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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

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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 Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way". Eddie Van Halen purposely left a guitar solo out of the final version of the song, replacing it instead with a riff of 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 San Diego, California, that he wrote this song in tribute to an intoxicated woman who was having sex in the back of a truck and ran with her pants on backwards while escaping police officers into the bar where the fledgling band was playing. This was also mentioned at a 2006 performance in Detroit, Michigan.

Reception

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Billboard described "Dance the Night Away" as "a melodically driving rocker spiked by blaring guitar riffs, keyboards, bass and a powerful lead vocal.[3] Cash Box said it was "more melodic" with fewer "guitar pyrotechnics" than previous Van Halen songs.[4]

Record World praised the "slick guitar-percussion intro and break" and Ted Templeman's 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

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Weekly charts

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

Year-end charts

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

References

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  1. ^ Tucker, Dan (February 28, 2014). "13 Classic Hard Rock Songs That Will Make You Scream "More Cowbell!"". VH1. 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. ^ Klosterman, Chuck (October 6, 2020). "All 131 Van Halen Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best A look back at the band's formidable legacy". 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

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