I Can't Dance To That Music You're Playing
Encyclopedia
"I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing" is a 1968 funk
-soul
single by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas
. The song nearly returned the group to the top 40 on the pop singles chart peaking at number forty-two on the pop singles chart and reaching number twenty-four on the R&B singles chart. It's notable for featuring background vocals by The Andantes
(who had been in a succession of Vandellas singles since "My Baby Loves Me") and Syreeta Wright
, who had recently signed to the Motown label and was dating Motown artist Stevie Wonder
, at the time. The song talked about how one woman's musician boyfriend leaving her with questions about how he was running off without giving the woman a hint of what he was exactly doing. Reeves would later say that the reason why the chorus was sung by Wright and not by Reeves was because she and the Vandellas had a conflicting touring schedule. She is heard singing in the end of the song with Wright and the Andantes however.
The song 'I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing' is also sung by the Beatmasters
with Betty Boo
in 1989.
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
-soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
single by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas
Martha and the Vandellas
Martha and the Vandellas were among the most successful groups of the Motown roster during the period 1963–1967...
. The song nearly returned the group to the top 40 on the pop singles chart peaking at number forty-two on the pop singles chart and reaching number twenty-four on the R&B singles chart. It's notable for featuring background vocals by The Andantes
The Andantes
The Andantes were a prolific female sessions group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie...
(who had been in a succession of Vandellas singles since "My Baby Loves Me") and Syreeta Wright
Syreeta Wright
Syreeta Wright , who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was a Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter most notably known for her work with Stevie Wonder and Billy Preston.-Early life and career:...
, who had recently signed to the Motown label and was dating Motown artist Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, at the time. The song talked about how one woman's musician boyfriend leaving her with questions about how he was running off without giving the woman a hint of what he was exactly doing. Reeves would later say that the reason why the chorus was sung by Wright and not by Reeves was because she and the Vandellas had a conflicting touring schedule. She is heard singing in the end of the song with Wright and the Andantes however.
The song 'I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing' is also sung by the Beatmasters
Beatmasters
The Beatmasters are a team of dance music songwriters, musicians and producers who were successful as artists in their own right in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s and then went on to produce and remix records for many other groups...
with Betty Boo
Betty Boo
Alison Moira Clarkson better known as Betty Boo, is an English singer, songwriter and pop-rap artist...
in 1989.
Credits
- Lead vocals by Martha ReevesMartha ReevesMartha Rose Reeves is an American R&B and Pop singer and former politician, and was the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. During her tenure with The Vandellas, they scored over a dozen hit singles, including "Jimmy Mack", "Dancing in the Street" and "Nowhere to Run"...
- Additional lead vocals by Syreeta WrightSyreeta WrightSyreeta Wright , who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was a Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter most notably known for her work with Stevie Wonder and Billy Preston.-Early life and career:...
(on the chorus) - Background vocals by The AndantesThe AndantesThe Andantes were a prolific female sessions group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie...
: Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps - Written by Deke RichardsDeke RichardsDeke Richards, also known as Dennis Lussier and Deke Lussier, is a songwriter and record producer, one of many white musicians/songwriters who were affiliated with Motown...
& Debbie Dean - Produced by Deke Richards