Who Did It Better? Swayin' To The Music (Slow Dancing)

This has been an odd year for our little blogging family. One of us has gone missing; her voice conspicuously absent, as they say.

And she is missed.

Anne Marie was the saltiest sweetheart - and I know we all miss her whip-smart comments and incredibly tasty work as our favorite DJ. Each weekend, I'd look forward to her wonderful dance parties.

So, I thought I'd close out the 2021 season of Who Did It Better? with a song that came to make me think of her. See, I know we shared one thing in common - AM Radio and our turntables and collection of 45's were our best friends growing up. That music? It served as a safe haven.

Anyway, this song? Well, I used to imagine us all getting together for a big dance party - a blog prom, if you will. And this is the song I always thought I'd request and then get a chance to dance with Anne Marie, you know... just until Arteejee cut in.

So, this one is for our friends, Anne Marie and Arteejee (Todd).

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Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancin'), initially titled Slow Dancing, is a song written by Jack Tempchin, who had written a couple of major hits (Peaceful Easy Feeling,  Already Gone) for the Eagles.

The first version of Slow Dancing appeared on the self-titled 1976 album by the Funky Kings, a group formed in 1976 for Clive Davis's then fledgling Arista Records. They were an odd team featuring a funk rhythm section alongside a collection of country rock singer-songwriters and musicians. Members included Jack Tempchin, Jules Shear, and Richard Stekol, and pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz. 

Slow Dancing was issued as a single, reaching #13 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart and #61 on  the Hot 100. Despite their initial success, the group disbanded after only one album.

The song caught the ears of those over at MCA in charge of Olivia Newton John. She would record a version of the song for her 1977 album, Making A Good Thing Better. It was released as a promo single and she performed it as part of one of her televised music specials (Only Olivia), but it would never be released as a full-fledge single.  

Muff Winwood's band, Unicorn, would record a version of the song for their 1977 album, One More Tomorrow. Issued as a single in 1977 and would also be re-released as one in 1978.

Winwood was a member of the Spencer Davis Group and an A&R man for Island Records. He then rose through the ranks of CBS Records. He's responsible for discovering and signing acts such as  Prefab Sprout, Terence Trent D'Arby, Sade, Shakin' Stevens, and The Psychedelic Furs, in addition to producing albums for Dire Straits, Sparks, Marianne Faithfull, Traffic, Mott The Hoople, and After The Fire.

The song would become a huge hit in the states for veteran Johnny Rivers (Secret Agent Man, Poor Side of Town). Initially recorded for his own Soul Records in June of 1977, the song was issued under the title Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancing) in order to avoid confusion with the Top 20 hit Slow Dancing Don't Turn Me On by the Addrisi Brothers. Once it started to gain airplay and positive response, Rivers realized that his label lacked the distribution capabilities necessary to make a hit, so he leased the song to Big Tree Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records to gain a leg up. 

It paid off. 

His version became a huge hit, peaking at #10 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #8 on the Adult Contemporary chart, while in Canada it would snag the #3 spot and #7 on their Adult Contemporary chart. It would end up being Rivers' last Top 40 hit in the United States, going Gold in the process.

But the song's chart journey was not over. 

In 1979, another music veteran, Johnny Duncan, would cover the song for his album, See You When The Sun Goes Down. Duncan, who began his career in music as a radio disc jockey, started recording in the late 1960's. However, he wouldn't come to prominence until the mid 1970's, when he enjoyed a string of country hits on his own and recording several duets with country star Janie Fricke. In the end, he would enjoy 30 charting singles, three of which went all the way to #1. 

Released as a single under its original title, Slow Dancing, his version would reach #6 on the US C&W chart, while hitting #8 on Canada's C&W chart. 

Overseas, Brinsley Schwarz's Ian Gomm (Hold On), co-writer of bandmate Nick Lowe's hit Cruel To Be Kind, recorded a version of the song for his second solo album, 1981's What A Blow. It would be released as a single under the title Slow Dancin', but would fail to chart, though it remains something of a fan favorite.

And that's the whole story. 

Now? On to the competition!

