RockLists.com
Cover of The B‐52’s by The B-52's
Cover: The B‐52’s

Song · The B-52's

“Dance This Mess Around” by The B-52's

From the album The B‐52’s (1979)

“Dance This Mess Around” by The B-52's appears on 24 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1988 and 2023. It was first released in 1979 on the album The B‐52’s. Its best result is #157 on the Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,594 alternative song of all time.

24countdowns
9stations
#157best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1988–2023years charted

Watch

Dance This Mess Around

Video from YouTube (The B-52's - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

The B-52's closed out the singles run from their 1979 debut album, The B-52's, with "Dance This Mess Around", and it's the one where Cindy Wilson grabs the wheel. She takes the lead, with Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson barking and cooing around her, and she works her way from cool deadpan to full-throated yelp like a party one song away from the cops showing up. The music credit is shared by Pierson, Schneider, Keith Strickland and both Wilsons, Pierson and Cindy Wilson wrote the words, and Chris Blackwell produced, keeping it lean, twitchy and wide open for the voices to run riot.

Critics keep circling back to it: AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine counted it among the infectious tunes that kept the debut ringing down the years, and PopMatters rated it one of the group's finest. On stage it has stayed a favorite ever since.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 234 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1990 267 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 157 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 696 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 320 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 369 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 378 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 407 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 441 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 398 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 365 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
2002 1367 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1378 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2007 1358 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1301 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1321 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1358 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1419 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1468 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1527 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2020 1730 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2022 790 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2023 780 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 384 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229

Also listed as: Dance this Mess Around.

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Dance This Mess Around" by The B-52's.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.