THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

488-Wilson Pickett-Land of a Thousand Dances.

1966-Number 22 single.

Best Bit-At 0.09. The Pony, Chicken, Mashed Potato, Alligator, Watusi, Twist, Fly, Jerk, Tango, Yo-Yo, Sweet Pea, Hand Jive, Slop, Bop, Fish, and the Popeye. I could mention the other 884 dances, but I would run out of room.

‘Land of a Thousand Dances’ was originally written and recorded by the American R&B singer Chris Kenner in 1962, his version peaked at Number 77 in 1963, on the American Billboard Hot 100. Kenner got the idea for the recording from an ‘old spiritual song’ that was sung in the American South called ‘Children Go Where I Send Thee,’ which is a song where the narrator enumerates all the places where he can ‘send thee.’ In ‘Land of a Thousand Dances’ Chris Kenner substituted the places for types of dances, although he only lists 16 in his version. On some early pressings of the record Fats Domino (1928-2017) (see also best songs 617 ans 272) is given co-writing credit, even though he had nothing to do with the writing of it. Kenner had offered him the credit and half the royalties if he would record it, which he did, but in the end Kenner’s version was the more successful. In the original Chris Kenner version there is a spoken word intro, ‘I’m gonna take you, baby, I’m gonna take you to a place. The name of the place is the Land of a Thousand Dances.’ That intro was missing from the songs ‘radio edit,’ and is also left off most of the numerous cover versions.

Chris Kenner was born on December 25th, 1929, in Kenner, Louisiana, United States, he died on January 25th, 1976, from a heart attack, triggered by alcoholism, at the age of 46. His first success in music came in 1957 when his recording of his own composition ‘Sick and Tired,’ reached Number 13 on the Billboard ‘Hot R&B’ chart, it was then covered in 1958 by Fats Domino (Billboard Number 22 & UK Number 26.) Chris Kenner also had great success with his co-write with Allen Toussaint, (1938-2015) of the song ‘I Like It Like That,’ which he recorded and took to Number 2 on Billboard in 1961. In 1965 the English Rock group ‘The Dave Clark Five’ reached Number 7 on Billboard with their cover version of the song. Chris Kenner’s career was affected by his unpredictable behaviour, as he drank and spent heavily, and he sometimes missed shows or forgot the words to his songs. He continued to record until 1968, but with less and less commercial success. In 1968, he was convicted of unlawful sex with a minor and spent three years in Louisiana’s Angola prison.

‘Land of a Thousand Dances’ first became a top 40 hit in 1965, when recorded by the Mexican/American group ‘Cannibal & the Headhunters,’ who took their version to Number 30 on Billboard. This was the first time that the songs famous ‘na, na, na, na, na’ hook had been used, having been improvised by the groups lead singer ‘Frankie ‘Cannibal’ Garcia (1946-1996.) While performing the song Garcia’s microphone kept cutting out, and so to fill the gaps he chanted the ‘na, na.’ It is probable that all subsequent covers of the song now include the chant, including this most famous version by Wilson Pickett. In 1994 the Jamaican Reggae artist Ini Kamoze used the ‘na, na, na,’ in the chorus of his Billboard Number 1 & UK Number 4 hit single ‘Here Comes the Hotstepper.’

Wilson Pickett was born on March 18th, 1941, in Prattville, Alabama, United States, during his life he had suffered with alcoholism and cocaine addiction, which led to run-ins with the law. He had been suffering from health problems for the last year of his life, and died on January 19, 2006, as a result of a heart attack, at the age of 64. Wilson Pickett is considered a major figure in the development of ‘Soul Music,’ and after a grounding in ‘Gospel Music,’ he joined the influential American R&B group ‘The Falcons’ (see also best songs 828) in 1960, and remained a band member until pursuing a solo career in 1963.

‘Land of a Thousand Dances’ was the fourth and final single released from ‘The Exciting Wilson Pickett,’ the third Album release by Wilson Pickett, from August 1966. Pickett recorded his version of ”Land of a Thousand Dances,’ and it’s parent Album at the ‘FAME’ studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, using many of the top session players of the era, and also members from the ‘Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.’ I cannot find anywhere that states who actually produced ‘Land of a Thousand Dances’ for Wilson Pickett, with the likelihood it being an amalgamation of the five producers of the Album, who were, Jerry Wexler, (1917-2008) Steve Cropper, Jim Stewart, (1930-2022) Rick Hall, (1932-2018) and Tom Dowd (1925-2002.) In 1967 Wilson Pickett returned to the ‘FAME’ studio to record ‘Mustang Sally,’ these sessions were so successful that Pickett’s label, ‘Atlantic Records,’ started sending more of their artists to record there, including their labels biggest star Aretha Franklin (1942-2018) (see also best songs 644 and 366.) Muscle Shoals became a very popular recording destination, with artists such as Bob Seger, The Staple Singers, and Paul Simon, recording there during the 1970’s.

‘One, two, three, one, two, three. You gotta know how to pony, like Bony Maronie. Mashed Potato, do the Alligator. Put your hands on your hips, let your back-bone slip, do the Watusi, like my little Lucy. Na, na na na na, na na na na, na na na, na na na, na na na na.’