Dance the Night Away (The Mavericks song)

1998 single by The Mavericks

"Dance the Night Away" is a song by American country band the Mavericks, written by the band's lead vocalist, Raul Malo, and produced by Malo alongside Don Cook. It was included on their fifth studio album, Trampoline (1998), as the opening track. Primarily a pop rock and Latin song backed up by horn instruments, it was written in one afternoon by Malo, who began to arrange music more often after completing the demo recording. The song was released as a single in the United States on March 10, 1998, reaching number 63 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The Mavericks also convinced their record label, MCA Records, to issue the song in Europe; this was done on April 20 of the same year. Following its European release, the single peaked at number nine on the Irish Singles Chart and number four on the UK Singles Chart. It continues to be one of the band's most enduring hits.

In an interview with Songwriting, a British online magazine, Mavericks lead singer Raul Malo revealed that "Dance the Night Away" was a "happy accident". He first played the chords of E, B, and B7 on his guitar, and over the course of the afternoon, he continued to build up the song and finish the writing. After he recorded the demo track, he realized that all the parts of the song were already present, so the rest of the Mavericks copied the demo track. Malo went on to say that the demo recording gave him the confidence to arrange music. When he presented the song to his record label, MCA Records, they responded positively but were irresolute about what to do with it. The band suggested releasing the song in the United Kingdom and Europe, which they eventually accomplished. The band promoted the song in the UK by performing it on the National Lottery show, which subsequently led to its chart debut.

"Dance the Night Away" has been described as a pop rock song by Jan Hansen of Radio Mojn in Denmark, saying that the track is not a genuine country music song. He explained, "It's more like rock pop with a lot of instruments in it, which makes the song much happier." It is also a Latin influenced song. The track is set in common time and has a tempo of 138 beats per minute, with a key of E major. It contains several horn instrument segments played in the same key.

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref(s). (Reference(s))United States1998 3 107 inch vinylMCA Nashville