Dancing Machine
| "Dancing Machine" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Dancing Machine" is a 1973 song recorded by The Jackson 5, released as a single in 1974. The group's first US Top Ten hit since 1971's "Sugar Daddy", "Dancing Machine" reached number two on the Billboard pop music charts and number one on the R&B charts.[1] It bought The Jackson 5 their second Grammy Award nomination in 1975 for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, losing to Rufus and Chaka Khan's "Tell Me Something Good".
Background
The song, which sold over four million copies,[2] popularized the physically complicated Robot dance technique, devised by Charles Washington in the late 1960s. Michael Jackson first performed the dance on television while singing "Dancing Machine" with the Jackson 5 on an episode of Soul Train.
"Dancing Machine", originally recorded for the group's 1973 album G.I.T.: Get It Together, was also the title track of their 1974 album Dancing Machine released in 1974 as a remix for a response to the success of the single.
"Dancing Machine" was covered by Suburban Legends on their Japan-only EP, Dance Like Nobody's Watching: Tokyo Nights. The song was most notably sampled by MC Hammer on his 1990 album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em, again in 1990 by Vanilla Ice on the album To The Extreme, later on by Too $hort (featuring Bun B) on the song "Shout It Out", and more recently in 2008 by Q-tip for the album The Renaissance ("Move") and Yung Wun for his song "Tear It Up" for his album The Dirtiest Thirstiest, in which the sample was uncredited.
Personnel
- Lead vocals by Michael Jackson and Jermaine Jackson
- Background vocals by Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Marlon Jackson, and Randy Jackson
- Instrumentation by assorted Los Angeles musicians including James Gadson and Charles Wright
Notes
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 287.
- ^ Sales statistics for Jackson 5 singles. Retrieved March 17, 2008
| Singles on Steeltown Records |
|
|---|---|
| Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 (1969) | |
| ABC (1970) | |
| Third Album (1970) | |
| Jackson 5 Christmas Album (1970) | |
| Maybe Tomorrow (1971) | |
| Greatest Hits (1971) | |
| Lookin' Through the Windows (1972) | |
| Skywriter (1973) | |
| G.I.T.: Get It Together (1973) | |
| Dancing Machine (1974) | |
| Moving Violation (1975) | |
| The Jacksons (1976) | |
| Destiny (1978) | |
| Triumph (1980) | |
| Victory (1984) | |
| 2300 Jackson Street (1989) | |
| Notable collaborations and album tracks | |
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