"All She Wants to Do Is Dance" | ||||
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Single by Don Henley | ||||
from the album Building the Perfect Beast | ||||
B-side | "Building the Perfect Beast" | |||
Released | February 1985 | |||
Recorded | 1984 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:28 (album) 4:23 (remix edit) | |||
Label | Geffen | |||
Songwriter(s) | Danny Kortchmar | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
Don Henley singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"All She Wants to Do Is Dance" is a song written by Danny Kortchmar and performed by Don Henley, co-lead vocalist and drummer for Eagles. It was released as the second single from Henley's second studio solo album, Building the Perfect Beast (1984), and was Henley's sixth solo single overall. It was one of Henley's most commercially successful singles, peaking at No. 9 on Billboard Hot 100 and also became his third song to top the Top Rock Tracks chart. [2]
The song critiques the US intervention in Central America, particularly in the then-ongoing Contra War [ broken anchor ], in which the Reagan administration funded the right-wing rebel group Contras to overthrow the socialist Sandinista National Liberation Front government in Nicaragua.
Backing vocals for the song was provided by Patty Smyth of the band Scandal, and Martha Davis, lead singer of the Motels. [3]
When Kortchmar was asked about the song, he said, "I had the groove and the music going. That record was made back when the technology had just started to really take over in music. I had one of the first Yamaha DX7s, which was a keyboard that was used a ton in the '80s, but we ended up luckily getting one of the first ones in the United States. It's a synthesizer keyboard, and I used it to get that sound that you hear the record starting with." [4]
The commercial U.S. 7" vinyl version has a slightly different intro than the LP version from Building the Perfect Beast.
John Leland from Spin magazine wrote "...this mother whomps from the git with punchy electronic drums and a mix that keeps one foot off the ground for a full seven-and-a-half minutes. Henley's post-hedonist vision of apocalypse is twisted." [5]
Chart (1985) | Peak position |
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Australian (Kent Music Report) [6] | 22 |
Canadian RPM Top Singles [7] | 13 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [8] | 9 |
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play [9] | 10 |
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Tracks [10] | 1 |
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles [11] | 65 |
Year-end chart (1985) | Rank |
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US Top Pop Singles (Billboard) [12] | 97 |
The single "All She Wanna Do Is Dance" by David Guetta and Niles Mason uses samples of this song.
Patricia Smyth is an American singer and songwriter. She first came into national attention with the rock band Scandal and went on to record and perform as a solo artist. Her distinctive voice and new wave image gained broad exposure through video recordings aired on cable music video channels such as MTV. Her debut solo album Never Enough was well received, and generated a pair of Top 100 hits. In the early 1990s she reached the top 10 with the hit single "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough," a duet with Don Henley of Eagles. She performed and co-wrote with James Ingram the song "Look What Love Has Done" for the 1994 motion picture Junior. The work earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
I Can't Stand Still is the debut solo studio album by American musician Don Henley, drummer and co-lead vocalist for the Eagles. It was released in August 1982 by Asylum Records. Henley, Danny Kortchmar and Greg Ladanyi produced the album. I Can't Stand Still achieved gold status, and peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 and at the same position on the UK Albums Chart. Three singles were released from the album, including the hit "Dirty Laundry", which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Henley's best-selling single. The title track "I Can't Stand Still" reached No. 48 and the track "Johnny Can't Read" reached No. 42 on the charts.
Building the Perfect Beast is the second solo studio album by American rock singer Don Henley, released on November 19, 1984, by Geffen Records. A commercial and critical success, it is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Henley's solo work.
The End of the Innocence is the third solo studio album by Don Henley, the co-lead vocalist and drummer for the Eagles. The album was released in 1989, on Geffen Records, and was his last release on that label. It was also his last solo album before reforming the Eagles and it would be eleven years before he released another solo project, 2000's Inside Job.
Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter Don Henley, released in 1995. The album was the first compilation album released by Henley and it covered hits from all three of his solo albums throughout the 1980s. The album features three new songs, "The Garden of Allah", "You Don't Know Me at All", and Henley's cover of "Everybody Knows". The collection peaked at No. 48 on the charts and reached platinum status. "The Garden of Allah" reached No. 16 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
"The Boys of Summer" is a song by American musician Don Henley. The lyrics were written by Henley and the music was composed by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It was released on October 26, 1984, as the lead single from Henley's album Building the Perfect Beast. It reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, number one on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart, and number 12 in the UK Singles Chart.
