Īlong with a new producer, Bowie hired an entirely new set of musicians for the sessions, as he "wanted to try people that I'd never worked with before, so that I couldn't predict how they were going to play". The rest of the album was recorded quickly, completed in just 17 days. Engineered by Bob Clearmountain, the song was completed in one or two takes and set the tone for the rest of the project. The sessions, co-produced by Bowie and Rodgers, took place at the Power Station in New York City during the first three weeks of December 1982. "Let's Dance" was the first song recorded for the album. In 2018, Rodgers stated: "This recording was the first indication of what we could do together as I took his 'folk song' and arranged it into something that the entire world would soon be dancing to and seemingly has not stopped dancing to for the last 35 years! It became the blueprint not only for 'Let's Dance' the song but for the entire album as well." The same year, an edited version of the demo, mixed by Rodgers, was released digitally on 8 January, and the full-length 7:34 demo was released as a 12" vinyl single on 21 April for Record Store Day. Biographer Chris O'Leary describes the demo's sound as "basically Bowie singing over a Chic demo". Kızılçay's work at first followed the stylings of Jaco Pastorius, but he and Rodgers ultimately worked out a simpler bassline for the song. Demo īowie and Rodgers recorded a demo of "Let's Dance" at Montreux's Mountain Studios with a group of musicians, among them Turkish musician Erdal Kızılçay on bass. It was not a song you could dance to." Nevertheless, Rodgers adjusted the arrangement, moving it higher in the scale, switching the key up to B ♭, inverting the chords and adding upstrokes. Dismissing the number as sounding "like Donovan meets Anthony Newley", Rodgers recalled: "I was like, 'that's not happening, man'. Bowie, using a 12-string acoustic guitar that had only six strings, played for him a folk-like number he believed could be a hit with the right arrangement, tentatively calling it "Let's Dance". In late 1982, the duo regrouped at Bowie's home in Montreux, Switzerland. Rodgers initially thought Bowie desired to continue making art rock records-a follow-up to 1980's Scary Monsters-until the artist informed him, "I want you to make hits." Around autumn, Bowie met Nile Rodgers of the American band Chic in the after-hours New York nightclub Continental, where the two developed a rapport over industry acquaintances and shared musical interests he eventually asked him to produce his next record. With a new label and an idea for a commercial sound, he wanted to start fresh with a new producer. In 1982, David Bowie left his longtime label RCA Records, having grown increasingly unsatisfied with them, and signed a new contract with EMI for a reported $17 million. Nile Rodgers (pictured in 1999) was instrumental in the arrangement and production of "Let's Dance". "Let's Dance" has been covered, sampled, remixed and performed by other artists, and has made appearances in films, video games and television commercials. Viewed as one of Bowie's most popular songs, the song has received praise for its catchiness, accessibility, commerciality and production, and has appeared on lists of his best songs. Bowie performed the song throughout the 1980s and early 2000s during his concert tours. The song's music video, filmed in Australia, provided commentary on the treatment of Aboriginal Australians, using the red shoes from a line to symbolise their abuse. Released as the album's lead single in full-length and edited formats, "Let's Dance" became the biggest selling single of Bowie's career, topping the charts in numerous countries, including the UK and the US. The lyrics describe a couple dancing under the moonlight and possess a sense of peril and ominousness. Several music elements, from the bassline and the breakdown, were based on Rodgers' work with Chic, while the rising vocal intros were taken from the Beatles' version of " Twist and Shout". Bowie hired then-unknown Texas guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who added a blues-edge.Įmbracing rock, funk, dance, new wave and post-disco, the full-length seven-minute track features numerous solos, including trumpet, saxophone, guitar and percussion. With the assistance of engineer Bob Clearmountain, Rodgers transformed the song from its folk origins to a dance number through studio effects and new musicians Bowie had yet to work with. Co-produced by Nile Rodgers of Chic, it was recorded in late 1982 at the Power Station in New York City. " Let's Dance" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally included as the title track of his 1983 album of the same name.
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