The Song: Swayin' To The Music (Slow Dancing)

The Competitors: Funky Kings vs. Newton John vs. Rivers vs. Unicorn vs. Duncan vs. Gomm

Slow Dancing (Swaying To The Music) - The Funky Kings

Slow Dancing - Olivia Newton John

Swayin' To The Music (Slow Dancing) - Johnny Rivers

Slow Dancing - Unicorn

Slow Dancing - Johnny Duncan

Slow Dancin' - Ian Gomm

Funky Kings

Love the crisp guitars. No downbeat. Boo. The singer sounds like he has a sinus infection. I think the tempo is a bit draggy. There's so much air in this arrangement, it feels as if it was recorded live. The tone of the lead's voice is a bit old-school for my taste. Male vibrato can cut two ways, and his is not the way I prefer. A bit of a lighter tone might have helped. Feels heavy-handed, more so due to the tempo. His inflection reminds me of Roy Orbison. 

This is a great song. I wonder if it was offered to the Eagles? Of course, there came a time when Don Henley got tired of all the song royalties going to outside writers, and began to refuse to consider outside material. Perhaps they'd reached that point. 

The harmonies are nice (all baritones??), but again, that tempo is doing mega damage to the hit potential of this song. As is, I'm surprised it did as well as it did on the charts, but then that is also a testament to the quality of the song itself. 

Lovely strings as we enter verse two; a nice bed to rest on. It's odd that the producer didn't ask for a bit more crispness from the vocalist. They seem reliant on those lovely guitars to keep things lively. Wow... can you hear/feel the drag as we enter the second chorus? Deadly.

Love the plucked guitar string interludes. Had Roy Orbison sang this, with this arrangement, I would be buying it, but as is, the vocalists are subpar. 

That's some great production work and I actually like the arrangement. It's the tempo that's partially at fault, here. The other half of the problem? The vocals are merely adequate, nothing more. Yes, there's a bit of yearning and some lovely heartache in the lead's interpretation, but not enough to keep this from sinking into obscurity. 

Olivia Newton John

The same wooden tempo. A lot busier arrangement. She sort of misses the target with that entrance. It's too unfocused. At this point in her career, she was primarily considered a crossover country success. Her voice lacks the color and depth she'd find a mere year later, as she went full-fledge pop with 1978's Totally Hot. Here, she's still got a boot and a half on the country side of that fence.

The chorus is dull. It's those backing vocals. Dreck. The guitars are tinny sounding. Her vocals are colorless - clearly she's not found the magic to be found in this song. It's a pleasant read, but little more. She was such an odd country singer. No where is that more apparent than on the second verse which hands her some ripe imagery and she fails to milk it. Lots of standard pop phrasing (for the time) found here... listen to what she does on the second chorus's 'guy-aye-yi-yi-ah.' It's a very ONJ moment; a signature move.

'The whole wide world...' She fails to open the back of her throat, so it's not as crisp a sound, and ends up feeling a bit under-the-note, under developed. It strikes me as lazy. Who was coaching her? You have to sing with your eye brows, dear.

Oh, that C-section/bridge. More laziness. So unfocused. Nothing cuts through. It's like a wall of cotton balls being thrown at a black and white television. That tempo is killing this, and not in a good way.

Thank goodness they saved the big strings for the play out. Ugh. All that breathy pop goddess stuff. I know a certain crowd ate that stuff up, as they wanted their country-pop sanitized and virginal, but it bores me. That's not singing. That's posing. 

Johnny Rivers

So, he's completely sanded the edges here. That's a very mellow, '70's AM Radio-ready sound. It's a guitar, playing the lead in the intro, but it might as well be a synthesizer. I also already appreciate the pop tempo applied. This is very similar to the sound that made folks like England Dan and John Ford Coley such major chart players during this time. 

His tone is perfect. I can still hear Roy Orbison in this, but he's lifting the overall sound by not relying on his throat voice. He's actually singing through his eyes. It's a very hopeful, very intimate reading. I like that steady, rather rote, rhythm section. It anchors this thing perfectly. 

That flute like keyboard in the background of the chorus? Nice. Again, it's uplifting. The vocals on the chorus are multi-tracked, giving it that extra boost, that fresh energy. And then the bell-like keyboard, adding a bit of magic. 

This is such an intimate, steady reading, energized just enough on occasion to keep it propelling forward at a nice rate; a welcome reprieve from the mire of the previous two versions. 

