Lets Dance Top Ten: Come Dancing (#1)

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It's time to put those dancing shoes away as I close out my countdown of favorite songs that have "dance" or some variation in the title. Saving the best for last, here's my favorite "dance" song. #1: Come Dancing - Kinks There are three levels to this song, thanks to the MTV era. The video is quite humorous (one of two videos in that era that had the tennis racket guitarist [the other is "Our House" by Madness....also a pretty darn good song]). The song itself is a bittersweet memory. The backstory is heartbreaking. On his 13th birthday (June 21, 1957), Ray Davies was given his first guitar, a present from his sister, Rene. That evening, his sister had a heart attack and died while ballroom dancing. While that tragedy inspired the song (and another one from the album, "Don't Forget to Dance"), the song itself has a wonderful feeling that's both modern (you didn't hear the Kinks using a lot of synthesizers in the 70s!) and nostalgic. "Come Dancing" proved to be one of the Kinks' biggest hits in the US. Sadly, one of their last, too, as the brotherly "love" between Ray and Dave destroyed the band. What a marvelous Kinks Klassic. Don't forget to dance, and dance as if no one's watching. If they are watching, tell them to stop watching and start dancing. Thanks for reading. Come Dancing Written by Ray Davies Recorded by the Kinks From State of Confusion, 1983 Come on sister, have yourself a ball: