Your Mama Don't Dance

"Your Mama Don't Dance" is a hit 1972 song by the rock duo Loggins and Messina. Released on their self-titled album Loggins and Messina, it reached number four on the Billboard pop chart^[1] and number 19 on the Billboard Easy Listening Chart^[2] as a single in early 1973.

"Your Mama Don't Dance"
Side A of the US single
Single by Loggins and Messina
from the album Loggins and Messina
B-side	"Golden Ribbons"
Released	November 1972
Recorded	1972
Studio	Columbia (Los Angeles)
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	2:48
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Kenny Loggins, Jim Messina
Producer(s)	Kenny Loggins, Jim Messina
Loggins and Messina singles chronology
"Peace of Mind" (1972) "Your Mama Don't Dance" (1972) "Thinking of You" (1973)

Overview

Jim Messina on the inspiration for "Your Mama Don't Dance"

"My stepfather...from Arkansas...was not much of a mover or...groover. [But] my mom...loved music. She loved Elvis Presley & Ricky Nelson. She loved [R&B] music. My stepfather was more of an Ernest Tubbs, Hank Snow, Johnny Cash kind of guy. There was not a whole lot of connection or understanding with me wanting to do music, other than from my mom. So...the line: 'Your mama don't dance & your daddy don't rock & roll',came from me thinking about how my mother wasn't really doing what she loves to do [because] my stepfather was not into rock & roll. He thought the Beatles were just...screaming, long-haired idiots...So I grew up having to put up with that [but] it was [just] a fun lyric [with no intended] social significance whatsoever other than my own experience of a kinda funky household."^[3]

This song, whose refrain and first verse is done in a blues format, deals with the 1950s and 1960s lifestyle concerning the generation gap, where the parents oppose the Rock and Roll Revolution of the younger generation, which includes the rebelliousness against the old society that monitors curfews on dating; as well as being arrested for making love with a girl in the back seat of a car during a drive-in movie, which happens during the bridge section of the song.

When released as a single, it was the duo's biggest hit as well as their only Gold single.

"Your Mama Don't Dance" was covered in 1973 by Australian band the Bootleg Family Band, which made the top 5 in Australia. It was also covered in 1985 by the rock band Y&T.

Elvis Presley included the song in a medley of rock n' roll songs on his 1974 album Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis.

Poison cover

"Your Mama Don't Dance"
Single by Poison
from the album Open Up and Say...Ahh!
B-side	"Tearin' Down the Walls"
Released	February 1, 1989
Recorded	1988
Genre	Glam metal^[4]^[5] blues rock^[6]
Length	3:00
Label	Enigma/Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Kenny Loggins, Jim Messina
Producer(s)	Tom Werman
Poison singles chronology
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (1988) "Your Mama Don't Dance" (1989) "Unskinny Bop" (1990)

In 1988, the glam metal band Poison recorded a cover of "Your Mama Don't Dance." It appeared as the ninth track on their second album Open Up and Say...Ahh! by Capitol Records and was released as the album's fourth single. The Poison version reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 39 on the Mainstream rock charts and has since gone Gold in the US. The song also charted at number 21 on the Australian charts and number 13 on the UK Singles chart.^[7] The single's B-side is "Tearin' Down the Walls".

Critical reception

Cash Box said "Take a classic Loggins & Messina rock/blues song, and play. It’s an instant hit."^[8] Reviewer of Record Mirror was disappointed by this single. He found it ″completely naff″ when contrasted with "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", the band's previous ″quite listenable hit″.^[9] Jerry Smith from British music newspaper Music Week also expressed an opinion that this "ordinary slice of good-time rock'n'roll" is "highly unlikely to enhance their reputation as wild, heavy rockers".^[10] Pan-European magazine Music & Media described the song as "energetic version" of traditional 12 -bar with a vague doo-wop edge.^[11] In 2017, Billboard and OC Weekly ranked the song number six and number five, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Poison songs.^[12][13]

Personnel

Loggins & Messina version

• Kenny Loggins – vocals, electric guitar (plus solo)
• Jim Messina – vocals, electric guitar
• Jon Clarke – baritone saxophone
• Al Garth – alto saxophone
• Larry Sims – bass, backing vocals
• Merel Bregante – drums, backing vocals
• Michael Omartian – piano
• Milt Holland – congas, cowbells

Poison version

• Bret Michaels – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• C.C. DeVille – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Bobby Dall – bass, backing vocals
• Rikki Rockett – drums, backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Loggins and Messina version Chart (1972–1973) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)^[14] 30 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[15] 27 Canada RPM Top Singles^[16] 5 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary^[17] 31 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[18] 20 New Zealand (Listener)^[19] 11 US Billboard Hot 100 4 US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 19 Poison version Chart (1989) Peak position Australia (ARIA)^[20] 21 Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[21] 17 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[22] 43 Ireland (IRMA)^[23] 15 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[24] 3 UK Singles (OCC)^[25] 13 US Billboard Hot 100^[26] 10 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)^[27] 39

Year-end charts Loggins and Messina version Chart (1973) Rank Canada RPM Top Singles^[28] 58 US Billboard Hot 100 ^[29] 53 Poison version Chart (1989) Rank New Zealand (RIANZ)^[30] 30

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
2. Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
3. "Interview – Jim Messina (Buffalo Springfield, Poco, Loggins & Messina)". August 16, 2018.
4. "Motley Crue's 'Theatre of Pain' at 30: Classic Track-by-Track Album Review". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021. The prototype for Poison's "Your Mama Don't Dance"—another hair-metal remake of a good-natured anti-authoritarian '70s jam that happened to be produced by Tom Werman
5. Rolli, Bryan (July 1, 2021). "Top 30 Glam Metal Albums". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
6. "Poison, Cinderella / Aug. 1, 2006 / Toronto (Molson Amphitheatre)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
7. "Poison The Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
8. "Top of the Pops" (PDF). Cash Box. February 11, 1989. p. 21. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
9. Smith, Robin (April 22, 1989). (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 29. ISSN 0144-5804. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021 – via World Radio History.
10. Smith, Jerry (April 22, 1989). (PDF). Music Week. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 29. ISSN 0265-1548. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 2, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2022 – via World Radio History.
11. (PDF). Music & Media. Amsterdam: European Music Report BV. May 6, 1989. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 12, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022 – via World Radio History.
12. Titus, Christa (July 5, 2017). "Poison's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
13. Silver, Michael (June 13, 2017). "The 10 Best Poison Songs". OC Weekly. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 180. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
15. "Loggins & Messina – Your Mama Don't Dance" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
16. "RPM Top 100 Singles - February 3, 1973" (PDF).
17. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. February 17, 1973. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
18. "Loggins & Messina – Your Mama Don't Dance" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
19. "flavour of new zealand – search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
20. "Poison – Your Mama Don't Dance". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
21. RPM Top Singles – May 8, 1989 RPM Magazine
22. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 20. May 20, 1989. p. 20.
23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Your Mama Don't Dance". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
24. "Poison – Your Mama Don't Dance". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
25. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
26. "Poison Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
27. "Poison Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
28. "RPM Top 100 Singles of '73 - December 29, 1973" (PDF).
29. "Top 100 Hits of 1973/Top 100 Songs of 1973". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
30. "The Official New Zealand Music Chart".

External links

• Lyrics of this song