Dancing Machine

"Dancing Machine"
Single by the Jackson 5
from the album Get It Together and Dancing Machine
B-side	"It's Too Late to Change the Time"
Released	February 19, 1974[1]
Recorded	April - May 1973 Hitsville West, Los Angeles
Length	3:30 (album version) 2:43 (single version) 4:25 (alternate version)
Label	Motown M 1286
Songwriter(s)	Hal Davis Don Fletcher Dean Parks
Producer(s)	Hal Davis
The Jackson 5 singles chronology
"Get It Together" (1973) "Dancing Machine" (1974) "Whatever You Got I Want" (1974)

"Dancing Machine" is a song recorded by American R&B outfit the Jackson 5, and was the title track of their ninth studio album. The song was originally recorded for the group's 1973 album G.I.T.: Get It Together and was released as a remix for a response to the success of the single.

Background[]

The song, which reportedly sold over three 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 in October 1973. It was the group's first US top ten hit since 1971's "Sugar Daddy". "Dancing Machine" brought 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".

Personnel[]

• Lead vocals by Michael Jackson and Jermaine Jackson
• Background vocals by Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jackie Jackson and Marlon Jackson
• Instrumentation by Los Angeles area session musicians:^[3]
  • Bass by Wilton Felder
  • Guitars by Dean Parks, David T. Walker and Arthur Wright
  • Drums by James Gadson
  • Percussion by Bobbye Hall
  • Keyboards by Joe Sample
  • Arranged by Arthur Wright and James Carmichael

Charts[]

In Canada, "Dancing Machine" went to No. 2 on the RPM 100. In the United States, it hit No. 1 on Cash Box and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, behind "The Streak" by Ray Stevens.^[4] In addition, it hit No. 1 on the R&B charts.^[5] Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1974.^[6]

Cover versions[]

• The song was most notably sampled by MC Hammer, on his 1990 album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em (for the song "Dancin' Machine").
• It was also sampled again in 1990 by Vanilla Ice on the album To the Extreme, later by Too $hort (featuring Bun B) on the song "Shout It Out", in 2008 by Q-tip on the album The Renaissance ("Move") and Yung Wun for his song "Tear It Up" on his album The Dirtiest Thirstiest (in which the sample was uncredited and also his sample was taken directly from the film Drumline when the marching band performed it in medley).
• "Dancing Machine" was covered by Suburban Legends on their Japan-only EP, Dance Like Nobody's Watching: Tokyo Nights.
• A longer alternate version (4:25) appears on the I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters compilation released in 2009.
• Another alternate remixed version was released on The Original Soul Of Michael Jackson in 1987. It was remixed with extra vocals and many overdubbed instruments, giving it an 80's pop feel rather than a mid 70's disco feel.
• A remix by Polow da Don was featured in a commercial for Svedka. This version was later released on the 2009 album The Remix Suite.
• In D-TV, it was set to the Dance of the Hours segment from Fantasia.
• Paula Abdul covered the song in 1997 as an unreleased demo.
• Roni Griffith covered the song in 1984.
• Justin Timberlake interpolated part of the song (Watch her get down, watch her get down) for his 2013 album The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2 for the song "Murder."
• The song was reworked and covered by English singer Laura Mvula in 2017, with the song produced by Naughty Boy.

References[]