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Get up, get up, into something new/ Get up, get out, down into something new…
Written by: Jagger/Richards Recorded: Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, Jan. 18-Feb. 12 1979: EMI Pathé Marconi Studios, Paris, France, June 10-Oct. 10 1979; Electric Lady Studios, NYC, USA, Nov-Dec. 1979 Guest musicians: Nicky Hopkins (piano), Billy Preston (clavinet), Bobby Keys (sax), Michael Shrieve (percussion), Max Romeo (backing vocals) *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
From Songfacts: This was the first Stones song Ron Wood got a writing credit on. He said of the song: “‘Dance Pt. 1’ was one strong riff where Mick immediately took the bait, literally got up and danced to it, which was the whole idea of the track: it’s a catchy riff. That was an example of a song that originated without words, just a groove with various changes, but never a chorus. We did have various alternative mixes going at the time, but I can’t really tell the difference between Part I or Part II or Part III. It was just a novelty, the Pt. 1 bit.”
Like “Miss You,” this song has a disco sound that was big at the time, but wasn’t typical of The Rolling Stones.
A similar version with different lyrics called “If I Was A Dancer (Dance Pt. 2)” was released in 1981 on The Rolling Stones Sucking In The Seventies compilation.
Michael Shrieve, formerly of Santana, played percussion; the Jamaican reggae artist Max Romeo sang background.
This is the first track on the Emotional Rescue album, which was a tough one for the band to make because they went long stretches between sessions. Keith Richards was less of a factor because he was trying to clean up from his additions, so the album has more of Mick Jagger’s imprint, and Jagger was more likely to do dance music. Richards thought the song should be mostly instrumental, but Jagger had other ideas, filling it up with lyrics.
From the The Rolling Stones – All the Songs book: With this opening song, the Rolling Stones make their intentions plain: to lead their fans onto the dance floor. The narrator (Mick Jagger, as it happens) asks himself what he is doing at the corner of West Eighth Street and Sixth Avenue in New York City, and then addresses Keith by name to tell him that the moment has come to get out and get into something new. From a musical point of view, this something new is the logical follow-up to “Hot Stuff” and “Miss You,” an irresistible rhythm that owes much to African American funk. Ron Wood came up with the original idea for the song: “‘Dance (Pt. 1)’ was one strong riff where Mick immediately took the bait, literally got up and danced to it, which was the whole idea of the track: it’s a catchy riff.” And he continues: “That was an example of a song that originated without words, just a groove with various changes, but never a chorus.”
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