View source for Land of a Thousand Dances

{{Short description|Song popularized by Wilson Pickett}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Land of a Thousand Dances
| cover      =
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Chris Kenner]]
| album      =
| B-side     = That's My Girl
| released   = October 1962
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Rhythm and blues]]
| length     =
| label      = [[Instant Records|Instant]]
| writer     = [[Chris Kenner]]
| producer   =
| prev_title = Let Me Show You How (To Twist)
| prev_year  = 1962
| next_title = Come Back and See
| next_year  = 1963
}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Land of 1000 Dances
| cover      = Land of 1000 dances by cannibal and the headhunters US vinyl orange Rampart label.png
| alt        =
| caption    = Side A of US Rampart edition
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Cannibal & the Headhunters]]
| album      = Land of 1000 Dances
| B-side     = I'll Show You How to Love Me
| released   = February 1965
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      =
* [[Garage rock]]<ref name= "Marsh 1989">{{cite book|first=Dave|last=Marsh|title=The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Heart_Of_Rock_Soul.html?id=5t5DYDniSHEC|date=1989|publisher=[[Plume (publisher)|Plume]]|isbn=0-452-26305-0|page=107}}</ref>
* [[proto-punk]]<ref name= "Marsh 1989"/>
| length     =
| label      = Rampart
| writer     = [[Chris Kenner]]
| producer   =
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| next_title = Nau Ninny Nau
| next_year  = 1965
}}
"'''Land of a Thousand Dances'''" or "'''Land of 1000 Dances'''" is a song written and first recorded by the American [[rhythm and blues]] singer [[Chris Kenner]] in 1962. It later became a bigger hit in versions by [[Cannibal & the Headhunters]] and [[Wilson Pickett]]. A version by [[Thee Midniters]] reached number 27 in Canada on March 22, 1965.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5672.pdf| title=RPM Top 40&5 Singles - March 22, 1965}}</ref>

The song references a number of dance styles/moves including [[The Twist (song)|the Twist]], the Alligator, [[Mashed Potato (dance)|the Mashed Potato]], [[Watusi (dance)|the Watusi]] and [[Pony (dance)|the Pony]].

==Background==
The original Chris Kenner recording, which peaked at No. 77 on the ''Billboard'' chart in 1963, mentions 16 [[dance]]s: the [[Pony (dance)|Pony]], the [[Chicken (dance)|Chicken]], the [[Mashed Potato (dance)|Mashed Potato]], the Alligator, [[the Watusi]], the [[Twist (dance)|Twist]], the Fly, [[The Larks|the Jerk]], the [[Tango]], the Yo-Yo, the Sweet Pea, the [[Hand Jive]], the Slop, the Bop, the Fish, and the [[Popeye#The Popeye dance|Popeye]]. Kenner's original recording included a brief, gospel-influenced, a capella introduction with the words: "Children, go where I send you / (Where will you send me?) / I'm gon' send you to that land / the land of a thousand dances."  This 18 seconds was left off the single release to facilitate radio airplay, and the phrase "Land of 1000 Dances" never appeared in any subsequent recording.

==Cannibal and the Headhunters version==
The song is famous for its "na na na na na" hook, which [[Cannibal & the Headhunters]] added in their 1965 version, which reached number 30 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' chart.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=101}}</ref> The hook gave the song further notoriety. The "na na na na na" hook happened by accident when Frankie "Cannibal" Garcia, lead singer of Cannibal and the Headhunters, forgot the lyrics.<ref name= "shannon" /> The melody to this section was also created spontaneously, as it is not in Chris Kenner's original track. The "na na na na na" hook was later borrowed in the 1994 song "[[Here Comes the Hotstepper]]" by Jamaican artist [[Ini Kamoze]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Daddy Yankee's Nicky Jam Collaboration "Muévelo" Is His Latest Flip Of A '90s Hit|url=https://genius.com/a/nicky-jam-daddy-yankee-s-muevelo-spanish-to-english-translation-samples-ini-kamoze-s-here-comes-the-hotstepper|access-date=March 26, 2021|website=Genius|language=en}}</ref>