"I Can't Tell You Why" is a song by the American rock band Eagles that appeared on their 1979 album The Long Run. It was written by band members Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Recorded in March 1978, it was the first song finished for the album and the first Eagles song to feature Schmit on lead vocals. Released as a single in February 1980, it became a Billboard top 10 hit in April, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was the group's last top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
"The End of the Innocence" is the lead single and title track from Don Henley's third solo studio album of the same name, released in 1989. Henley co-wrote and co-produced the song with Bruce Hornsby, who also performed piano. Both artists regularly include the song in their live performances. The single peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming his fifth solo top-10 hit on the chart. "The End of the Innocence" also became his fourth number-one single on the Album Rock Tracks chart. In Canada, it reached number three on the RPM Top Singles and Adult Contemporary charts. The song received Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
"New York Minute" is a song written by Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar, and Jai Winding. Henley originally recorded it for his 1989 album The End of the Innocence. The track features Pino Palladino on fretless bass, Toto members David Paich, who played piano and wrote the string arrangement, and Jeff Porcaro on drums. It also features Take 6 on background vocals.
"Not Enough Love in the World" is a soft rock song written by Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar, and Benmont Tench. The lyrics describe a rocky relationship, with the singer proclaiming he's still in love. It is rumored that it was about Henley's relationship with Stevie Nicks, but their relationship only lasted a year.
"One of These Nights" is a song by the American rock band Eagles, written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey. The title track from their 1975 One of These Nights album, the song became their second single to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart after "Best of My Love" and also helped propel the album to number one. The single version was shortened from the album version of the song, removing most of the song's intro and most of its fade-out, as well. Henley is lead vocalist on the verses, while Randy Meisner sings high harmony on the refrain. The song features a guitar solo by Don Felder that is "composed of blues-based licks and sustained string bends using an unusually meaty distortion tone."
"New Kid in Town" is a song by the Eagles from their 1976 studio album Hotel California. It was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and JD Souther. Released as the first single from the album, the song reached number one in the U.S. and number 20 in the UK. The single version has an earlier fade-out than the album version. Frey sings the lead vocals, with Henley providing the main harmony vocals. Randy Meisner plays the guitarrón mexicano, Don Felder plays electric guitars, and Joe Walsh plays the electric piano and organ parts. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices.
"Dirty Laundry" is a song written by Don Henley and Danny Kortchmar from Henley's debut solo studio album I Can't Stand Still, (1982). The song reached number 1 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart in October 1982 prior to being issued as a 45 rpm single. Lyrically, the song describes mass media sensationalism.
"Lyin' Eyes" is a song written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey and recorded in 1975 by the American rock band Eagles, with Frey singing lead vocals. It was the second single from their album One of These Nights, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 8 on the Billboard Country chart. It remained their only top 40 country hit until "How Long" in 2007–2008.
"James Dean" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Jackson Browne, and JD Souther, and recorded by the American rock band Eagles for their 1974 album On the Border. It was the second single released from this album, reaching number 77 on the U.S. pop singles chart.
"Sunset Grill" is a song by American rock musician Don Henley from his second solo studio album Building the Perfect Beast (1984). The song peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart in January 1985. Released as the fourth single from the album in August 1985, it peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1985.
"Shower the People" is the opening track on James Taylor's 1976 album In the Pocket.
"Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" a duet between American singers Patty Smyth and Don Henley. The rock ballad was written by Smyth and Glen Burtnik and was released as a single in August 1992. It reached No. 1 in Canada, where it was the most successful single of 1992, and peaked at No. 2 in Ireland and on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Patty Smyth is the second solo studio album by rock singer-songwriter Patty Smyth, formerly of Scandal; it went gold as a result of the popularity of its first single, "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and also went gold. The album also produced three further singles in the opening track "No Mistakes", then another minor hit with "I Should Be Laughing", and finally "Shine".
The discography of Don Henley, singer and drummer for the rock group Eagles, consists of five studio albums, two compilation albums, and 27 solo singles.