and brought back a crow bar. He sat on a concrete floor and said, "Roll tape." They went through the song one more time while Hunter slammed the tire tool against the concrete floor on the downbeat to create one of the most defined and distinctive drum beats in rock and roll history."

https://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3313

Posted 12 years ago by jagdriver [ Reply ]

An excellent palette cleanser after Modest Mouse.

Posted 13 years ago by Photo-John [ Reply ]

stevematic wrote:

the vandells were 2nd only to the supremes Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes.

Fixed it for you.

Posted 13 years ago by Art_Carnage [ Reply ]

Poacher wrote:

Still performing. . .

Funny how their heights seem to have equalized since the cover shoot.

Posted 13 years ago by Jelani [ Reply ]

nagsheadlocal wrote:

Man, a backbeat that could make a dead man sit up and dance.

..Yeah..seen that happen !

Posted 13 years ago by HazzeSwede [ Reply ]

countyman wrote:

Holy shit, it would have taken me hours to do that ...

Posted 13 years ago by keller1 [ Reply ]

HORNS! Woohoo!

Posted 13 years ago by unclehud [ Reply ]

countyman wrote:

Of course, I keed!

Posted 13 years ago by Mugro [ Reply ]

Is this a great country, or what?

Posted 13 years ago by JamesB [ Reply ]

To paraphrase Chris Matthews: "We're ALL Vandellas now!"

Posted 13 years ago by SurfRider [ Reply ]

Music, sweet, music indeed!!!

Posted 13 years ago by jools [ Reply ]

ahhh... takes me back to my babysitter playing this record. Loved it then and love it now!

Posted 13 years ago by pcerna [ Reply ]

Ages since I've heard this version - the BEST version, IMO. I be dancin'...

Posted 13 years ago by Cynaera [ Reply ]

Baltimore and DC now....

Posted 13 years ago by Zep [ Reply ]

Poacher wrote:

Still performing. . .

and still GORGEOUS !

Posted 14 years ago by lophrequa [ Reply ]

It was great to dance in the streets of Riomaggiore (Cinque Terre), Italy, when we heard this blasting on a bar jukebox.

Posted 14 years ago by jagdriver [ Reply ]

Ms. Reeves is now a member of the Detroit City Council and has been since 2005. Wonder if they are still Dancing in the Streets there?

Posted 14 years ago by mgoldman [ Reply ]

Makes me feel sooo goood! :)

Posted 14 years ago by gatorade [ Reply ]

Still performing. . .

Posted 14 years ago by SquiddlyDiddly [ Reply ]

Mercy Street —> Shakedown Street —> Dancing in the Street —> ... Where the Streets Have no Name, pls?

Posted 14 years ago by finkle007 [ Reply ]

Man, a backbeat that could make a dead man sit up and dance.

Posted 14 years ago by nagsheadlocal [ Reply ]

One of the best songs from one of the best "girl groups" of the 60s.

Posted 14 years ago by bachbeet [ Reply ]

It doesn't matter what you are, just as long as you are there....

Posted 14 years ago by Zep [ Reply ]

She should've stayed a singer - the councilwoman hat just sat crooked on her head - or wait...she DID sing as a government thief, didn't she?

Posted 14 years ago by suebee3 [ Reply ]

Bill, ok I got the grateful dead link here . . (Shakedown -> Dancing in the streets). Sounds like a good late 70's set

Posted 14 years ago by sciadodendron [ Reply ]

Oh YEAH!

Posted 14 years ago by hippiechick [ Reply ]

motown rules!

Posted 14 years ago by stevematic [ Reply ]

This one is not bad, but also others!

Posted 14 years ago by helgigermany [ Reply ]

I wouldn't go as far to say all the covers of this song suck - but as with many classics the orig is the best - especially it you've not heard it in a while...

Posted 14 years ago by wbeaver [ Reply ]

Fabulous. And don't they look great?

Posted 14 years ago by denmom [ Reply ]

I predict a riot!!!

Posted 14 years ago by WayUpNorth [ Reply ]

I love the original, of course, but I would also love to hear the Mamas and the Papas version. Their harmonies were terrific on this, and Mama Cass really belted it out in fine style.

Posted 14 years ago by RParadise [ Reply ]

Mugro wrote:

This is a 9 only because the Grateful Dead made it even better with their cover....

Posted 14 years ago by countyman [ Reply ]

RobRyan wrote:

What?! Even Sonny and Cher's cover?

Sorrry, there aren't any Sonny and Cher (or even Cher solo cuts) on RP's playlist, which does seem a bit harsh.

I'd like to hear "Baby Don't Go" or even "Bang Bang" (but most definitely NOT "Half Breed") right about now...

Posted 14 years ago by treatment_bound [ Reply ]

the vandells were 2nd only to the supremes. 60s motown is pure magic. recommended documentary: STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN

Posted 14 years ago by stevematic [ Reply ]

Smoove_D wrote:

The first few notes force a smile onto my face. Every time, without fail. All the covers of it suck. This is a 10.

What?! Even Sonny and Cher's cover?

