Rolling Stone Magazine has released their readers poll pick of the top 10 dance songs of all time - ranking in order of those songs scoring the highest number of votes.
Most picks are a no-brainer. A couple songs though, really? How about Marky Mark’s, “Good Vibrations”? Who cannot dance to that?
Daft Punk's 2000 hit "One More Time" won this poll in a landslide, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has ever seen the French DJ duo in concert or has ever been to a club with the song blasting over the soundsystem. The track is basically a hyper-concentrated blast of euphoria set to a pounding house beat. People can't help but to totally lose it whenever it comes on.
New Order's 1983 hit "Blue Monday" is such a staple of British dance clubs that it has the distinction of being the top-selling 12-inch single in the history of the United Kingdom. The track has been remixed, covered and sampled many times over, but no version ever seems to top the original, which hits just the right balance of funk, angst and aloof sexiness.
The Beatles ended up becoming such a hugely influential cultural force that it can be easy to forget they got their start in show business by playing raucous covers of R&B hits. "Twist and Shout," their rendition of a tune penned by Phil Medley and Bert Russell, was one of their earliest singles, and it remains a guaranteed floor-filler to this day.
Justice's jubilant tribute to Michael Jackson is the most recent song on this list, but it already seems like an enduring classic. Still, it's somewhat surprising to see that the French duo actually outpaced the King of Pop himself in the polling.
As with Michael Jackson, Madonna has so many top-shelf dance hits that her placement on this list suffered somewhat from vote-splitting. ("Into the Groove" just narrowly missed the Top 10, FYI.) Still, if only one Madonna hit could make this list, "Vogue" was an excellent choice. On top of being one of her signature hits, its music video features some of her most iconic dance moves.
The Isley Brothers' 1959 single "Shout" didn't leave much of an impact on the pop charts when it was originally released, but over time, it's become an inescapable part of pop culture thanks to its ubiquity in movies and at wedding receptions and sporting events. The song has been covered many times, but nothing matches the raw energy and elemental simplicity of the Isleys' original.
Michael Jackson is responsible for some of the biggest dance hits of all time, so his relatively low placement on this list can be attributed partly to vote-splitting. He's best known for doing the Moonwalk to "Billie Jean," but the highest number of votes went to "Thriller," maybe because its iconic video features such memorable group choreography.
Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart," a seamless blend of disco, funk, hip-hop and house music, is one of the most joyful songs of the early Nineties. In this clip filmed live at the Rock in Rio festival in 1991, the group perform the tune with a backing band featuring funk legends Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins. Everyone onstage appears to be having the time of their life, most especially singer Lady Miss Kier, who looks absolutely fabulous in a backless golden jumpsuit.
Chic's 1978 disco hit "Le Freak" may seem like a celebration of the scene at disco mecca Studio 54, but it was actually inspired by band members Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards being refused entry to the club on New Year's Eve 1977, despite being invited by Grace Jones. The song has long outlived Studio 54, and it has the distinction of hitting the Number One position on the Billboard Hot 100 on three non-consecutive occasions.
The Bee Gees' 1977 smash "Stayin' Alive" is one of the most iconic anthems of the disco era, in part because it was used in the opening sequence of Saturday Night Fever. Amazingly, the song was never intended as a single, but it became a major hit after listeners flooded radio stations with requests for the tune after the debut of the movie trailer.