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Creating The Ultimate Dance Party Playlist [2012 Edition]

With Memorial Day weekend upon us, summer — and the peak of 2012 wedding season — is officially beginning!

Many occasions of great happiness are imminent, but it’s also a time of stress, hassle and expense. One money-saving suggestion that I see in a lot of articles on the subject is to “skip the band and be your own DJ.” When executed well, it’s a win-win, even a value added, but when blundered, it’s close to a dealbreaker. I think we can all agree that the open-bar-fueled dance party is the highlight of any great wedding reception — any great party, for that matter — and unless you or one of your close friends is a true mixmaster, you might end up with a boring dance floor, which is pretty much curtains for your party.

That’s why ROTI is leveraging the power of Spotify and the wisdom of our panel of experts to help you be your own DJ in righteous fashion! 

To pull this off, I enlisted the services of the finest DJs and dancers I know. In preparation for this post, I huddled in close consultation with dance floor scientists including DJ Walls of Sound, Alison the Business Casual, DBuu, GoGoMrPoPo, Kelly, Nils Coq au Vin, SecretM, CPA3, El Guapo, Major Beans, and Lady McGregor. These people have schooled me in the art of dance party mayhem for years, and thanks to their wisdom and assistance, ROTI has developed a series of building blocks that you can utilize to create a playlist sure to slay.

I dissected all of the great dance music our experts identified — over twelve hours, all told — into a series of subsets (categorized by era, genre, etc.) and identified the best selections within each category. This way, you can either create a dance party mix that spans many eras and types of music, or instead, pick four or five genres that your crew enjoys and go from there.

Guided by the wisdom of our panel, I’ve also compiled about six hours of these tunes into a Spotify playlist that you can use straight-up if you want:

But the true point of this list is to help you create your own master list of dance jams. Before we begin, a few pro tips.

• Activate crossfade. Nothing kills a dance floor faster than a song fading out into silence and everyone standing around waiting for the next jam to begin. A few seconds of crossfade will take care of that. This might require connecting a computer to your speaker rig and running the Spotify or iTunes client. It’s worth it.

• Pick music that the most energetic, least self-conscious people want to dance to. They’ll provide cover for everyone else. I’ve seen dance floors sit empty while classic dance tracks play because none of the twentysomethings want to get down, and I’ve seen elderly grandmas dance to 50 Cent because the dance floor is packed and they want a piece of the action.

• Don’t take yourself too seriously! Although your wedding guests’ tolerance for silly pop hits may vary, I’ve observed that even the most snobbish crews can have a good time if they down a few cocktails and hit the floor to the throbbing beats of “Da Dip” and similarly absurd dance tracks.

Let’s boogie!

The 50s/60s

I realize I’m lumping a TON of amazing music together here in one section, but unless the crowd is particularly devoted to this stuff, I recommend taking an efficient overview of the best hits from the “oldies era.” You’ll need a little Motown, a little Stax, a dance-craze record or two, and a little rock to transition forward in time.

Key tracks:

• “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and “I Can’t Get Next To You” by The Temptations. My personal favorite Motown group has a ton of great songs, but these are the two that most make me want to take the floor. David Ruffin’s performance on “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” is pretty much the best singing I have ever heard in my life. The whole group gets into the act on “I Can’t Get Next To You,” a track from the post-Ruffin era, with amazing production from Norman Whitfield.
• “The Twist” by Chubby Checker. Every dance craze song that followed (“The Macarena,” “Teach Me How To Dougie,” etc) owes this masterpiece a massive debt. Plus, any dance move that you can do even if fat and uncoordinated is a sure winner.
• “Do You Love Me” by The Contours. One of Berry Gordy’s many strokes of genius. The fake ending fires me up every time.
• “It’s The Same Old Song” by The Four Tops. Levi Stubbs was a musical master. Get the mono version — the stereo remasters sound weird to me.
• “The Tears of a Clown” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. James Jamerson lays down one of the sweetest bass grooves ever and Smokey’s voice inspires yer soul. Co-written by Stephen Wonderful.
• “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” by Stevie Wonder. A perfect song. I’m also forever obsessed with “Uptight (Everything’s Alright).
• “Hold On! I’m A Comin” by Sam & Dave. A monumental Stax track co-written by Issac Davis, it’s one of the ultimate fist pumpers of all time. “Soul Man” is obviously a winner as well. Rest in peace, Duck Dunn.
• “Twenty Five Miles” by Edwin Starr, a superior dance track to his better-known “War” and a true Motown deep cut that I learned about from DJ Walls of Sound.
• “Dance to the Music” by Sly and the Family Stone. The horn break (when Cynthia and Jerry show their stuff) is effin’ electrifying.
• “Gimme Some Lovin’” by The Spencer Davis Group. An 18-year-old Steve Winwood lays down filthy organ and miraculous vocals.
• “Think” by Aretha Franklin. Gets the nod over “Respect” for the glory of its refrain (“Whoa, Freedom!!!”)
• “Brown Sugar” by the Rolling Stones (released in 1971, but recorded in 1969!). For some reason Mick Jagger keeps getting shouted out in pop songs lately (“Tik Tok” and “Moves Like Jagger” being the most prominent examples). Here’s his best dance song ever, and he didn’t even need Keef to hold his hand while writing this one.

