All She Wants to Do Is Dance
{{Infobox song
| name = All She Wants to Do Is Dance
| cover = Don Henley - All She Wants to Do Is Dance.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| type = single
| artist = Don Henley
| album = Building the Perfect Beast
| B-side = Building the Perfect Beast
| released = February 1985
| recorded = 1984
| studio =
| genre =
- Hard rock
- pop rock{{cite web | url=https://americansongwriter.com/the-meaning-and-writer-behind-don-henleys-1984-hit-all-she-wants-to-do-is-dance/ | title=The Meaning, and Writer, Behind Don Henley's 1984 Hit "All She Wants to do is Dance" | date=7 August 2023 }}
| length = 4:28 (album)
4:23 (remix edit)
| label = Geffen
| writer = Danny Kortchmar
| producer = * Don Henley
| prev_title = The Boys of Summer
| prev_year = 1984
| next_title = Not Enough Love in the World
| next_year = 1985
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = Don Henley - All She Wants to Do Is Dance.ogg
}}}}
"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.Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 282.
History
The song critiques the US intervention in Central America, particularly in the then-ongoing Contra War, 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 were provided by Patty Smyth of the band Scandal, and Martha Davis, lead singer of the Motels.{{cite web |last1=Mason |first1=Stewart |title=All She Wants to Do Is Dance - Don Henley |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/all-she-wants-to-do-is-dance-mt0000408658 |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 13, 2022}}
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."{{cite web |title=All She Wants to Do Is Dance by Don Henley |url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/don-henley/all-she-wants-to-do-is-dance |website=SongFacts |access-date=April 13, 2022}}
The commercial U.S. 7" vinyl version has a slightly different intro from the LP version from Building the Perfect Beast.
Critical reception
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."{{cite book|title=Don Henley "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" (Geffen)|author=John Leland|author-link=John Leland (journalist)|publisher=Spin|date=July 1985|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ImJFcBcCvUoC&q=spin+magazine+1985+all+she+wants+to+do+is+dance&pg=PA34|pages=34|accessdate=2010-08-22}}
Personnel
{{Div col}}
- Don Henley – lead and harmony vocals, drums
- David Paich – synthesizers
- Steve Porcaro – programming
- Danny Kortchmar – guitars
- Martha Davis – harmony vocals
- Patty Smyth – harmony vocals
{{Div col end}}
Chart performance
| class="wikitable" | |
| Year-end chart (1985) | Rank |
|---|---|
| US Top Pop Singles (Billboard){{cite magazine|date=December 28, 1985 |title=1985 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles |page=T-21 |magazine=Billboard |volume=97 |issue=52 }}
| style="text-align:center;"| 97 |
Other versions
The single "All She Wanna Do Is Dance" by David Guetta and Niles Mason uses samples of this song.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{discogs master|type=single|264390}}
{{Don Henley}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:All She Wants To Do Is Dance}}
Category:Songs written by Danny Kortchmar
Category:Geffen Records singles