Peter Brown, Dance With Me | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 107th edition of Throwback Vibez (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Dance With Me” by Peter Brown.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome.  In the 107^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Dance With Me” performed by Peter Brown.

“Say the word and I’ll summon the band / With my hand / Let your mind and your body be free / Dance with me.” I do not doubt that Peter Brown (1953 – ) not only had folks lining up to dance, but plenty who wanted to dance with him. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Mr. Brown was easy on the eyes.  But this isn’t about looks.  You came because Brown was renowned for his big-time pop hit, “Dance With Me”. The top 10 hit (peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100) is the sixth track from his 1977 album, A Fantasy Love Affair. Brown co-wrote it with Robert Rans, while Cory Wade produced.  Not only did Brown sing (rather, sang), he played multiple instruments (drums and keys). Among the background vocalists is the late, great Betty Wright (1953 – 2020).  

From the beginning, “Dance With Me” thrives on its energy. The musical accompaniment is on fire, period! The groove grooves hard.  The riffs are riffin’. The rhythm section is tight.  This is disco, funk, and pop at its best in the late 1970s. Peter Brown delivers an expressive, exuberant, and impressive vocal.  You buy what he’s selling, and he woos you to dance, especially with him! “Ladies, get off your seats / Come on and dance with me,” he sings, continuing, addressing the fellas, “Gentlemen, get on your feet / Come on and dance with me.” Gladly, Peter!  The chorus, excerpted earlier, is the centerpiece.  You might say, it’s dance-tastic! Other moments that tickle one’s fancy include the recurrent, “You gotta keep on makin’ me high,” which are the first lyrics sung.  “Dance With Me” is not a deep song, and it doesn’t need to be.  This is an enduring, hella fun disco cut that still serves as the perfect catalyst to dance.  And if I haven’t emphasized it enough, everyone wants to dance with Peter! It’s more than those eyes – it’s that energy and that voice, baby! That Grammy nomination at the 21^st Annual Grammy Awards (Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male) was well deserved, woo! (No shame losing to George Benson, by the way).