==Wilson Pickett version==
{{Infobox song
| name       = Land of 1000 Dances
| cover      = Land of 1000 dances by wilson pickett US vinyl.png
| alt        =
| caption    = Side A of US (Atlantic) edition
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Wilson Pickett]]
| album      = [[The Exciting Wilson Pickett]]
| B-side     = [[You're So Fine (The Falcons song)|You're So Fine]]
| released   = {{Start date|1966|07}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Robert |title=Revolver: How the Beatles Re-Imagined Rock 'n' Roll |date=2012 |publisher=Backbeat Books |location=Montclair |isbn=978-1-61713-009-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/revolverhowbeatl0000rodr |url-access=registration |page=247}}</ref>
| recorded   = May 11, 1966
| studio     = [[FAME Studios|FAME]], [[Muscle Shoals, Alabama]]
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Rhythm and blues]]
| length     = 2:28
| label      = [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
| writer     = [[Chris Kenner]]
| producer   =
| prev_title = Ninety Nine and a Half (Won't Do)
| prev_year  = 1966
| next_title = [[Mustang Sally (song)|Mustang Sally]]
| next_year  = 1966
}}
The song's best-known version was by Wilson Pickett, who recorded the song during his [[Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section#Swampers session approach|first set of sessions]] at [[FAME Studios]] in [[Muscle Shoals, Alabama]],<ref name= "billboard">{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Number One Rhythm & Blues Hits|last= White|first= Adam|author2=Fred Bronson|author2-link=Fred Bronson|year= 1993|publisher= Billboard Books|location= New York|isbn= 0-8230-8285-7|pages= 22}}</ref> backed by the [[Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section]] and the [[Memphis Horns]]. (He had previously recorded in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]].) His recording was released as a single and appeared on his album, ''[[The Exciting Wilson Pickett]]''. The single became his third [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] No. 1 hit and his biggest ever [[Billboard Hot 100|pop]] hit, peaking at No. 6.<ref>{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=461}}</ref> In 1988 a re-recorded version by Pickett was featured in a concert during the movie ''[[The Great Outdoors (film)|The Great Outdoors]]'', while the original recording is featured at the end credits of the movie. In 1989, the earlier Pickett version was ranked number 152 on [[Dave Marsh]]'s list of ''The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/S1434.htm |title=Land of 1000 Dances |access-date=August 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727071250/http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/S1434.htm |archive-date=July 27, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The version is later used in the 1997 movie ''[[The Full Monty]]''.
Pickett's version also appears in a [[2017 in television|2017]] [[TV commercial]] for [[Hulu]], the first episode of Season 3 of ''[[Sex Education (TV series)|Sex Education]]'', and a [[2022 in American television|2022]] commercial for the [[Samsung Galaxy]].

The song appeared in ''[[Just Dance 3]]'' as a playable track.

===Personnel===
* Vocals: Wilson Pickett
* Guitar: [[Chips Moman]], [[Jimmy Johnson (session guitarist)|Jimmy Johnson]]
* Keyboards: [[Spooner Oldham]]
* Drums: [[Roger Hawkins (drummer)|Roger Hawkins]]
* Bass: Junior Lowe or [[Tommy Cogbill]]<ref>Pickett, Wilson, The Exciting Wilson Pickett, Atlantic #8129, released 1966.  Notes from Atlantic CD released 1993</ref>
* Tenor sax: [[Charles Chalmers|Charlie Chalmers]], [[Andrew Love (musician)|Andrew Love]]
* Trumpet: [[Wayne Jackson (musician)|Wayne Jackson]]
* Baritone Sax: [[Floyd Newman]]<ref name= "billboard" />

