Freeman was born in Alameda County and raised in San Francisco, California. He attended Mission High School. He started singing in a doo-wop group, the Romancers, in his early teens, and first recorded with them for Dootone Records in 1956. Their recordings included "House Cat", included on several later rock and roll compilations. However, the group soon fell apart, and Freeman started a new group, the Vocaleers (not to be confused with an earlier group of the same name who recorded "Is It a Dream").
When asked by a local DJ if he had written any songs, he wrote several and recorded them as solo demos. These included "Do You Want to Dance", which were heard by a visiting record label executive, Mortimer Palitz of Jubilee Records. He signed Freeman to the label and had the original recording overdubbed in New York by session musicians including guitarist Billy Mure. Released on the Jubilee subsidiary label Josie, "Do You Want to Dance" quickly rose to number 5 on the pop chart and number 2 on the R&B chart in early 1958, when Freeman was still only 17. The song was covered later (as "Do You Wanna Dance") by Del Shannon, Bobby Vee, the Beach Boys, Johnny Rivers, Bette Midler, John Lennon, Cliff Richard, Marc Bolan & T.Rex, the Mamas & The Papas and the Ramones.
Freeman appeared on American Bandstand and toured with such musicians as Fats Domino, the Coasters, and Jackie Wilson. Several of his follow-ups on Laurie, including "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes" and "Need Your Love", a ballad, also made the pop charts. He left Laurie in 1960 and signed with King Records, reaching the charts again with "Shimmy Shimmy".[6] However, several of Freeman's later recordings for King in the early 1960s went unreleased, for unexplained reasons. He did not return to the charts again until 1964, after signing for the Autumn label, when he had his second top ten hit with "C'mon and Swim". The song was co-written by label owner and radio DJ Tom Donahue (credited under his birth name, Thomas Coman), and 20-year-old Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone, and was produced by Stewart. Freeman's final hit was "S-W-I-M", later in 1964.
In 1964, Bobby Freeman played nightly at the Condor Club in San Francisco where Carol Doda performed her topless go-go dancing shows. Mainly supporting himself as a singer in clubs by the late 1960s, he continued to release singles on various small local labels through to the mid-1970s but met with little commercial success. He performed at the Bay Area Music ("Bammy") Awards in later years.
He died of natural causes on 23 January 2017.
Discography
Notable singles
1958 "Do You Want to Dance" (#5 Pop, #2 R&B)
1958 "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes" (#37 Pop, #20 R&B)
1958 "Need Your Love" (#54 Pop, #29 R&B)
1959 "Mary Ann Thomas" (#90 Pop)
1959 "Ebb Tide" (#93 Pop)
1960 "(I Do the) Shimmy Shimmy" (#37 Pop)
1961 "Mess Around" (#89 Pop)
1964 "C'mon and Swim" (#5 Pop)
1964 "S-W-I-M" (#56 Pop)
1974 "Everything's Love" (Uncharted)
Albums
1958 Do You Wanna Dance (Jubilee)
1959 Get in the Swim (Josie)
1960 Lovable Style of Bobby Freeman (King)
1964 C'mon and Swim (Autumn)
Bibliography
The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Pareles, Jon & Romanowski, Patricia, eds., Summit Books 1983
Do You Wanna Dance
Bobby Freeman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me I'm your lover man
Oh baby do ya wanna dance
Well, do ya wanna dance and make romance
Squeeze me all through the night
Oh baby do you wanna dance
Well, do you wanna dance under the moonlight
Squeeze me all through the night
Oh baby do you wanna dance
Hey
Well, do ya wanna dance and-a hold my hand
Squeeze me if I'm your man
Oh baby do you wanna dance
Well, do you wanna dance under the moonlight
Squeeze and kiss me all through the night
Oh baby, do you wanna da-ance
Well do ya wanna dance and-a make romance
Kiss and squeeze umm yeah
Do you waanna dance
Well, do ya wanna dance and-a hold my hand
Squeeze and tell me I'm your lover man
Oh baby, do you wanna dance
Yeah, do ya wanna dance under the moonlight
Squeeze and hug me all through the night
Oh baby, do you wanna dance
Well, do-ya do-ya do-ya do-ya
Wanna dance
Do-ya do-ya do-ya do-ya
Wanna dance
Do-ya do-ya do-ya do-ya
Wanna dan-ance
In Bobby Freeman's song "Do You Wanna Dance," the singer is asking their lover if they want to dance and make romance. The lyrics ask if the lover wants to hold hands and be declared the singer's lover. The chorus repeats the question of whether the lover wants to dance, specifically under the moonlight, and be held and kissed through the night. The song is essentially an invitation to dance and engage in physical intimacy with the singer's lover.
