TL; DR:
- The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger referenced a Motown hit in one of his band’s songs.
- A Motown singer says Jagger should be “ashamed”.
- The Motown song in question was a big hit.
The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger referenced a Motown hit in one of his band’s songs. The lead singer of the Motown track felt that Jagger “should be ashamed of himself”. Additionally, she said her stunt was controversial.
A Motown singer didn’t like 1 of her most famous songs on the 1st
In a 2016 interview with The Guardian, Motown record producer Ivy Jo Hunter discussed the origin of “Dancing in the Street” (1964). “I had wanted to write a melancholic song, but when Marvin [Gaye] heard, he said, ‘It’s not a sad song. It’s more like dancing in the street. It became the title and half an hour later the song was over.
Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas discussed her reaction to the song. “At first, I didn’t like it,” she recalls. “But then I thought about my neighborhood and how we were up all night dancing in the street. The vocal is the second take – when I first sang it, they didn’t have the tape running.
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Martha Reeves hated when Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger referenced ‘Dancing in the Street’ in one of her band’s songs
Reeves revealed that “Dancing in the Street” caused controversy. “The song gave me all kinds of trouble,” she revealed. “It was the Civil Rights era and there had been riots in Detroit, so the British press thought it was rioting. How can ‘Every Guy Catch a Girl’ be about anything other than dancing in the street?
Reeves was upset when the Rolling Stones paid tribute to the track. “The Rolling Stones referenced the lyrics to ‘Street Fighting Man’ (1968) but changed them to: ‘Summer is here and it’s time to fight in the streets,'” she said. . “Mick Jagger should be ashamed of himself!”
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How Martha and the Vandellas’ ‘Dancing in the Street’ and the Rolling Stones’ ‘Street Fighting Man’ performed on the charts
According The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, “Dancing in the Street” was very popular in the United States. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It would have reached the top of the chart had it not been for Manfred Mann’s “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”.
“Street Fighting Man” became a more modest hit in the United States. The tune peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the chart for six weeks. The Rolling Stones included the track on the album Banquet of beggarswhich reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 32 weeks.
“Street Fighting Man” shows “Dancing in the Street” had an impact on music even though Reeves wasn’t a fan of the former.
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