Wikipedia

Dare Me (song)

"Dare Me" is a 1985 song originally by American contemporary R&B group the Pointer Sisters, issued by RCA Records.

"Dare Me"
Single by the Pointer Sisters
from the album Contact
B-side"I'll Be There"
ReleasedJune 1985
Genre
Length3:41
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)Sam Lorber, Dave Innis
Producer(s)Richard Perry
The Pointer Sisters singles chronology
"Baby Come and Get It"
(1985) 		"Dare Me"
(1985) 		"Freedom"
(1985)

The Pointer Sisters version

edit

Background

edit

"Dare Me" was written by Nashville-based songwriters Sam Lorber and Dave Innis in 1984. Innis, who shortly afterwards became a founding member of Restless Heart, was then a staff writer for Warner Bros. music publishing division, and recalls that "Dare Me" was written with the Pointer Sisters in mind, adding: "typically [staff writers] look at who's [recording] now and what kind of material are they looking for, and we would tailor a song for a particular artist and pitch it"..."Sam Lorber and I...did try to put ourselves in the place of what a gal might be thinking...not specifically trying to be a Pointer Sister, but a song written from a female perspective, for sure. There are certain things that are more gender specific and gender appropriate...certain things that a woman can say that a guy's not going to be able to get away with saying."[3]

Featuring a lead vocal by June Pointer, "Dare Me" was issued as the lead single from the Pointer Sisters' platinum-selling album Contact: peaking at number 11 on the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine, "Dare Me" did afford the Pointer Sisters a final Top Ten hit on the magazine's R&B chart peaking at number 6[4] and also became the only Pointer Sisters' track to reach number 1 on Billboard's Dance Club chart.[5] "Dare Me" afforded the Pointer Sisters their final Top 40 hit in the British Isles with peaks of number 7 in Ireland and number 17 in the UK: other international chart peaks for "Dare Me" were number 10 in Australia, number 20 in Canada, number 22 in Austria, number 20 in Belgium (the Flemish chart), number 26 in Finland, number 45 in the Netherlands, number 27 in New Zealand, and number 11 in Sweden.

Video

edit

"Dare Me" was promoted with a video shot at the Main Street Gym (LA) where scenes for the iconic martial arts film Raging Bull had been filmed: the video introduced the Pointer Sisters in male drag scouting potential boxing talent, then showed the group's members in the boxing ring sparring with Mark Breland. Michael Chapman, the cinematographer for Raging Bull, directed the "Dare Me" video in collaboration with the track's producer Richard Perry: the video also featured Steven Bauer.[6]

Steven Bauer also appears on the video, as a Rocky Balboa-looking boxer.

The Casey Kasem incident

edit

In September 1985, while the Pointer Sisters' version was on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart, American Top 40 host Casey Kasem became irritated when the show's producers placed a long distance dedication spot about a listener's dog dying immediately after "Dare Me," which was an uptempo dance song. The song in the dedication was Henry Gross' "Shannon". Kasem expressed his dissatisfaction with a profanity-laced tirade which never made the air, but has become a staple on the Internet.[7][8]

Junior Jack version

edit
"Stupidisco"
Single by Junior Jack
ReleasedJune 21, 2004 (2004-06-21)[9]
Length
  • 6:40 (album version)
  • 3:40 (radio edit)
LabelDefected
Songwriter(s)Sam Lorber, Dave Innis
Producer(s)Vito "Junior Jack" Lucente
Junior Jack singles chronology
"Da Hype"
(2003) 		"Stupidisco"
(2004) 		"See You Dancin'"
(2006)

"Stupidisco" is a 2004 single by Italian-Belgian house music producer Junior Jack. It topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and peaked at number 25 in the Netherlands, number 26 in the United Kingdom, and number 46 in Australia. In 2006, the song was re-released as "Dare Me (Stupidisco)", featuring vocals from Shena. This version reached number 14 in Finland and number 20 in the United Kingdom. Both versions topped the UK Dance Chart.

