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When you hear music you like, it makes you want to move! The desire to dance is a human instinct derived from the earliest civilizations. Here’s an abbreviated page from the history of dance music; if you’re looking for some ideas regarding great dance tunes, lists of a few are included.
The term “old dance music” can cover a huge number of genres. I’ll concentrate on the years 1920-1980, a period when modern dance music came of age.
The ‘20s
The decade of the “roaring twenties” was characterized by jazz, ragtime, and blues music. Many people frequented the dance halls and speakeasies of the era, where they danced the tango, foxtrot, black bottom, and, most notably, the Charleston.
Popular dance songs included “Ain’t Misbehaving”, “The Varsity Drag”, “My Blue Heaven”, “Making Whoopee”, “Swanee”, “Ain’t She Sweet”, and, of course, “The Charleston.”
The ‘30s
The “swing era” began in the ‘30s. The foxtrot was still popular, and new dances like the Lindy Hop came into vogue.
Big bands led by the likes of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller played at ballrooms across the country, where couples danced to songs like “In The Mood”, “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)”, “Minnie the Moocher”, “Tuxedo Junction”, “Body and Soul”, “I Got Rhythm”, “Puttin’ On the Ritz”, and “Over the Rainbow.”
The ‘40s
The big band and jazz styles of the “swing era” continued into the ‘40s with folks dancing to songs like “I’ll Never Smile Again”, “Imagination”, “Stardust”, “Take the A Train”, “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, “String of Pearls”, “That Old Black Magic”, “Rum and Coca-Cola”, “Sentimental Journey”, "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" and “One O’clock Jump.”
The decade also saw a rise in popularity of singers like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Dinah Shore. All sang with big band orchestras early in their careers; their repertories included songs like “Blues In The Night”, “I’ll Be Seeing You”, “Prisoner of Love”, and “Anniversary Song.”
The ‘50s
In the early part of the ‘50s era people danced to innocent ‘40s style holdovers like “Tennessee Waltz”, “How High the Moon”, “Mockingbird Hill”, “Blues In The Night”, “Slowpoke” and “That’s Amore.”
Then came rock and roll. In 1955 Bill Haley and the Comets released “Rock Around the Clock” and a new dance era was born.
High school hops became the rage. Teenagers on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand jitterbugged and “slow danced” to songs like “Jailhouse Rock”, “Little Darlin’”, “You Send Me”, “Poor Little Fool”, “Tequila”, “Get A Job”, “At the Hop”, “Rockin’ Robin”, “Do You Want to Dance”, “Peggy Sue”, “It’s Only Make Believe”, “Stagger Lee”, “What’d I Say”, and “Teenager In Love.”
Besides the Jitterbug and the Waltz, other popular ‘50s dances were the Stroll, the Hand Jive, the Madison, the Cha Cha and the Bop.
The ‘60s
In the ‘60s, dance music was distinguished by ‘50’s rock and roll holdover songs, soul/Motown music, and the British invasion.
The Twist appeared in 1961; Other 60’s dances included the Shag, Mashed Potato, Monkey, Dog, Frug, Watusi, Hully Gully, Hitch Hike, and Swim.
Popular dance tunes at fraternity parties and nightclubs included “Shout”, “Twist and Shout”, “Save the Last Dance for Me”, “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Mashed Potato Time”, “The Locomotion”, “Twisting the Night Away”, “The Peppermint Twist”, “Monkey Time”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Satisfaction”, “Hang On Sloopy”, “My Girl”, “In the Midnight Hour”, “Wild Thing”, “Sweet Soul Music”, “Stubborn Kind of Fella”, “Mony Mony”, and “Bad Moon Rising.”
The ‘70’s
Emerging ‘70s artists included the Jackson 5, Three Dog Night, Fleetwood Mac, the Bee Gees, and Rod Stewart. Disco ruled the latter part of the decade.
Dancers packed discos around the world and boogied to such songs as “Rock the Boat”, “Shake Your Booty”, “That’s the Way I Like It”, “Staying Alive”, “Night Fever”, “Shadow Dancing”, “Last Dance”, “Boogie Oogie Oogie”, “Hot Stuff”, “I Will Survive”, and “She Works Hard for the Money,”
Other popular ‘70s dance songs included “American Woman”, “ABC”, “Joy to the World”, “Just My Imagination”, “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl), “Shining Star”, “Copacabana”, “Play That Funky Music”, “Dancing Queen”, and “Let’s Get It On.”
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