Burning The Ground Exclusive

NEW 2026 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

After beginning Ladies Of The 80s: Soundtrack Edition with Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero,” I just could not leave the Footloose soundtrack behind quite yet.

For the second entry in the series, we are staying with one of the biggest soundtrack albums of the 1980s and turning our attention to another of its defining hits, Deniece Williams and the irresistible “Let’s Hear It For The Boy.”

Released in 1984, “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” was written by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford and produced by the late George Duke. The song became one of the biggest hits of Deniece Williams’ career, reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Where “Holding Out For A Hero” is loud, dramatic, and almost operatic, “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” is pure joy. The production is bright and playful, with Deniece’s unmistakable voice floating effortlessly above the keyboards, rhythm, and infectious chorus.

It is also another perfect example of a song becoming forever connected to a scene in a movie.

In Footloose, the song accompanies the memorable sequence in which Ren teaches Willard how to dance. What begins with Willard struggling to find the beat gradually turns into one of the most enjoyable moments in the film. The song fits the scene beautifully. It is encouraging, funny, affectionate, and completely impossible to sit still through.

That sequence also shows just how important music was to Footloose. The songs were not simply placed over the movie. They became part of its identity. Nearly every major musical moment brings back a particular scene, character, or feeling.

And what a soundtrack it was.

The Footloose album produced an extraordinary run of hits, including Kenny Loggins’ title song, Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero,” Shalamar’s “Dancing In The Sheets,” Mike Reno and Ann Wilson’s “Almost Paradise,” and, of course, “Let’s Hear It For The Boy.”

Deniece Williams was already an established and highly respected singer before Footloose, but this song introduced her to an even larger pop audience. Her light, soaring vocal style is a perfect match for the production. There is an innocence and warmth to her performance that keeps the song from ever feeling forced. Even at its most polished and unmistakably 1984, it still sounds completely natural coming from her.

And then there is that chorus.

Once you hear it, good luck getting it out of your head.

For this post, I am featuring the 12-inch single, which includes the Dance Remix and Instrumental, both mixed by John “Jellybean” Benitez.

That makes this the second Footloose post in a row to feature Jellybean behind the remix desk. Just as he did with Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero,” he takes the original song and gives it more room for the dance floor without losing what made the record work in the first place.

The Dance Remix stretches out the groove and lets the rhythm section breathe, while the Instrumental puts the spotlight on George Duke’s production and the arrangement underneath Deniece’s vocal.

As a bonus, I have also included the vinyl-only “Dance Remix Edit,” lifted from the US 12-inch promotional release. This shorter edit offers another variation of Jellybean’s remix and has never been easy to find outside of the original vinyl.

I originally posted this single in March 2019. Seven years later, I decided it was time to return to the vinyl and start again.

For this 2026 edition, I created an entirely new transfer from the beginning, followed by meticulous audio restoration. This is not an update of the old 2019 files. It is a brand-new transfer created with my current equipment and restoration process.

Following the enormous drama of Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero,” Deniece Williams gives us a completely different side of the Footloose soundtrack. One song demands a hero. The other celebrates the boy you already have, even if he cannot dance.

At least not yet.

Two very different songs. Two unforgettable women. One incredible soundtrack.

Let’s hear it for Deniece Williams.

SIDE A:
Let’s Hear It For The Boy (Extended Dance Remix) 6:02

SIDE B:
Let’s Hear It For The Boy (Instrumental) 4:12

BONUS TRACK:
Let’s Hear It For The Boy (Dance Remix Edit) 3:36

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia – 44-04988
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

• Engineer – Michael Hutchinson
• Mixed By – John “Jellybean” Benitez
• Producer – George Duke
• Written-By – D. Pitchford*, T. Snow*

NOTES:
Also available “FOOTLOOSE” Music from the Paramount Motion Picture

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2
Phono Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
Audio Interface: MOTU M4
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Cleaning Solution: Turgikleen Record Cleaning Solution
Scanner: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

PLEASE READ

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Password: burningtheground

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