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Music Box Dancer

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"Music Box Dancer"
Single by Frank Mills
from the album Music Box Dancer
B-side"The Poet and I"
ReleasedJanuary 1979
Recorded1974
Genre
Length3:15
LabelPolydor
SongwriterFrank Mills
ProducerFrank Mills
Frank Mills singles chronology
"Love Me, Love Me Love"
(1972) 		"Music Box Dancer"
(1979) 		"Peter Piper"
(1979)
Audio sample
"Music Box Dancer"

"Music Box Dancer" is an instrumental piece by Canadian musician Frank Mills that was an international hit in the late 1970s. It features an arpeggiated piano theme in C-sharp major designed to resemble a music box, accompanied by other instruments playing a counterpoint melody as well as a wordless chorus. Most modern piano music sheets have the song in the key of C major.

Mills wrote and recorded "Music Box Dancer" in 1974, but it did not become a single until December 1978. By Christmas of that year, it was in the top ten of many European and Asian pop music charts. Released as a single in the United States in January 1979.[2] It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 , and also reached #3 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart and #47 on the Canadian pop chart. The single also reached #14 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report).[3] It additionally peaked at #4 on the US Cash Box Top 100.[4]

History

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In 1974, Mills released an album that featured "Music Box Dancer", but it was not initially a hit. When he re-signed with Polydor Records Canada in 1978, the label released a new song as a single, with "Music Box Dancer" on the B-side.

The song's success at CFRA was swift. "Music Box Dancer" premiered on CFRA's top 30 chart on May 5, 1978;[5] by June 30, it was the #1 song on the station's playlist.[6] "Music Box Dancer" also began picking up play on other Canadian stations around this time, becoming a nationwide hit. Mills's album went gold in Canada, which, after several months, prompted Polydor in the US to release the album and single with the B-side "The Poet and I".

The million-selling Gold-certified single reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1979 as well as #4 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, while the album reached #21 on the Billboard Top Album chart and also went gold. Around that time, Nashville, Tennessee television station WNGE used Music Box Dancer as its news theme;[7]

It was Mills's only U.S. Top 40 pop hit; the follow-up, another piano instrumental titled "Peter Piper", peaked at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100, although it was a popular Top 10 hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Mills managed one final Adult Contemporary chart entry, "Happy Song", which peaked at #41 at the beginning of 1981.

Mills also released a version of Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" with substantial airplay in Ontario during the 1970s and 1980s.

Chart performance

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Cover versions

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"Music Box Dancer" has been recorded by a variety of artists over the years, including pianists such as Floyd Cramer, Richard Clayderman, Roger Williams, and Eric Robertson, as well as orchestral groups like James Last and the 101 Strings Orchestra. Bandleader Ray Conniff recorded a vocal version with added lyrics on his 1979 album I Will Survive. Germany's Roberto Delgado recorded a calypso arrangement, and additional international versions have appeared, including an accordion rendition released in Sweden and a techno adaptation by the band PePe. The song was also recorded by Enormous Richard for the Pravda Records compilation 20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions!. German singer Marion Maerz released a German-language vocal version, and The Wiggles covered the song on their 2006 video and album Racing to the Rainbow.

In 1980, Hong Kong singer Paula Tsui released a Cantonese-language version with new lyrics.[19] The Ventures released a guitar-led cover version on their 1981 album Pops in Japan '81.[20] The song is also often played by ice cream trucks in North America.[21]

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  • A segment of the song was used in The Simpsons episode "Bart Star", in a flashback to Homer's time as a high-school gymnast.[22]

References

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  1. ^ Molanphy, Chris (September 15, 2023). "Insert Lyrics Here Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955-2010. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-188-8.
  3. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Forum - CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits: 1952-1996. Sheridan Books,Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-209-0.
  5. ^ "CFRA 580 Ottawa Survey 05/05/78". Las-solanas.com. 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  6. ^ "CFRA 580 Ottawa Survey 06/30/78". Las-solanas.com. 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  7. ^ YouTube: "Frank Mills Music Box Dancer News Theme 1979 WNGE Nashville"
  8. ^ a b "Kent Music Report No 288 – 31 December 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1979". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  9. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Music Box Dancer". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  11. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1979-04-29. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  12. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955-2010. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-188-8.
  13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2007). Top Adult Songs:1961–2006. Record Research.
  14. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits: 1952-1996. Sheridan Books,Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-209-0.
  15. ^ "Top Selling Singles of 1979 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1979-12-31. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  16. ^ Swiss Year-End Charts, 1979
  17. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1979/Top 100 Songs of 1979". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  18. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1979". Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  19. ^ "音樂盒 歌詞 - 徐小鳳 | 木蘭詞 Mulanci".
  20. ^ van Beverhoudt Jr, Arnold E. (7 February 2015). The Ventures Essential Albums Discography. Lulu. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-312-78582-3. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  21. ^ Tramel, Jimmie (July 19, 2015). "Why drive an ice cream truck? 'We love you guys.'". Tulsa World. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  22. ^ Music Featured on the Simpsons Archived 2008-05-11 at the Wayback Machine. The Simpsons Archive
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