On this day in music history: May 21, 1983 - Lets Dance by David Bowie hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 1 week, also topping the Club Play chart for 6 weeks on April 30, 1983, and peaking at #14 on the R&B singles chart on May 28, 1983. Written by David Bowie, it is the second US chart topper for the British rock icon. Newly signed to a worldwide record deal with EMI Records in 1982 worth over $10 million, David Bowie will collaborate with musician Nile Rodgers of Chic on his first album with the label. Before the recording sessions begin, Bowie will play Rodgers a number of new songs he has written including one titled Lets Dance. Originally written on a 12-string acoustic guitar, the demo recording will bare almost no resemblance to what it will become. Rodgers will take the folk-rock acoustic based song, and transform it into an uptempo dance rock song. Recorded at The Power Station in New York City in December of 1982, Lets Dance along with the rest of the accompanying album will be recorded in only three weeks. Dance will feature most of the core rhythm section of Chic including Tony Thompson (drums), Rob Sabino (keyboards), Sammy Figueroa (percussion), and Rodgers himself (guitar) as well as Carmine Rojas (bass), and a then little known blues guitarist named Stevie Ray Vaughan providing the stinging lead guitar on the track. The title track from David Bowies fifteenth studio album, it is released in March of 1983 and is an immediate smash. Entering the Hot 100 at #59 on March 26, 1983, it will climb to the top of the chart eight weeks later. The single will also top the chart in the UK, becoming his third chart topper in his home country. Dance will not only become Bowies biggest single and album, but will also introduce him to a new audience, winning him a new generation of fans. Lets Dance is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000
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