Music video

edit

The official music video was filmed in Brussels, Belgium in 2004.[10] There is a censored version and an uncensored version. The video itself features two female wrestlers, named "Miss Double D" and "Nasty Nancy".[11] In both versions, towards the end, both women make sexual motions.[12] In the uncensored version, they pull off each other's bikinis while wrestling, then fondle each other and dance naked until the song ends.[13]

The video also features two Pakistani American announcers; one of them is the businessman Mansoor Ijaz. His participation in the video was used to undermine him during the memogate controversy in Pakistan in 2012.[14] When asked why he took part in the video, Ijaz said that he did it as a favour for his wife's friend, whose planned actor for the part did not turn up for filming. Iyaz, who happened to be in Brussels at the time, was the only person with an American accent that the production team could find in time. He also stated that he threatened legal action against the video producer unless Iyaz was cut from the explicit version. "Given my political and public profile in the United States and around the world, it is impossible for me to appear in any part of any video clip with nudity of any type," he told the Associated Press. "I was never present for any part of the video where those naked girls were shown. My wife was present at all times."[10]

Charts

edit

Samples and other covers

edit
  • Dave Armstrong's song "Make Your Move", samples this track and is similar to Junior Jack's version.
  • In 2020, Nervo, Plastik Funk and Tim Morrison released a cover version of "Dare Me".[39]
  • In 2022, Belgian producer Maxi Meraki's song "Dare Your Move" samples this track.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Contact - The Pointer Sisters - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. ^ Molanphy, Chris (June 16, 2023). "Yes We Can Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "Interview with Dave Innis of Restless Heart". SongFacts.com. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 465.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 205.
  6. ^ Billboard vol 97 #38 (September 21, 1985) p. 38
  7. ^ Pappademas, Alex (June 17, 2014). "A Goddamn Death Dedication: Casey Kasem, 1932-2014". Grantland.com. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  8. ^ Corliss, Richard (June 15, 2014). "Casey Kasem: The Voice of America". Time.
  9. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. June 19, 2004. p. 29.
  10. ^ a b "Ijaz in bizarre video". Dawn. January 19, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  11. ^ "Junior Jack - Making of Stupidisco Music Video" – via www.youtube.com.
  12. ^ "Junior Jack - Stupidisco (Official Video)" – via www.youtube.com.
  13. ^ "(Nude Video Clip) Junior Jack - Stupidisco.avi | MOTHERLESS.COM ™". motherless.com.
  14. ^ "Ijaz's credibility hits new low as issue fizzles out". Daily Times. March 14, 2012. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  15. ^ "Junior Jack – Stupidisco". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  16. ^ "The ARIA Report – ARIA Club Tracks – Week Commencing 15th March 2004" (PDF). ARIA. March 15, 2004. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 6, 2004. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  17. ^ "The ARIA Report – ARIA Dance – Week Commencing September 6, 2004" ARIA Top 50 Dance Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  18. ^ "Junior Jack – Stupidisco" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  19. ^ "Junior Jack – Stupidisco" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  20. ^ "Junior Jack – Stupidisco" (in Dutch). Ultratop Dance. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  21. ^ "Top 50 Singles Εβδομάδα 29-8–4/9" (in Greek). IFPI. Archived from the original on September 8, 2004. Retrieved July 1, 2020. See Best Position column.
  22. ^ "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 1 July 2004". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved June 18, 2019.[dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 29, 2004" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  24. ^ "Junior Jack – Stupidisco" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  25. ^ "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 41, saptamina 11.10 – 17.10, 2004" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on January 18, 2005. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  27. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  28. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  29. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  30. ^ "Junior Jack Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  31. ^ "ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Club Chart 2004". ARIA. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  32. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2004" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  33. ^ "Junior Jack feat. Shena: Dare Me" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  34. ^ "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 1 March 2007". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved June 18, 2019.[dead link‍]
  35. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  36. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  37. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  38. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  39. ^ ""Dare Me" by NERVO on Apple Music". Apple Music. January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dare_Me_(song)&oldid=1253026071"