How Mick Jagger and David Bowie’s ‘Dancing in the Street’ Performed Compared to the Original

The Rolling Stones‘ Mick Jagger and David Bowie’s “Dancing in the Street” was a hit. The original version of the song by Martha and the Vandellas was popular as well. During an interview, one of the writers of the song discussed how the cover changed his life.

Martha Reeves sang backup for Marvin Gaye before she became a star in her own right

Martha Reeves was the lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas. During a 2016 interview with The Guardian, she discussed getting a job as a Motown singer. “One day, there was some sort of union dispute and they needed someone to sing on a demo, so I offered,” she recalled.

Reeves recalled how Motown record producers Berry Gordy and William “Mickey” Stevenson reacted to her singing. “Berry liked my voice and Mickey said: ‘That’s Martha, my secretary,'” she recalled. “The next thing I knew, I was singing backup on Marvin’s ‘Stubborn Kind of Fellow’ (1962) with my old girl band the Del-Phis, who became the Vandellas.”

How 1 of the songwriters reacted to Mick Jagger and David Bowie’s ‘Dancing in the Street’

Reeves remembered how she came to sing one of her most famous songs. “A little later, Marvin saw me ogling him — he was such a good-looking man — and said: ‘How about we try this song on Martha?'” she recalled. “The song was ‘Dancing in the Street’ (1964) and it became the Motown anthem.”

Songwriter Ivy Jo Hunter discussed his reaction to the track. “I didn’t really like the finished record, but then I had no concept of what made a hit,” he recalled. “When Mick Jagger and David Bowie covered it in 1985, I made more money in two years than I had made in the previous 20. I would have kissed their butts in the middle of Broadway.”

How both versions of ‘Dancing in the Street’ performed on the charts in the United States

Martha and the Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Street” was a hit. According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was kept from the top spot by “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” by Manfred Mann.

Bowie and Jagger’s cover of “Dancing in the Street” didn’t chart as highly. The track reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the chart for 14 weeks. The duet later appeared on the compilation album Best of Bowie. The album reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200, lasting a total of 55 weeks on the chart.

Bowie and Jagger’s “Dancing in the Street” didn’t chart as highly as the original but it brought in a lot of money for one of the song’s writers.