Classic Rock Songs for Partner Dancing

[DanceMentor]

I've always been a fan of classic rock (I should start a forum ... somebody stop me). I was wondering what classic rock songs you know about that are good for dancing. I can think of Journey and Eagles for Waltz. I'll bet there are some good swing songs too, but I can think of any. Any recommendations?

(I was thinking it would be cool to have a themed party)

[pygmalion]

Open Arms for Journey. What's the Eagles song?

I LOVE (with great passion) classic rock, but I usually dance around aimlessly to it. There are a lot of songs that don't fit a particular dance, but I dance anyway. :oops: :lol:

[pygmalion]

Oh! Take it to the Limit! :doh: :oops: :lol:

[Spitfire]

Might seem a little fast, but I Want To Know What Love Is by Foreigner for NC2S.

Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying - Jerry and the Pacemakers for Rumba

[DWise1]

Baby's in Black is a waltz. But we don't hear that particular Beatles song anymore.


Hit this situation for the first time last night. The band was country and rock and played a fairly good mix. I did fine with the Country Two-Step (though it was way too crowded to do much but the basic, or progress) and also with the Ten-Step (for which they kept playing faster and faster, but we were one of the couples that was able to keep up -- not bad for a relative beginner). For the others, I've found that we can dance swing to a number of different songs.

But I found myself for the first time with a partner who just could not follow ECS. Plus, it was so crowded and I was busy trying to protect her from everyone around us, including a group that was doing some kind of line dance. I ended up needing to resort to a basic slow-dance step (which I'm still shy about), which she did well at, but I was still at a loss how to lead her so she could follow. She felt and could move to the music, so it was apparently that she was unused to lead-and-follow (for one thing, her left hand was all the way around on my back).

Lesson learned: I need to get out more to different venues and work out different dance techniques to handle such situations. Primarily, I need to figure out how to free-style.
And to stop dancing mainly with the women I already know.


BTW, I guess I didn't do too bad. I felt like I wasn't giving her a very good dance -- not able to do much except the side-side steps, slow rotation, and moving into more open floor space -- but she asked me my name after the first dance and when the next song started before we could work our way back out of the crowd, she turned around and suggested we dance that one too.

[pygmalion]

Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying - Jerry and the Pacemakers for Rumba

Great song. 8) I used to do rumba to ... Cherish, I think? by the Association. And there are a couple great Young Rascals dance tunes -- gotta find that CD and give it a listen. 8)

[dancin_feet]

I've always thought that Moondance by Van Morrison would make a great Foxtrot! Even thinking about suggesting it to my instructor for my next showcase routine! :D

[ReneeJoan]

There's a couple of Beatles numbers that are floating around the Argentine Tango community among the younger dancers that are just incredible. They're done as instrumentals, no lyrics, so I can't always remember which ones they are, but when I hear them, they are INSTANTLY recognizable. I think the new album by Los Cosas de Lao, or something like that, has two numbers. There are some others, I think, but I don't know the bands, or the songs. But WOW. They are so fantastic to dance to. Because they are different from the standard "Lawrence Welk" repertoire, I feel so creative and expressive whenever the host plays them.

Renee

[Chris Stratton]

One related area of potential dance music is foreign immitations of classic styles. Some of the German stuff is in English - there are also some interesting things coming out of Russia, and probably something to be found in Asia and Japan too. What's nice is that a lot of this music is new but still has all the nice characteristics of the old standards.

[pygmalion]

Can anybody recommend how to dance to Led Zeppelin? LOL. Sorta kidding. But that's some classic rock I can seriously air guiter jam to. Can't for the life of me figure out what dance(s) to do, though. :?

[dancin_feet]

Smoke on the Water could be a slow and sexy Mambo?

[pygmalion]

I'll have to check that out. 8)

[ShyDancer]

Smoke on the Water could be a slow and sexy Mambo?

Heard a version of that as a cha cha! I was quite impressed by it actually :D

[ShyDancer]

Oh, I must say that Take it to the limit is one of my favorite waltzes!


And how about Chain of Fools? Thats a Cha Cha ...

[pygmalion]

Chain of Fools?!? The Aretha song?

And, btw, what dance (if any) goes with Respect, Aretha's signature tune? :wink: (Although that's probably more like classic R&B than Rock but whatever. Either one works for me. 8) )

[pygmalion]

Or are you talking Fool in the Rain? or Fool on the Hill?

(Or Everybody Plays the Fool ... A rumba, I think. :wink: :lol: )

[pygmalion]

Do Smokey Robinson and the Miracles count? Lots of rumbas and some swings (ECS and otherwise.) But I guess they were more classic R&B. Maybe I should start a separate thread. :?

[Joe]

"Brown Eyed Girl" is kinda swingy...

[Spitfire]

I'm Into Something Good - Herman's Hermitts

All Night Long - Joe Walsh


These are good swing tunes.

[dancin/dj]

born on the bayuo,creedence clearwater,great song to west coast to.cherry bomb, john cougar another west coast.

[ShyDancer]

Chain of Fools?!? The Aretha song?


That one is a little slower.. Im talking about the version by the Commitments. You can also Cha Cha to Joe Cockers version as well..thats in between the Commitments one and Arethas one, probably good for American Cha as thats a bit slower ,and then there is he version by Jimmy Barnes..an aussie rock icon.

No prizes for guessing that I love the song in any form :lol:

[pygmalion]

Are they covers of the same song(at different tempos,) or different songs entirely?

[ShyDancer]

Yep, they are all covers of the same song :D