"How to Dance" is a song by Austrian house music trio Bingoboys from their debut studio album, The Best of Bingoboys (1991). The song features American female rapper Princessa and was first released in the United States in 1990, then was given a European and Australian release in March 1991.
"How to Dance" peaked at number two in Austria and reached the top 10 in Australia, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands. In the US, it climbed to number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Dance Club Play chart for one week in March 1991. The music video for the song was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the category of "Best Dance Video", losing to "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" by the C+C Music Factory.
Composition
The song borrows heavily from a number of earlier recordings, including "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" by the band Chic, "Dance (Disco Heat)" by the disco singer Sylvester, "Kiss" by Art of Noise feat. Tom Jones, the popular James Brown "Yeah! Woo!" sample loop, the bassline motif from Mantronix's single "Got to Have Your Love", and a synth motif from The Whispers' "And the Beat Goes On". In addition, the song contains audio samples from an instructional recording from the 1970s that attempted to teach people "how to dance" (for example, Step left, around, and together with the right).
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1991)PeakpositionDenmark (IFPI) 8Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 24Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 4UK Airplay (Music Week) 59US Billboard Hot 100 25US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard) 4US Dance Club Play (Billboard) 1
Year-end charts Chart (1991)PositionAustralia (ARIA) 53Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 17Canada Dance/Urban (RPM) 18Netherlands (Single Top 100) 84US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard) 31US Dance Club Play (Billboard) 29
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United States1990AtlanticUnited Kingdom11 March 1991Australia25 March 199122 April 1991CD
See also List of number-one dance singles of 1991 (U.S.)
References