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"Let Me Take You Dancing" is a song co-written and recorded by Canadian artist Bryan Adams. It was written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance and was later remixed by John Luongo. It is notable for being Adams' first solo single and his first ever release as a solo artist when he was 19.
A disco influenced pop song in its original mix, the popular remixed version of the song is even more disco-oriented. It was one of the first songs that Adams and Vallance wrote together and was based on a rag-time piano riff that Vallance had written. The writing took place during February 1978 and the song was recorded at Pinewood Studios by Geoff Turner.[1] The song was originally released as a pop song, but was taken by his record company and remixed.
Co-writer Jim Vallance stated that "I don't doubt the single's success contributed to Bryan eventually being signed directly to the label [A&M Records]".
The song was first released in Canada in 1978:[1]
Later was released in 1979 elsewhere:[2]
Although the single had some minor radio success, respected remixer John Luongo was recruited to make it sound like a proper disco track ready for release in the United States.[1] The song went to number 22 on the disco chart.[3]
Original single:
Added during Luongo Remix session:
The John Luongo 12" remix of "Let Me Take You Dancing", was released on CD in 2002 as part of compilation album Disco Box Vol 2: Disco Heat.[1] The extended version (6:15) of "Let Me Take You Dancing" is available on the 1994 Hot Classics 12 CD. A shortened version (3:04) of "Let Me Take You Dancing" is available on the 1993 continuous mix CD, The Dance Classic Showcase Volume 1 (mixed by D.J. John Daru).
Currently, the only method to acquire "Let Me Take You Dancing" or "Don't Turn Me Away" is by purchasing the original record. Also, the only method to acquire the instrumental version of "Let Me Take You Dancing" is by purchasing the record of the John Luongo 12" remix, which is the "B" side of said record.
According to Vallance, Adams has since distanced himself from the higher octave vocal style used in the original recording, which was a holdover from the period when he was the lead singer of Sweeney Todd. As for the remix, Luongo chose to increase the tempo of the song, but there was no time-compression technology at that time so this increased the pitch of Adams' vocals. Adams was disappointed with the sped-up sound,[1] making him sound like a woman, according to many listeners.[4] Adams has only performed it live on a handful of occasions. Despite being a single, neither "Let Me Take You Dancing" (except for the 12" disco mix) or its B Side, "Don't Turn Me Away", has appeared on an official CD release as of 2014, nor has been available for purchase online.
As a result of his disavowing, Adams refuses to license this song for any purpose, intentionally keeping this song off streaming services, and as a result, the song is not available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or any streaming platform. As of 2026, Web Sheriff, which Bryan Adams has been a client of since 2008, actively issues takedowns against fan uploads and attempts to upload this song digitally on Adams' behalf, especially on YouTube.