==Other recordings and inspirations==
* Some releases of the song credit [[Fats Domino|Antoine "Fats" Domino]] as a co-author of the song with Kenner. Domino agreed to record the song in exchange for half of the song's royalties.<ref name= "shannon">{{cite book |title= Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll|last= Shannon|first= Bob|author-link= Bob Shannon (WCBS-FM)|author2=John Javna |year= 1986|publisher= Warner Books|location= New York|isbn= 0-446-38171-3|pages= 94–95
}}</ref>
* The [[J. Geils Band]] released a live cover version as a single in 1983. ''[[Cash Box]]'' said that the band "does justice" to the original on the recording.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Reviews|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1983/CB-1983-02-19.pdf|date=February 19, 1983|accessdate=July 17, 2022|page=10}}</ref> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' said that "[[Acapella]] chanting, with the audience hooting and clapping in the background, fills out the sound with manic high energy."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|title=Top Single Picks|date=February 19, 1983|accessdate=February 8, 2023|page=63|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SSQEAAAAMBAJ}}</ref>
* The [[World Wrestling Federation]] (now [[WWE]]) released ''[[The Wrestling Album]]'' in 1985 that featured their own rather unique version of the song re-titling it "Land of a Thousand Dances?!!?" during the promotion's "Rock and Wrestling" era.  It starts out right then deliberately deteriorates in chaos.  The music video which featured such artists as [[Cyndi Lauper]] (under a black wig and the identity of "Mona Flambé") and [[Meat Loaf (singer)|Meat Loaf]] first aired on [[MTV]] in 1986 and now appears on the WWE [[YouTube]] channel as a video archive. Wrestlers who sang (or spoke) in parts of the song included [[Mr. Fuji]], [[Don Muraco]], [[Jimmy Hart]], [[Greg Valentine]], [[Captain Lou Albano]], [[Rowdy Roddy Piper]], [[Iron Sheik]], [[Classy Freddie Blassie]], [[Vince McMahon]], [[Gene Okerlund]] and [[Jesse Ventura]]. 
* As one of their final recordings before their initial disbandment, [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] group [[Guy (band)|Guy]] recorded a cover version of the song for the 1992 animated film ''[[FernGully: The Last Rainforest]]''. 
* The "na na na" chorus was interpolated into the reggae hit "[[Here Comes the Hotstepper]]" by [[Ini Kamoze]], which topped the US charts in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2179243/the-number-ones-ini-kamozes-here-comes-the-hotstepper/columns/the-number-ones/|title= The Number Ones: Ini Kamoze’s "Here Comes The Hotstepper"|last= Breihan|first= Tom|date= March 14, 2022|website= Stereogum|publisher= |access-date= March 10, 2024|quote=The infectious “na na na” bit comes straight from the oldies-radio standby “Land Of 1000 Dances,” first written and recorded by New Orleans R&B artist Chris Kenner in 1962. }}</ref>
* [[Rockapella]] covered the song on their 1996 album, [[Lucky Seven (Rockapella album)|Lucky Seven]].

== Charts ==
'''Chris Kenner version'''
{|class="wikitable"
! Chart (1963)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
| US [[Billboard Hot 100]]
| align="center" |77
|-
|}

'''Cannibal and the Headhunters version'''
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Chart (1965)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
| Canada Top Singles ([[RPM (magazine)|RPM]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5615.pdf| title=RPM Top 40&5 Singles - February 15, 1965}}</ref>
| align="center" |42
|-
| US [[Billboard Hot 100]]
| align="center" |30
|}

'''Wilson Pickett version'''
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Chart (1966)<ref>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r15208|pure_url=yes}} |title=The Exciting Wilson Pickett - Billboard singles |access-date=August 6, 2008 |publisher=Allmusic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/Tell%20Me%20To%20My%20Face |title=Wilson Pickett - Land of 1000 Dances |website=[[Official Charts Company|Official Charts]] |access-date=August 6, 2008}}</ref>
! Peak<br/>position
|-
| Canada Top Singles ([[RPM (magazine)|RPM]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5717.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - September 19, 1966}}</ref>
| align="center" |6
|-
| [[UK singles chart|UK Singles]] ([[Official Charts Company|OCC]])
| align="center" |22
|-
| U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]
| align="center" |6
|-
| U.S. ''Billboard'' [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles]]
| align="center" |1
|-
|}

'''Ted Nugent version'''
{| class="wikitable"
! Chart (1981)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
| U.S. ''Billboard'' [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks]]
| align="center" |47
|}

'''J. Geils Band version'''<ref>{{cite book |last= Whitburn|first= Joel|author-link= Joel Whitburn|date= 2013|title= Top Pop Singles 1955-2012|url= |location= Menomonee Falls, MN|publisher= Record Research, Inc.|page= 333|isbn=978-0-89820-205-2}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
! Chart (1982)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
| US [[Billboard Hot 100]]
| align="center" |60
|}

== Certifications ==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Wilson Pickett|title=Land of 1000 Dances|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2023|id=18871-6301-1|access-date=April 11, 2023|note=Wilson Pickett version}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{AllMusic|class=song|id=t2760337|label=Land of a Thousand Dances by Wilson Pickett}}
* {{AllMusic|class=song|id=t830004|label=Land of a Thousand Dances by Patti Smith}}

{{Wilson Pickett}}
{{Ted Nugent}}
{{Bill Haley & His Comets}}
{{The J. Geils Band}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1962 singles]]
[[Category:1965 singles]]
[[Category:1966 singles]]
[[Category:1981 singles]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records singles]]
[[Category:Rhythm and blues songs]]
[[Category:Wilson Pickett songs]]
[[Category:All-star recordings]]
[[Category:Songs written by Chris Kenner]]
[[Category:1962 songs]]
[[Category:Epic Records singles]]
[[Category:Songs about dancing]]