| Cover | How to Dance single.jpg |
|---|---|
| Artist | Bingoboys featuring Princessa |
| Album | The Best of Bingoboys |
| Released | 1990 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:46 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Writer | Bingoboys (Klaus Biedermann, Paul Pfab, Helmut Wolfgruber) |
| Producer | Martin Neumayer |
| Chronology | Bingoboys |
| Next year | 1991 |
"How to Dance" is a song by Austrian house music trio Bingoboys from their debut studio album, The Best of Bingoboys (1991). The song features American female rapper Princessa and was first released in the United States in 1990, then was given a European and Australian release in March 1991.
"How to Dance" peaked at number two in Austria and reached the top 10 in Australia, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands. In the US, it climbed to number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Dance Club Play chart for one week in March 1991. The music video for the song was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the category of "Best Dance Video", losing to "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" by the C+C Music Factory.
Composition
The song borrows heavily from a number of earlier recordings, including "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" by the band Chic, "Dance (Disco Heat)" by the disco singer Sylvester, "Kiss" by Art of Noise feat. Tom Jones, the popular James Brown "Yeah! Woo!" sample loop, the bassline motif from Mantronix's single "Got to Have Your Love", and a synth motif from The Whispers' "And the Beat Goes On". In addition, the song contains audio samples from an instructional recording from the 1970s that attempted to teach people "how to dance" (for example, Step left, around, and together with the right).
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI)[2] | 8 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[3] | 24 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[4] | 4 |
| UK Airplay (Music Week)[5] | 59 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 25 |
| US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)[7] | 4 |
| US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[8] | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1991) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[9] | 53 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] | 17 |
| Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[11] | 18 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] | 84 |
| US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)[13] | 31 |
| US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[13] | 29 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1990 | 12-inch vinyl · cassette | Atlantic | |
| United Kingdom | 11 March 1991 | 7-inch vinyl · 12-inch vinyl · CD · cassette | [14] | |
| Australia | 25 March 1991 | 12-inch vinyl · cassette | [15] | |
| 22 April 1991 | CD | [16] |
See also
References
- ^ Breihan, Tom (8 January 2021). "The Number Ones: Janet Jackson's 'When I Think Of You'". Stereogum. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
The Austrian dance group Bingo Boys sampled 'When I Think Of You' on the breakdown of their extremely entertaining 1991 hip-house single 'How To Dance'...
- ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 32. 10 August 1991. p. 19. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 23. 8 June 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish). 1st ed. Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
- ^ "Playlist Chart". Music Week. 20 April 1991. p. 18. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 13 April 1991. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Dance Singles Sales". Billboard. 30 March 1991. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Dance Club Songs". Billboard. 30 March 1991. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1991" (in German). Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "RPM Dance Tracks of 1991". RPM. Retrieved 8 April 2020. – via Library and Archives Canada
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1991" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "The Year in Music 1991". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. 21 December 1991. p. YE-32.
- ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 9 March 1991. p. 19.
- ^ "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 25/03/91: Singles". The ARIA Report. No. 61. 24 March 1991. p. 19.
- ^ "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 22/04/91: Singles". The ARIA Report. No. 65. 21 April 1991. p. 20.
