Dance the Night Away (Van Halen song)

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"Dance the Night Away"
Single by Van Halen
from the album Van Halen II
B-side"Outta Love Again"
ReleasedApril 1979 (1979-04) (US)
RecordedDecember 1978 – January 1979
Genre
Length3:07
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Ted Templeman
Van Halen singles chronology
"Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love"
(1978)
"Dance the Night Away"
(1979)
"Beautiful Girls"
(1979)
Music video
"Dance the Night Away" on
YouTube

"Dance the Night Away" is a song by American hard rock band Van Halen, and written by its group members. It is the second song from their 1979 album Van Halen II. While the rest of the songs from this album had existed in various forms since their days doing demos and playing clubs, this song was possibly the only song written during the recording sessions for the album.

Background

The band members conceived the song during the recording sessions while they were standing in a circle humming to each other. It was inspired by

tap harmonics. David Lee Roth
originally wanted to call the song "Dance, Lolita, Dance", but Eddie Van Halen convinced him that "Dance the Night Away" was more suitable and the chorus was changed to reflect that.

Roth claimed, during a 2006 performance in

Detroit, Michigan
.

Reception

Cash Box said it was "more melodic" with fewer "guitar pyrotechnics" than previous Van Halen songs.[4]

wall of sound production."[5]

Chuck Klosterman of Vulture ranked it the third-best Van Halen song, praising Michael Anthony's background vocals and writing that "this song just makes people feel good."[6]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1979) Peak
position
Canada (RPM)[7] 28
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 15

Year-end charts

Chart (1979) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 95

References

  1. Viacom. Archived
    from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  2. ^ Elliott, Paul (November 29, 2020). "Van Halen: a guide to their best albums". Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved February 8, 2021. And in Dance The Night Away they delivered the perfect pop-metal song.
  3. ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. May 5, 1979. p. 81. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 28, 1979. p. 17. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  5. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 5, 1979. p. 1. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  6. Vulture.com
    . Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  7. ^ Canadian peaks Archived December 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine RPM – Library and Archives
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 879.
  9. ^ "1979 Talent in Action – Year End Charts : Pop Singles". Billboard. 91 (51): TIA-10. December 22, 1979.

Further reading

  • Van Halen Guitar Anthology. Van Nuys, California: Alfred. 2006. pp. 56–64.
    OCLC 605214049
    .

External links