Posted 14 years ago by RobRyan [ Reply ]

I love Motown

Posted 14 years ago by Shesdifferent [ Reply ]

Absolutely a classic 10!

Posted 14 years ago by sharkartist [ Reply ]

AlonzoTheArmless wrote:

Being from metro Detroit, I naturally love Motown. And this is my favorite Motown song of all time!!!! This song always makes me think of summer. I remember dancing in the rain at midnight on the Courthouse stairs to this song being played on a boombox the night the Tigers won the World Series in 1984.

10!!!!

I grew up within earshot of CKLW and rollerskated to this at Grand Bend, Ontario.

This month Mojo did an in depth feature on Motown —- if you're a fan it's required reading.

They did a Top 100 of all of the Motown singles —- to say that that's a competitive field is the understatement of the year —- and this one was picked as number 1.

Posted 15 years ago by keller1 [ Reply ]

# 9 from me and thanks Bill!

Posted 15 years ago by HazzeSwede [ Reply ]

AlonzoTheArmless wrote:

Being from metro Detroit, I naturally love Motown. And this is my favorite Motown song of all time!!!!

Yeah, baby... Lee Alan (and the horn) broadcasting from Metropolitan Beach!

Posted 15 years ago by jagdriver [ Reply ]

audiolizard wrote:

Classic song, but this version sounds terrible on my stereo.

Mine too.

Posted 15 years ago by handyrae [ Reply ]

Wow I had this rated a 2. What an assh-le.

Posted 15 years ago by vit [ Reply ]

Only a 9 from me because I never liked the flat production on this.

But, yeah, MoTown is always welcome on my earphones. A wonderful and exuberant music form.

Posted 15 years ago by nagsheadlocal [ Reply ]

Classic song, but this version sounds terrible on my stereo.

Posted 15 years ago by audiolizard [ Reply ]

Mo Motown! 10 x 10 indeed!

Posted 15 years ago by lmic [ Reply ]

Damn it's perfect people don't you already know that??

10 x 10. That's one hunnerd and sumfin' already.

Posted 15 years ago by dionysius [ Reply ]

Tagish_girl wrote:

Motown is always welcome.

OOOOOOHH YEEEAAAAAAAA!!!!

Posted 15 years ago by philbertr [ Reply ]

This is a 9 only because the Grateful Dead made it even better with their cover....

Posted 15 years ago by Mugro [ Reply ]

This is a really great song, but I just don't think it fits RP's style of music.

Posted 15 years ago by bugleboy624 [ Reply ]

PERFECTION!

Posted 15 years ago by ghcollins86 [ Reply ]

Posted 15 years ago by AlonzoTheArmless [ Reply ]

billbangert wrote:

Better idea: No Motown!!

Dick Cheney, is that you? Careful with that shotgun, Dick...

Posted 16 years ago by kcar [ Reply ]

Traffic is bad enough in Atlanta that I don't need people dancing in the Street.

Posted 16 years ago by Mikey [ Reply ]

DEEtroit!!!!!!

Posted 16 years ago by stevetheshoe [ Reply ]

The first few notes force a smile onto my face. Every time, without fail. All the covers of it suck. This is a 10.

Posted 16 years ago by Smoove_D [ Reply ]

A perfect record. 10. Goddesslike.

Posted 16 years ago by dionysius [ Reply ]

aflanigan wrote:

Then you don't know the RP listenership very well!

...wh-wh-what's that again? Sounded like you said ANGEL?
Posted 16 years ago by a_genuine_find [ Reply ]

billbangert wrote:
Better idea: No Motown!!
One more thing Ohio people just don't understand --amazing lol stay south of the Michigan border! lol
Posted 16 years ago by willmcnaught    [ Reply ]

Hey, cool! Love that this got tossed in the mix. Motown is always welcome. Eclectic rules!
Posted 16 years ago by Tagish_girl    [ Reply ]

This is the FIRST play of this song EVER? ... You have some 'splainin to do, Billy
Posted 16 years ago by a_genuine_find    [ Reply ]

Alright!!! Songs like this always remind me that RP, as good as it is, would be improved with more Motown and soul in the rotation!
Posted 16 years ago by window    [ Reply ]

This song is just plain fun. And that's all that it has to be.
Posted 16 years ago by rockasaurus    [ Reply ]

Better idea: No Motown!!
Posted 16 years ago by billbangert    [ Reply ]

Love it, thanks.
Posted 16 years ago by old_shep    [ Reply ]

Agent510 wrote:
I guarantee everyone's going to fume over such a "pop" song getting on to RP, but I love this one.
Then you don't know the RP listenership very well!
Posted 16 years ago by aflanigan    [ Reply ]

Mo Motown!!!
Posted 16 years ago by Honeyman    [ Reply ]

WHAT?!?!?! SWEET!!!! First to comment. First to rate it. First to give it a 10. EDIT: Okay, not the first to rate it.
Posted 16 years ago by Smoove_D    [ Reply ]

I guarantee everyone's going to fume over such a "pop" song getting on to RP, but I love this one.
Posted 16 years ago by Agent510    [ Reply ]