"Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter.
It first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart.
It is one of Motown's signature songs and is the group's premier signature song. A 1966 cover by the Mamas & the Papas was a minor hit on the Hot 100 reaching No. 73.
In 1982, the rock group Van Halen took their cover of "Dancing in the Street" to No. 38 on the Hot 100 chart and No. 15 in Canada on the RPM chart.
A hit cover version of "Dancing in the Street" was recorded by the English rock icons Mick Jagger and David Bowie as a duo in 1985, to raise money for the Live Aid famine relief cause.
The original plan was to perform a track together live, with Bowie performing at Wembley Stadium and Jagger at John F. Kennedy Stadium, until it was realized that the satellite link-up would cause a half-second delay that would make this impossible unless either Bowie or Jagger mimed their contribution, something neither artist was willing to do.
"Dancing in the Street" charted at No. 1 in the UK and reached No. 7 in the US.
The song has been covered by many other artists, including The Kinks, Tages, Grateful Dead, Little Richard, Myra, and The Struts.