"Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William Stevenson, and Ivy Jo Hunter.

The song has been covered by many other artists, including the Kinks, Tages, Grateful Dead, Myra and Black Oak Arkansas.

[1] Gaye and Stevenson agreed and including new Motown songwriter Ivy Jo Hunter added in musical composition.

"Motown records had a distinct role to play in the city's black community, and that community—as diverse as it was—articulated and promoted its own social, cultural, and political agendas.

These local agendas, which reflected the unique concerns of African Americans living in the urban north, both responded to and reconfigured the national civil rights campaign" (Smith 227).

The song therefore became a call to reject peace for the chance that unified unrest could bring about the freedom that suppressed minorities all across the United States so craved.

2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart when it was originally released as the group's third album Dance Party's first single in 1964 (see 1964 in music), with "There He Is (At My Door)" included as a B-side.

[4][5] Cash Box described it as "an infectious romp that drops names of various locales as it declares that dancing is sweeping the country," stating that it is "one of those sure-fire sock-rock productions.

In 2013, the original Motown recording was remixed for club and summer celebration airplay by Minneapolis' Billboard charting producer/remixer Joel Dickinson as well as Danny Shaffer.

[25][26] It was one of only two cover songs on the album, and was recorded on February 15–17, 1965 at Pye Studios Number 2 in London, United Kingdom.

In his book Ready For a Brand New Beat: How 'Dancing In The Street' Became the Anthem for a Changing America, Mark Kurlansky states that the song contained no particular interpretation or a distinct rhythmic groove.

"Dancing in the Street" was produced by Lou Adler and issued as the B-side of the single "Words of Love" on the Dunhill Records label.

The Mamas and the Papas Other personnel Swedish rock group Tages incorporated "Dancing in the Street" into their setlist during either December 1965 or January 1966.

The band had now also finalized the arrangement of "Dancing in the Street", with Lagerberg and Tausis sharing lead vocals on the track, with Larsson playing both the electric organ and piano to compensate for the lack of brass instruments.

"[40] "Dancing in the Street" was first released by Platina Records on August 4, 1966 when it was included as the opening track on Tages 2, the group's second studio album.

[47] The liner notes of the album states that "Dancing in the Street" is "the compact rhythmic opening with a new singing pair consisting of Göran Lagerberg and Tommy Tausis.

[46] Due to the lack of advertising regarding the single, and the release of the contemporary single "Treat Her Like A Lady", which reached number 7 on Kvällstoppen and 3 on Tio i Topp,[55][56] "Dancing in the Street" failed to chart on Kvällstoppen, but entered Tio i Topp on December 9, 1967 for a week before being voted off.

[55] The Swedish single sleeve is a photograph, which is an alternate take of the one which previously appeared on "Miss Mac Baren" in November 1966.

In that second period, the group recorded a cover version of the song in the studio, and released it as a single taken from their 1977 album Terrapin Station.

[61][62][63] Grateful Dead Additional personnel Van Halen released "Dancing in the Street" as the second single from their 1982 studio album Diver Down.

A hit cover version of "Dancing in the Street" was recorded by the English rock musicians Mick Jagger and David Bowie as a duo in 1985, to raise money for the Live Aid famine relief cause.

The David Bowie and Mick Jagger recording of "Dancing in the Street" was issued as a single on EMI, with all profits going to the charity.

[103] She would then re-record the song in Spanish, titled "Bailando en la Ciudad", in 2002 for the Disney Channel original movie, Gotta Kick It Up!