The 70s

The disco era, when great dance music became the dominant force in pop. Meanwhile, funk geniuses came up with some of the dopest rhythms ever. With time, the distinctions between these genres have been elided a bit and it’s pretty easy to combo them up into a ridiculous dance party. For more from this era, check out the “Club Classics” section.

Key tracks:

• “You Should Be Dancing” and “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees. The whole Saturday Night Fever soundtrack is pure gold. Despite their rep, I actually think these guys are better at slow jamming than dance-jamming, but regardless, one of the best bro-groups ever.
• “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer. Pure TNT. Giorgio Moroder lays down insane synths, Donna delivers incredible vocals, and Dan/Doobie Skunk Baxter shows up to shred on guitar!
• “Move on Up” by Curtis Mayfield. Great horns, great vocals, great percush. This should be placed into a long-range rocket and sent into space so aliens discover it.
• “Higher Ground” and “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder. Just two among the many transcendent tracks Wonderful recorded in this decade. I endorse these two in particular, but also pretty much everything he did (although “I Wish” has been kinda ruined by Will Smith).
• “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire. The most joyful music I’ve ever heard.
• “Get Down on It” by Kool and the Gang. Basically, follow the instructions for a good time. “Celebration” also receiving votes.
• “Don’t Leave Me This Way” by Thelma Houston. An immense chorus keys this Gamble and Huff tune, and the LA Motown production is outstanding. For bass nerds, here’s a great thread trying to decipher who funks on this.
• “Heart of Glass” by Blondie. New Wave’s finest dance floor anthem. As SecretM pointed out, it’s the soundtrack to a key dance party scene in Kicking and Screaming.
• “I’m Your Boogie Man” by KC & the Sunshine Band. I have mixed feelings on KC and co; most of their songs really seem like they were written for children, they are so basic and silly. Not this masterjam — it’s got a fierce horn section, a dank chorus, and of course, KC’s signature tambo beats.
• “Upside Down” by Diana Ross. With writing and production by the guys from Chic. Technically this dropped in 1980, but it’s 70s sound all the way.
• “Good Times” by Chic. The most frequently bitten bassline ever.

The 80s

My fellow 80s kids know this era was magical — there were so many genres in play on the charts that an 80s dance party can be its own wonderful organism. Disco elements still remained, but this was also a time when dance-punk began to evolve, lending a darker edge to the dance floor. All that plus the nascent sounds of hip hop made this an incredible decade for tunes, and one that’s been better appreciated with the ascendance of Lady Gaga and other heavily-80s-influenced acts.

Key tracks:

• “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant. BOYS! Allmusic calls this an “almost primal slab of funk punctuated by a pumping beat and percolating synthesizer.” I can’t beat that.
• “I Wanna Be Your Lover” by Prince. The purple one has dozens of great songs, obviously, but this one stands out to me as the track best suited for a dance jam in 2012. Others that come close are “1999,” “I Would Die 4 U.” Deeper cuts I’d recommend for a full blown 80s dance party are “Erotic City” and “The Glamorous Life” (the latter credited to Sheila E).
• “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul. What a classic. The pre-chorus is magical. You’ve really gotta bring it with your dance moves to be worthy of the high standard Paula lays down.
• “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen. The song that inspired the Carlton Dance is worthy of any 80s dance party you could dream up.
• “Take On Me” by a-ha. If you dance to this passionately enough, you will be able to travel between the real world and realms of illustration.
• “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany. Amazing cover of the 60s classic evokes joyous nostalgia in all who hear it.
• “Come on Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Classic fist-pumper that builds to an epic finale. It’s really tough to resist the piano slide thirty seconds in, I know I never have.
• “Burning Up” and “Borderline” by Madonna. My personal favorites among her catalogue.
• “Rhythm Nation” by Janet Jackson. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis build a throbbing dance beat around a sample of Larry Graham’s magical bass. Someday in the future when everyone in America looks like Derek Jeter, the national anthem will be changed to this song.
• “Gloria” by Laura Brannigan. LOVE.
• “Genius of Love” by Tom Tom Club. The track that launched a thousand samples. Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth are so good on this. One of my favorites.
• “Two of Hearts” by Stacey Q. A perfect 80s one-hit wonder. People are jealous ’cause we always stay together.
• “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell. A tortured jam. There’s a 2:11 version that gets right to the point, I recommend using that.
• “Jump (For My Love)” by the Pointer Sisters. All-time great key change.
• “Rock the Casbah” by The Clash. One of the best bands ever dips a toe into the dance-punk pool and the water turns to champagne.
• “Bust a Move” by Young MC. Stone cold rhymin’ and an INCREDIBLE performance by Flea on session bass. An 80s/90s crossover track that everyone loves.

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