Billboard #1 Hits: #533: ‘Let’s Dance’- David Bowie. May 21, 1983. #1 for 1 week in Billboard Hot 100.
- Single:’Let’s Dance’- David Bowie
- Record Company- EMI America
- Genre: Funk, New Wave, Dance-Rock
- Written by David Bowie
- Time: 4:08
- B-side:” Cat People [Putting Out Fire]
- Album- Let’s Dance
- Grade: A
- Peaked at #1 1 week in Billboard Hot 100.# 1 in UK Singles Chart. #1 in Belgium, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
David Bowie decided he wanted some hits- so he brought in Chic’s Nile Rodgers to produce- and also on lead guitar a young guitarist named Stevie Ray Vaughan. He had his #1 hit and a couple other hits off of the Let’s Dance album- ‘Modern Love’ and ‘China Girl.’
A pretty strong run of #1 songs here in 1983 with ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Come On Eileen’, ‘Beat It’ and now “Let’s Dance;’ there will be more outstanding #1’s to come in the year.
slicethelife 
Bowie has had so many strange and wonderful creations over his time on earth.
this week I’ve been keeping myself occupied with how far I am removed from people…. the six degrees of separation- I am only two from Bowie. I have met Larry Kirwan who hosts Celtic Crush and was the front man of Black 47- he knew Bowie……
That’s what I’m talking about!
This was my first exposure to Bowie as a child. It would be quite surprising to learn how different it was from his earlier work. Nevertheless, this is a great track.
It was weird- Bowie in the 70’s put on all those different faces- and with this album it seemed like he was playing himself.
I have always loved this song. Junior year of high school…
And, the B-side reminds me…I need to see Cat People, again. Kinski…
Serious Moonlight was a wonderful tour; The Tubes opened the show I saw.
I am jealous- never got to see him
I had the great good fortune to see him perform six times. I treasure every one of those experiences.
That is impressive! I don’t know how many times he came around this neck of the woods but I must have been in a deep sleep when he did!
While I think I will always dig Bowie’s glam rock phase the most, I have to say I also still enjoy the “Let’s Dance” album. It was really well made. Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of my guitar heroes, so not surprisingly, I like the guitar work here! Bowie was such a versatile artist with many different faces.
This is the one Bowie album I own, and “Let’s Dance” is my favorite of his many songs.