THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

46-Hamilton Bohannon-Let’s Start the Dance.

1978-Number 56 single.

Best Bit-At 6.08. It was 1978, Disco Music was at it’s peak, 12 inch vinyl was not a novelty anymore, so if a song had an extended version you had it. It was easy to get the crowd on to the dance floor because it seemed that every other record released was something that you could dance to, but even as a naive youth I was aware that this one was only for ‘the cool people.’

Hamilton Frederick Bohannon (see also best songs 626) was born on March 7th, 1942, in Newnan, Georgia, United States, he died on April 24th, 2020, at the age of 78. Bohannon’s professional musical career began in 1964 when he was hired as a drummer in 13 year old Stevie Wonder’s touring band. In 1967 he moved to Detroit where he was employed by the ‘Motown’ organisation as the leader and arranger of ‘Bohannon & The Motown Sound,’ who were the touring backing band for some of ‘Tamla Motown’s’ biggest names, including ‘Diana Ross and the Supremes,’ ‘Marvin Gaye,’ and ‘The Temptations.’

When ‘Motown’ moved from Detroit to Los Angeles in 1972 Hamilton Bohannon didn’t make the move with them, and embarked on a solo career, which included the recruitment of new musicians, Ray Parker Jr, (see also best songs 560) and Dennis Coffey, who had been a member of the ‘Funk Brothers’ studio band at Motown. As a solo artist Hamilton Bohannon was very much at the forefront in the development of ‘Disco’ music and ‘Funk’, with his repetitive dance beats proving highly influential in the genre of ‘House Music,’ that was only just around the corner.

The discography of Hamilton Bohannon includes 19 studio Albums released between 1973-1989, and 21 singles issued between 1973-1983. Unfortunately his music rarely crossed over in to the mainstream charts, and he never achieved a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in America, although in the UK, three of his singles did reach the top 40, with ‘Disco Stomp’ charting the highest at Number 6 in 1975. Over the years many of the songs of Hamilton Bohannon have been widely sampled by the ‘Dance,’ and ‘Hip-Hop’ community, with the most successful being his 1978 song ‘Me and the Gang,’ which when sampled by the American ‘House Music’ producer Paul Johnson (1971-2021) in 1999, and titled ‘Get Get Down,’ made Number 5 in the UK.

‘Let’s Start the Dance’ was written, produced, and arranged by Hamilton Bohannon, and was the only single released from his ninth studio Album ‘Summertime Groove,’ from 1978. The vocals on the track are provided by Caroline Crawford, who at the ages of 14 and 15 had recorded three singles on ‘Motown Records.’ Crawford was the featured vocalist on six of Bohannon’s Albums, and she also released two solo studio Albums in 1978, and 1979, which were both produced by Bohannon. In 1981 Hamilton Bohannan remixed and re-issued ‘Let’s Start the Dance,’ as ‘Let’s Start 2 Dance Again,’ this time with a ‘Rap’ that was written and performed by ‘Dr Perri Johnson.’ The Rap’ was very typical of it’s era, and can definitely be filed firmly under ‘Old School,’ think ‘Sugarhill Gang,’ (see best songs 17) and ‘Kurtis Blow'(see also best songs 594.)

Hamilton Bohannon was a devout Christian, and retired from making music in 1989, but he did make a comeback when touring in 2014 behind a drum kit, at the age of 72. In 1976 Bohannon dedicated his album ‘Dance Your Ass Off’ to ‘God, my master, saviour and Jesus Christ’. The album also included a disclaimer that ‘Dance Your Ass Off’ is not used in the sense of profanity.’

‘Oh, you I’m talking to you, get up and shout. Hell don’t hang the dance, think what you wanna anyhow, but shout to the music, well the Funky, Funky music.’