Rock and roll was all about dancing -- when the teens rated a record on American Bandstand it was all about "It's got a beat and you can dance to it." Below is a list of my top 25 dance records from the Elvis Era. It was a difficult list to make as there are lots more that probably deserve to be on the list -- and in my mind there isn't much difference between #25"Little Darlin'" and #1 "The Twist." In many cases I would have to admit that my ranking was somewhat arbitrary. But I am certain that all these records would get an A+ rating from me.

For many of the songs, you might take issue with the ranking, but you can't argue much with its presence on the list. For example, the twist was the biggest dance craze of the era and Chubby Checker's initial admonition to "Come on baby, let's do the twist" resonated in two separate years; "The Twist" went to number one in 1960 and again in 1962. Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" has been covered by many artists from Elvis Presley's performance in the movie "Viva Las Vegas" to Brian Dennehy and Chris Farley in "Tommy Boy." Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife" starts out cool and picks up steam becoming a classic dance number. Chuck Berry probably deserves to have several more songs on the list, but "Rock and Roll Music" is my favorite and, in a way, he also gets some credit for The Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA."

Some songs on my list are probably a little surprising. Maybe "King Creole" shouldn't be as high as I have it -- it certainly wasn't that popular as a single, since it was never released as such, being one cut on an EP of songs from the movie. But in my mind it is early Presley at his best. Two Isley Brothers songs in the top 25 is perhaps overkill, but I stand by both as premium dance songs. "Twist & Shout" perhaps gets a boost because of its later cover by The Beatles, and "Shout" perhaps because of the classic scene in "Animal House." Dion and the Belmonts' "I Wonder Why" never made the top twenty for a week, but it makes my list of dance songs for the era -- I can only say that my judgement is superior to the record buying public of 1958.

There are other dance songs that I would also give an A+ rating, but to continue to split hairs and rank them is too taxing an effort -- therefore they are listed in alphabetical order.