The lyrics of "Do You Wanna Dance" are relatively straightforward and express the desire for physical and emotional connection with a lover through dancing. The song, however, became a huge hit and a cultural phenomenon when it was released in 1958. It was covered by a number of artists, including The Beach Boys and The Ramones, and was featured in several movies and TV shows. The song was also a favorite of American Bandstand host Dick Clark, who helped popularize it by showcasing it on his show.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, do ya wanna dance and-a hold my hand
Asking the person if they would like to dance and hold hands
Tell me I'm your lover man
Expressing the desire to be seen as a lover
Oh baby do ya wanna dance
Repeating the question of whether the person wants to dance
Well, do ya wanna dance and make romance
Asking the person if they want to dance and potentially engage in romantic activity
Squeeze me all through the night
Asking to be squeezed and held all night long
Oh baby do you wanna dance
Repeating the question of whether the person wants to dance
Well, do you wanna dance under the moonlight
Asking if the person wants to dance in the moonlight
Squeeze me all through the night
Asking to be squeezed and held all night long
Oh baby do you wanna dance
Repeating the question of whether the person wants to dance
Well, do ya wanna dance and-a hold my hand
Asking the person if they would like to dance and hold hands
Squeeze me if I'm your man
Requesting physical affection to validate the relationship
Oh baby do you wanna dance
Repeating the question of whether the person wants to dance
Well, do you wanna dance under the moonlight
Asking if the person wants to dance in the moonlight
Squeeze and kiss me all through the night
Requesting physical affection throughout the night
Oh baby, do you wanna da-ance
Repeating the question of whether the person wants to dance with a slight variation in pronunciation
Well do ya wanna dance and-a make romance
Asking the person if they want to dance and potentially engage in romantic activity
Kiss and squeeze umm yeah
Requesting physical affection with a specific emphasis on kissing
Do you waanna dance
Repeating the question of whether the person wants to dance
Well, do ya wanna dance and-a hold my hand
Asking the person if they would like to dance and hold hands
Squeeze and tell me I'm your lover man
Requesting physical affection and validation of being a lover
Oh baby, do you wanna dance
Repeating the question of whether the person wants to dance
Yeah, do ya wanna dance under the moonlight
Asking if the person wants to dance in the moonlight with emphasis on agreement
Squeeze and hug me all through the night
Requesting physical affection through hugging and squeezing throughout the night
Oh baby, do you wanna dance
Repeating the question of whether the person wants to dance
Well, do-ya do-ya do-ya do-ya
Asking the question in a drawn-out, rhythmic way
Wanna dance
Asking if the person wants to dance
Do-ya do-ya do-ya do-ya
Asking the question in a drawn-out, rhythmic way
Wanna dance
Asking if the person wants to dance
Do-ya do-ya do-ya do-ya
Asking the question in a drawn-out, rhythmic way
Wanna dan-ance
Asking if the person wants to dance with a slight variation in pronunciation
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group, MARMOR MUSIC CO
Written by: Robert Freeman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kiramekikayla
… Well, do ya wanna dance and a-hold my hand?
Tell me I'm your lover man
Oh baby, do ya wanna dance?
… Well, do ya wanna dance and a-make romance?
Squeeze me all through the night
Oh baby, do you wanna dance?
… Well, do you wanna dance under the moonlight?
Squeeze me all through the night
Oh baby, do you wanna dance?
… Hey
… Well, do ya wanna dance and a-hold my hand?
Squeeze me if I'm your man
Oh baby, do you wanna dance?
… Well, do you wanna dance under the moonlight?
Squeeze and kiss me all through the night
Oh baby, do you wanna dance?
… Well, do ya wanna dance and a-make romance?
Kiss and squeeze, umm, yeah
Do you wanna dance?
… Well, do ya wanna dance and a-hold my hand?
Squeeze and tell me I'm your lover man
Oh baby, do you wanna dance?
… Well, do ya wanna dance under the moonlight?
Squeeze and hug me all through the night
Oh baby, do you wanna dance?
… Well, do ya, do ya, do ya, do ya wanna dance?
Do ya, do ya, do ya, do ya wanna dance?
Do ya, do ya, do ya, do ya wanna dance?
@richardchanson6251
I skated to this 60 years ago and I went skating a few months ago, I am not leaving easy.
@davidrichter9164
Good for you. Live long.
@TheMonkdad
Do not go gentle into that good night
@boldandbrashcrafts727
this warms my heart!
@thatman4853
🤓🎶🎶🎶🎶👍🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶👍🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶👍🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶👍🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤
@julietmurphy8637
Stay young! 💖
@misfitsboy123
This is such a good song. I learned this song because I'm such a huge Ramones fan, but this is just amazing.
@tjwoodlawn9721
Same. I love it Live the best.
@dannybirch5117
Me too just now 13 years later!
@lettoreentusiasta9374
Everybody here talking about Beach Boys and nobody mentions the Ramones cover. +1