‘Dance With Me’ is the greatest melodica song of the 1970s
Nothing about 1975, whether in music or in general, had much time for a moment of pause and reflection. Only the gentle hum of the melodica could do the talking.
That was something which Orleans played to their greatest strength when they released their breakout single ‘Dance With Me’. Unlike the brashness of glam rock or the riotous uprising of punk that was taking place around them, they opted for a quieter side of life, a romantic ode, a surprisingly shy plea.
Frontman John Hall has spoken at length about how the mechanics of the song came together, starting out with a jam session before his then-wife, Johanna, arrived with the biggest creative spark of the lyrics. “It’s sort of organic the way it happened,” he later said. “Sometimes a song will start with a lyric, sometimes it’ll start with the music, which it did in that case. And sometimes it’s both being written at the same time. There’s no wrong way or right way to write a song.”
This all stands to reason, but perhaps the more interesting part about ‘Dance With Me’, at least from the listener’s perspective, is the melodica solo that splices it. Courtesy of band member Larry Hoppen, who has always described the interjection as “fun”, you could say that this melodica muse was one of the best the ‘70s had to offer.
After all, its use in popular music had become somewhat of a trapping of the psychedelic previous decade, and could have run the risk of becoming a little gimmicky. It was famously used by John Lennon, for example, when he was hammering out the melody to ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ for The Beatles in 1964, before the song took on a very different kind of life upon its release three years later.
The Kinks also utilised it for the hazy sound of ‘Sunny Afternoon’, while The Beach Boys’ renowned Smile sessions in 1969 also featured it for ‘Cabin Essence’. As such, the melodica could have been one of those instruments that became a hallmark of a certain era, without ever having the bandwidth to get out of it.
However, between Hoppen, Hall, and the rest of Orleans, they wanted to bring that keyboard and windpipe into a new generation. It didn’t need to be a swirling example of psychedelics, nor a blistering blast of rock and roll, but just simplicity laid out on their own terms.
As much as Hall’s relationship with his former wife broke down, he became a Congressman, and the band went through endless tumultuous line-up changes over the years, ‘Dance With Me’ maintained as a legacy for Orleans that you didn’t have to be the loudest band in the room in order to command attention.
The sweet buzz of their melodica, the lilting vocals, and the genteel offer of a chance to dance were enough for them. Sure, it was hardly the sound of the ‘70s writ large, but it proved that for every brash and noisy rocker, there were plenty of others doing their own original, and peaceful, thing.
