"Dancing in the street had two meanings. The first is the one Martha Reeves asserted to reporters in England. "The British press aggravated Reeves when someone put a microphone in her face and asked her if she was a militant leader. The British journalist wanted to know if Reeves agreed, as many people had claimed, that "Dancing in the Street" was a call to riot. To Reeves, the query was patently absurd. "My Lord, it was a party song," she remarked in retrospect" (Smith 221). While Berry Gordy had created the Black Forum label to preserve black thought and creative writing, he kept the Motown record label and the popular hits it produced from being too political. "Berry Gordy Jr. was extremely wary about affiliating his business with any organization of movement that might negatively influence his company's commercial success" (Smith 230). The central tenet of Motown records was to produce a sound that was genteel enough to appeal to white audiences across the country while still wholly African American and reflective of the African Diaspora in America. This song is suave and melodious, while still percussive, repetitive, and danceable. The primary meaning was innocent enough to allow national audiences to accept and enjoy the song, if only at first. " From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_in_the_Street
"Dancing in the street had two meanings. The first is the one Martha Reeves asserted to reporters in England. "The British press aggravated Reeves when someone put a microphone in her face and asked her if she was a militant leader. The British journalist wanted to know if Reeves agreed, as many people had claimed, that "Dancing in the Street" was a call to riot. To Reeves, the query was patently absurd. "My Lord, it was a party song," she remarked in retrospect" (Smith 221). While Berry Gordy had created the Black Forum label to preserve black thought and creative writing, he kept the Motown record label and the popular hits it produced from being too political. "Berry Gordy Jr. was extremely wary about affiliating his business with any organization of movement that might negatively influence his company's commercial success" (Smith 230). The central tenet of Motown records was to produce a sound that was genteel enough to appeal to white audiences across the country while still wholly African American and reflective of the African Diaspora in America. This song is suave and melodious, while still percussive, repetitive, and danceable. The primary meaning was innocent enough to allow national audiences to accept and enjoy the song, if only at first. "
ReplyDeleteFrom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_in_the_Street