Land of a Thousand Dances

"Land of 1000 Dances"
Single by Chris Kenner
B-side "That's My Girl"
Released October 1962 (October 1962)
Format Vinyl
Genre Rhythm and blues
Label Instant
Songwriter(s) Chris Kenner
Chris Kenner singles chronology
"Let Me Show You How (To Twist)"
(1962)		 "Land of 1000 Dances"
(1962)		 "Come Back and See"
(1963)
"Land of 1000 Dances"
Single by Cannibal & the Headhunters
from the album Land of 1000 Dances
B-side "I'll Show You How to Love Me"
Released February 1965 (February 1965)
Format Vinyl
Genre Rock and roll
Label Rampart
Songwriter(s) Chris Kenner
Cannibal & the Headhunters singles chronology
"Land of 1000 Dances"
(1965)		 "Nau Ninny Nau"
(1965)

"Land of a Thousand Dances" (or "Land of 1000 Dances") is a song written and first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962. The song is famous for its "na na na na na" hook, which Cannibal & the Headhunters added in their 1965 version, which reached number 30 on the Billboard chart.[1] Thee Midniters, an American group out of East Los Angeles, was one of the first Chicano rock bands to cover "Land of a Thousand Dances", scoring a local hit in 1965. The song was also covered by Danny & the Memories, British group The Action, Ted Nugent, the J. Geils Band, and the stars of the 1980s-era World Wrestling Federation. The song's best-known version was Wilson Pickett's 1966 recording, which became a Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1 and his biggest ever pop hit. Some releases of the song credit Antoine "Fats" Domino as a co-author of the song with Kenner. Domino agreed to record the song in exchange for half of the song's royalties.[2] One of the earliest covers of the song is on Major Lance's debut album on Okeh, The Monkey Time (1963).

The "na na na na na" hook happened by accident when Frankie "Cannibal" Garcia, lead singer of Cannibal and the Headhunters, forgot the lyrics.[2] The melody to this section was also created spontaneously, as it is not in Chris Kenner's original track.

The original Chris Kenner recording, which peaked at No. 77 on the Billboard chart in 1963, mentions 16 dances: the Pony, the Chicken, the Mashed Potato, the Alligator, the Watusi, the Twist, the Fly, the Jerk, the Tango, the Yo-Yo, the Sweet Pea, the Hand jive, the Slop, the Bop, the Fish, and the Popeye. Kenner's original recording included a brief, gospel-influenced, a capella introduction with the words: "Children, go where I send you / (Where will you send me?) / I'm gon' send you to that land / the land of a thousand dances." This 18 seconds was left off the single release to facilitate radio airplay, and the phrase "Land of 1000 Dances" never appeared in any subsequent recording.

Wilson Pickett version

"Land of 1000 Dances"
Single by Wilson Pickett
from the album The Exciting Wilson Pickett
B-side "You're So Fine"
Released July 1966 (July 1966)
Format Vinyl
Recorded May 11, 1966, FAME Studios, Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Genre Rhythm and blues
Length 2:28
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s) Chris Kenner
Wilson Pickett singles chronology
"Ninety Nine and a Half (Won't Do)"
(1966)		 "Land of 1000 Dances"
(1966)		 "Mustang Sally"
(1966)

Wilson Pickett recorded the song during his first set of sessions at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama,[3] backed by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and the Memphis Horns. (He had previously recorded in Memphis.) His recording was released as a single and appeared on his album, The Exciting Wilson Pickett. The single became his third Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1 hit and his biggest ever pop hit, peaking at No. 6.[4] In 1988 a re-recorded version by Pickett was featured in the end credits for The Great Outdoors. In 1989, the earlier Pickett version was ranked number 152 on Dave Marsh's list of The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.[5] Pickett's version appears in a 2017 TV commercial for Hulu.

Personnel

"Land of a Thousand Dances"
Single by Ted Nugent
from the album Intensities in 10 Cities
Released 1981
Genre Rock
Length 4:39
Label Epic
Songwriter(s) Fats Domino/Chris Kenner
Ted Nugent singles chronology
"Jailbait"
(1981)		 "Land of a Thousand Dances"
(1981)		 "The Flying Lip Lock"
(1981)

Charts

Chris Kenner version

Chart (1963) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 77

Cannibal and the Headhunters version

Chart (1965) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 30

Wilson Pickett version

Chart (1966)[7][8] Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 22
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 6
U.S. Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles 1

Ted Nugent version

Chart (1981) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 47

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 101.
  2. 1 2 Shannon, Bob; John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. New York: Warner Books. pp. 94–95. ISBN 0-446-38171-3.
  3. 1 2 White, Adam; Fred Bronson (1993). The Billboard Book Of Number One Rhythm & Blues Hits. New York: Billboard Books. p. 22. ISBN 0-8230-8285-7.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 461.
  5. ↑ "Land of 1000 Dances". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  6. ↑ Pickett, Wilson, The Exciting Wilson Pickett, Atlantic #8129, released 1966. Notes from Atlantic CD released 1993
  7. ↑ "The Exciting Wilson Pickett - Billboard singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  8. ↑ "Wilson Pickett - Land of 1000 Dances". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
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