I nearly forgot to do a music post tonight, and just as I was thinking that perhaps I could get in bed an hour early, maybe by 2:00 a.m., I realized why I thought I had extra time … I forgot the music post!  I’m a bit frustrated on this, the fourth day of the new year, and so I went in search of a song with no deep meanings, just a bit of uplifting fun.  And thus it happens that I am reduxing this one that I last played back in 2019!  Relax, let your toes tap mindlessly for a bit …

This was the first of songwriter Diane Warren’s many Top 10 hits that she wrote entirely herself, and was the biggest hit for the family group DeBarge.

By 1985, DeBarge had become pop/R&B sensations with mostly ballads making the repertoire of their hit catalog though they were as impressive as live performers with their mixture of their trademark soft ballads and a collection of dance material. Motown Records sought to produce DeBarge with a dance single to give them a bigger crossover success that mirrored that of label-mate Lionel Richie, who like DeBarge, had created his initial fan base on soft songs before the release of All Night Long, which included a catchy dance beat influenced by calypso. A similar influence would come in the production of Rhythm of the Night which featured more of El DeBarge’s deep tenor with flashes of his trademark falsetto. Richard Perry, the hit producer behind hit recordings for The Pointer Sisters, Harry Nilsson, and Carly Simon, among others, was appointed to produce the single with Diane Warren as its writer.

Rhythm of the Night
DeBarge

When it feels like the world is on your shoulders
And all of the madness has got you going crazy
It’s time to get out step out into the street
Where all of the action is right there at your feet

Well I know a place where we can dance the whole night away
Underneath electric stars
Just come with me and we can shake your blues right away
You’ll be doing fine once the music starts

Oh, to the beat of the rhythm of the night
Dance until the morning light
Forget about the worries on your mind
You can leave them all behind
To the beat of the rhythm of the night
Oh the rhythm of the night, oh yeah

Look out on the street now the party’s just beginning
The music’s playing a celebration’s starting
Under the street lights the scene is being set
A night for romance a night you won’t forget

So come join the fun this ain’t no time to be staying home
Oh there’s too much going on
Tonight is gonna be a night like you’ve never known
We’re gonna have a good time the whole night long

Oh, to the beat of the rhythm of the night
Dance until the morning light
Forget about the worries on your mind
You can leave them all behind
To the beat of the rhythm of the night
Oh the rhythm of the night, oh

Come join the fun this ain’t no time to be staying home
Ooh there’s too much going on, oh
Tonight is gonna be a night like you’ve never known
We’re gonna have a good time the whole night long, oh

To the beat of the rhythm of the night
Dance until the morning light
Forget about the worries on your mind
You can leave them all behind

To the beat of the rhythm of the night
Dance until the morning light
Forget about the worries on your mind

Oh, to the beat of the rhythm of the night
Forget about the worries on your mind
To the beat of the rhythm of the night
Forget about the worries on your mind
La la la la, la la la la la la
La la la la, la la la la la la
The music’s playin’, it’s a celebration
The music’s playin’, everybody dance
To the beat of the rhythm of the night
Forget about the worries on your mind (you can leave them all behind)
To the beat of the rhythm of the night (dance until the morning light)
Forget about the worries on your mind (you can leave them all behind)
To the beat of the rhythm of the night (oh, oh, oh, oh)

Songwriters: Diane Warren
Rhythm of the Night lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group