The term Various Artists is used in the record industry when numerous singers and musicians collaborate on a song or collection of songs. Most often on Last.fm, compilation album tracks appear under the name of Various Artists erroneously because the individual artist is not listed in the album's ID3 information.
Compilation albums, for example.
Sometimes, single releases may be credited to Various Artists when their profits are going to charity and, usually in high-profile cases, are sometimes known by a group name. Examples include Band Aid with their releases of Do They Know It's Christmas? and USA for Africa with We Are The World.
Various Artists is also an actual performance name for Torsten Pröfrock, who runs the German DIN label. Torsten performs also as Dynamo, Erosion, Resilent, Traktor besides some others. He's a good friend of Robert Henke and since the Fall of 2004, he is a member of Monolake.
Various Artists was also a short-lived Bristol punk band formed by brothers Jonjo and Robin Key (originally from Birmingham). Other members were also simultaneously in Art Objects who went on to become The Blue Aeroplanes, the latter the Key brothers also co-wrote some songs and were involved in. When Various Artists imploded, the Key brothers went on to form Either / Or.
Various Artists also appear on tracks from musical theater soundtracks, due to the nature of having many cast members on one song, as well as an ensemble in some cases.
Dancing In The Street
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are you ready for a brand new beat
Summer's here and the time is right
For dancing in the streets
They're dancing in Chicago
Down in New Orleans, in New York City
All we need is music, sweet music
They'll be swinging, swaying and records playing
Dancing in the street
Oh, it doesn't matter what you wear
Just as long as you are there
So come on, every guy, grab a girl
Everywhere around the world
There's dancin'
There's dancing in the street
This is an invitation across the nation
A chance for folks to meet
There'll be laughing, singing and music swinging
Dancing in the street
Philadelphia pa, Baltimore and dc now
Can't forget the Motor City
All we need is music, sweet music
There'll be music everywhere
They'll be swinging, swaying and records playing
Dancing in the street
Oh, it doesn't matter what you wear
Just as long as you are there
So come on, every guy, grab a girl
Everywhere around the world
There's dancin'
There's dancing in the street
Way down in L. A., every day
There's dancing in the street
Let's form a big strong line
Every time there's dancin' in the street
Across the ocean blue, me and you
There's dancin' in the street
"Dancing in the Street" is a classic song that invites people across the world to dance together as one community. The catchy tune is a perfect example of Motown's signature sound, which combines pop and soul music with infectious dance rhythms. The song starts by calling for a "brand new beat" that would make everyone dance in the streets as summer arrives. It immediately sets the mood for a celebration of freedom, joy, and togetherness.
As the song continues, it mentions different cities in the US where people are dancing and having fun, such as Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. The song broadens its scope even further, calling people from all over the world to join the dance floor. The song's message is simple and timeless- no matter where you're from, what language you speak, or what you look like, we can all come together under the rhythm of music and dance.
One interesting fact about "Dancing in the Street" is that it was co-written by Marvin Gaye, who initially planned to record the song with Kim Weston. However, after Martha and the Vandellas recorded their version, it became a hit and a staple on the dance floor. Another interesting tidbit is that the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and was ranked #40 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." "Dancing in the Street" has also been covered by many notable artists, including David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Van Halen.
Chords: There are different versions of the chords, but a simple one is as follows:
Intro: G
Verse: G / C / G / C
Chorus: G / C / G / C / Em / Am / G / D
Line by Line Meaning
Calling out around the world
We're spreading the word everywhere
Are you ready for a brand new beat
Are you ready for a new, exciting rhythm?
Summer's here and the time is right
Now that summer is here, it's the perfect time
For dancing in the streets
To go out and dance with everyone in the streets
They're dancing in Chicago
Even in Chicago they are dancing
Down in New Orleans, in New York City
And in other cities like New Orleans or New York
All we need is music, sweet music
All we really need is good music
There'll be music everywhere
Music will be all around us
They'll be swinging, swaying and records playing
People will be moving and enjoying the music
Dancing in the street
They will dance publicly in the streets
Oh, it doesn't matter what you wear
People can wear whatever they want
Just as long as you are there
As long as you're there to participate
So come on, every guy, grab a girl
Everyone should get a partner and join in
Everywhere around the world
This is happening all over the world
There's dancin'
People are enjoying themselves by dancing
This is an invitation across the nation
We are inviting everyone around the country
A chance for folks to meet
An opportunity for people to gather and get to know each other
There'll be laughing, singing and music swinging
People will be happy, singing, and dancing to the music
Dancing in the street
They will dance publicly in the streets
Philadelphia pa, Baltimore and dc now
Even in cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, and DC
Can't forget the Motor City
We also cannot forget about Detroit
Way down in L. A., every day
Even in Los Angeles, there is daily dancing in the street
Let's form a big strong line
Let's come together and form a strong group
Every time there's dancin' in the street
Whenever there's dancing in the street
Across the ocean blue, me and you
Even across the ocean, we can participate in dancing in the street
There's dancin'
People are enjoying themselves by dancing
There's dancing in the street
They will dance publicly in the streets
Contributed by Nolan Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy
They were literally singing for our civil rights. ❤️
@debcrockett366
I think they were singing about freedom in America & fun in the Summertime..NO POLITICS!
@danf321
There is someone to politically charge every subject.
@lexluger3490
Lol, it's literally what they were singing about. The song was a euphemism for civil rights rallies happening at the time. 😅 Almost 60 years later and most people are still clueless. America treated black Americans like shit for a very long time, face it, it did happened. Want to fix it? Then fix it. It's not political, it's factual.
@cressapellom4205
@@debcrockett366uh no. It was about civil rights. A simple Google search will tell you that.
@ericafair9983
Now, we can literally let that go because whispers we's free now. 😮
@DudemeisterNL
I absolute love that the timeline I live in has given us Motown!
@hansg6336
It's hard to exaggerate how much influence the Motown sound has had on American pop music. Great stuff to listen to a thousand years from now.
@nickwride2023
The Motown Sound will live for a long time.
@cleaningtim
I could not agree more!