Songs

Best Ballroom Dance Music Recordings
Best Ballroom Dance Recordings
Best Ballroom Dance Songs
for dancers in the U.S.

(an opinion as of Feb. 11, 2015)

I've compiled this from watching and listening to ballroom dancers in San Diego, mostly Filipino-Americans, for several years.  Other screening or selection criteria are:  (1) I must have heard at least two DJs play the songs at dances I've been to. And, (2) I can find a YouTube video of the song (linked, but not necessarily my preferred recorded version).

I'm listing only 12 dance styles - the ones I most often see or hear on the dance floor.  I have chosen to list just four songs of each dance style.  Please e-mail me if you think I overlooked any great ones:  bertdonaldson_1@yahoo.com


Disco Hustle (or Manila Swing or 4-Count Hustle)(There are thousands of great recordings in this very common dance tempo, so this list could be much much longer!)

You're The First, The Last, My Everything - Barry White
On The Floor - Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull
Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cindy Lauper



East Coast Swing (aka boogie)

Let's Have A Party - Wanda Jackson (I prefer her newer version)
Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley (I prefer the re-mix.)
Blame It On Your Heart - Patty Loveless
Tequila - Champs


West Coast Swing

Lawdy Miss Clawdy - Elvis Presley
Solid Simple Things - Tab Benoit (There is a version shortened to about 3:30.)
It's My Soul - Lynn August (This recording is only available on YouTube and  after-market CDs)
A Little Less Talk & A Lot More Action - Toby Keith



Salsa (and Salsa-Samba)

Mi Bom Bon - Sonora de Margarita (I use a shortened version, but not shortened as much as the YouTube video)
Ave Maria Lola - Alquimia
La Vida Es Un Carnival - Celia Cruz
Acabo De Llegar - Alex Leon




Waltz

Could I Have This Dance
Right Thing That We Do - Englebert Humperdinck
Les Biciclettes de Versailles - Englebert Humperdinck
Eternally - Englebert Humperdinck - It's a good one if you can slow the tempo a bit.



Bachata

Down Down - Mambo 7
Stand By Me - Prince Royce
Be My Baby - Leslie Grace
Lamento Boliviano - Toke D'Keda



Merengue

Suavemente - Elvis Crespo (I prefer the Spanglish version)
Luna Llena - Elvis Crespo
La Chupa Cabras - La Sonora Dinamita
Linda Eh - Grupo Mania (featuring Elvis Crespo)



Cha Cha

Aguardiente - Orchestra Bagutti
La Ultima Noche - Mary Blanca or Jose Feliciano (The 2 recordings have almost identical instrumental tracks.  I prefer Mary Blanca's vocals.)
Place In My Heart - Liz Abella
Todo Todo Todo - Daniela Romo
Chilly Cha Cha - Jessica Jay


Tango

Tango Mit Fernando - Kristina Bach
You Know I'm No Good - Orchestra Alec Medina
Dance With Me - Debelah Morgan (Most dancers tango to this, but I usually dance this as a cha cha.)
Woman In Love - Frankie Laine


Night Club 2-Step

Yo Te Amo - Chayanne
Tal Vez Quizas - Paulina Rubio
All My Life - K-Ci & Jojo
Tell Me It's Real - K-Ci & Jojo


Cumbia

Cumbia De La Cobra - Fito Olivares
Cowboy Cumbia - Javier Molina (I prefer the mostly English version.)
Desvelado - Bobby Pulido
Amor Ala Mexicana - Thalia


Rumba

I Have a Dream - Claude Blouin
Esta Noche - Sparx
Spanish Eyes - Roger Whittaker
No Matter What - Boyzone


LINE DANCES

Wow.  What can I say about line dances?  I think there is a line dance for every song ever recorded.  Just go to YouTube, type in the song title and add "line dance".  Besides a precious few that most dancers know, every dance group seems to have its own set of line dances that they have learned.  So, if you are a DJ at a party, it's best to ask in advance if the dancers have line dances that they like.  Anyway, here are the few that I think are widely known:

Electric Slide
Wobble
Cupid Shuffle
Cha Cha Slide
Red Hot Salsa



OTHER "BEST DANCE SONGS" SITES

I've searched for "best ballroom dance songs" etc., and can only find a few sites that have reasonable lists.  Here's what I have found:

Phil's Ballroom Dance Song Selections
http://home.comcast.net/~coachphilm/site/


Cambridge Social Dance Club - Songs
http://www.cambridgesocialdanceclub.com/songs.html


Steve "That DJ Guy" Ballroom Song List
http://www.stevethatdjguy.com/ballroom/chart.asp#CHA%20CHAS


BallroomDanceMusic.info - My Favourites
http://www.ballroomdancemusic.info/MyPicks/index.htm

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