Rivers was primarily a guitarist. So that lead is all him and it's lovely; a very rich and experienced style. In comes a bed of strings on verse two. Very subtle. By the second chorus, this is starting to sound a bit too regimented. Stilted even. I am a die-hard romantic. I want to be swept away, magically. 

The c-section/bridge feels rudimentary.

By verse three, things are sounding more interesting. A bit of keyboard play and some subtle backing vocals add dimension. It's totally percolating as we take off into the final chorus. 

Is he a great vocalist? No. But this is a winning performance.

Unicorn

Huh. I like the tempo and they've reintroduced a bit of country to the mix. Lots of division in this production work, as if things are happening in separate rooms. The guitar is a dab too high in the mix. The vocals lack color. 

This is very similar to the River's version, but lacks intimacy. 

I like the guitar work. It's simply mixed too high, competing for and stealing focus too often.

On the chorus, I dislike their take on the word 'my' in 'me and my girl'. It splats like a cream pie in the face. 

I do like the c-section/bridge. Best of any of the previous versions, with the double-timed guitar and the vocals are strong. I like his voice on the third verse. And that lovely back draft down beat.  This is growing on me, leaps and bounds. Love that counter-guitar filler riff. 

I really like that they brought more rhythmic elements to the table. It suits the song.

Johnny Duncan

Love the steel guitar, dislike the spoken word intro. What in the world? The tempo is deadly and those backing vocals so old-school country I can see the ladies of Hee Haw surrounding Mr. Duncan, all sitting pretty on bales of straw. 

He has a nice, rich baritone, so not sure why they chose to go with spoken word verses. Maybe truck drivers relate to it better? (It did climb to #6 on the C&W chart.)

Huh. Well, everybody loves a good story and a good storyteller. I could see it being 1:00 AM, half a bottle gone, sitting in the near-dark and finding comfort in this.

This is pleasant. The steel guitar and regular guitar work are lovely and the c-section/bridge sounds great (although I wish they would repeat it twice in a row,) but, overall, this is not my cup of tea. And I grew up listening to this stuff... Tennessee Ernie Ford, Jimmy Dean, Bill Anderson, et. al. 

I also grew out of it. And so did country music.

Ian Gomm

By 1980, I can't imagine why someone would take another shot at this... except - the song never broke big in The UK, so a bit of an untapped market. 

Gomm is primarily known as a writer and guitarist. The guitar work here is tasteful and professional. His vocals sound as if he was recorded in a vault deep within the earth. He takes some liberties with the melody (which is refreshing, given this is the sixth version we're listening to,) but to little effect; it still sounds like a knock-off version of River's take on the song. 

It's odd, I can still hear a bit of that Stiff Records esthetic in his voice, some of his inflections and phrasing - the way he bites off the end of a word. It's fun to hear. Takes me back. Stiff Records was one of the first truly successful D.I.Y. labels, a post punk outfit that gave birth to a roster of talent which infused the music scene with a spunky, pure-pop energy and informed the new wave movement.

You know, the more I listen, the more I like this. The energy present is contagious and I'm enjoying all the risks he's taking. The production work is spot on; the guitar sparkles. The ramp up to and the c-section/bridge itself is great! He had the good sense to repeat it twice - and with so much muscle. It makes me want to hear the rest of the album.

This is my second favorite version. It only loses because it came so late in the game and... I couldn't actually imagine slow dancing with anyone to it. 

The Verdict

Strange. They all grew on me the more I listened. 

Ian Gomm was the most pleasant surprise. I really like his version, very muscular and true to himself - not the cover version I initially thought it to be.

I also enjoyed Unicorn's very clean take on it. It kept getting better.

Johnny Duncan even grew on me. It's a style that took me back and I can relate to the comfort found in such a style. 

Both Funky Kings and ONJ leave me rather cold. 

And the big winner, of course... Johnny Rivers. It's like being held closely and intimately, rocked gently... a very accomplished take on the song, which is why it did so well on the charts. This absolutely belongs to him.

I wonder if Anne Marie would agree? 

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And that's enough of me.

Okay, your turn. Let me know what you think. Leave your choice and thoughts in the comments section. I love to hear a differing opinion.

And that's all for now.

Thank you for reading... and listening!

Slow Dancing - Olivia Newton John

 

Swayin' To The Music (Slow Dancing) - Johnny Rivers