Originals vs covers: Dancing in the Street
Truly a Motown classic, Dancing in the Street by Martha and the Vandellas sounds like your quintessential get up and dance party song. The song ended up becoming quite controversial, being interpreted as a call to riot as part of the civil rights movement.
Released in 1964, Dancing in the Street made it to number 2 in the US, and number 28 in the UK on its initial release. With Funk Brother James Jamerson on bass, it’s surprising it only made number 2!
While the original might be considered almost perfect Motown (although I’ll admit that I prefer Nowhere to Run!), what do you make of the cover versions? Van Halen? Jagger and Bowie?
http://youtu.be/9G4jnaznUoQ
And what about, as a wee bonus, a 16 minute jam interpretation by The Grateful Dead:
