Invitation To Dance

Album: That's Dancing! soundtrack (1985)
Charted: 68
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song was written for the 1985 movie That's Dancing!, which chronicles the history of dance in film. Carnes wrote the song with her husband, Dave Ellingson, along with the team of Brian Fairweather and Martin Page. Fairweather and Page had written three songs on her 1983 album Café Racers, including the #40 "Invisible Hands."
  • Nile Rodgers produced this song. In the '70s, his group Chic crafted hits that would later become the basis for many Hip-Hop tracks. Dancing is a common theme in his music: in 1983, he produced the David Bowie hit "Let's Dance." Rodgers crafted another generation of hits when he wrote and performed on three songs from Daft Punk's 2013 album Random Access Memories, including another terpsichorean track, "Lose Yourself to Dance."
  • The music video was directed by Mary Lambert, who worked on several Madonna videos, including the clips for "Material Girl" and "Like A Virgin."

    The video for "Invitation To Dance" featured elaborate special effects, integrating Carnes into footage of dance scenes from the That's Dancing! movie. Capitol Cities used a similar motif in the video for their 2011 song "Safe and Sound."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Actors With Hit Songs

Actors With Hit SongsMusic Quiz

Many actors have attempted music, but only a few have managed a hit. Do you know which of these thespians charted?

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went Mainstream

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went MainstreamSong Writing

These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's Songs

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's SongsSong Writing

"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.