BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985
“Dare Me” is a 1985 song originally recorded by The Pointer Sisters issued by RCA Records.
“Dare Me” was written by Nashville-based songwriters Sam Lorber and Dave Innis in 1984. Innis, who shortly afterwards became a founding member of Restless Heart, was then a staff writer for Warner Bros. music publishing division, and recalls that “Dare Me” was written with the Pointer Sisters in mind, adding: “typically [staff writers] look at who’s [recording] now and what kind of material are they looking for, and we would tailor a song for a particular artist and pitch it”…”Sam Lorber and I…did try to put ourselves in the place of what a gal might be thinking…not specifically trying to be a Pointer Sister, but a song written from a female perspective, for sure. There are certain things that are more gender specific and gender appropriate…certain things that a woman can say that a guy’s not going to be able to get away with saying.”
Featuring a lead vocal by June Pointer, “Dare Me” was issued as the lead single from the Pointer Sisters’ platinum-selling album Contact: peaking at number 11 on the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine, “Dare Me” did afford the Pointer Sisters a final Top Ten hit on the magazine’s R&B chart peaking at number 6 and also became the only Pointer Sisters’ track to reach number 1 on Billboard’s Dance Club chart. “Dare Me” afforded the Pointer Sisters their final Top 40 hit in the British Isles with peaks of number 7 in Ireland and number 17 in the UK: other international chart peaks for “Dare Me” were number 10 in Australia, number 22 in Austria, number 20 in Belgium (the Flemish chart), number 26 in Finland, number 45 in the Netherlands, number 27 in New Zealand, and number 11 in Sweden.
In September 1985, while the Pointer Sisters’ version was on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart, American Top 40 host Casey Kasem became irritated when the show’s producers placed a long distance dedication spot about a listener’s dog dying immediately after “Dare Me,” which was an uptempo dance song. The song in the dedication was Henry Gross’ “Shannon”. Kasem expressed his dissatisfaction with a profanity-laced tirade which never made the air, but has become a staple on the Internet.
SIDE A:
Dare Me (Dance Mix) 6:17
Mixed By – Jim Tract, Michael Brooks
Mixed By [Original Mix] – Don Smith
Written-By – Innis*, Lorber*
SIDE B:
Dare Me (Instrumental) 4:23
Mixed By [Original Mix] – Don Smith
Written-By – Innis*, Lorber*
I’ll Be There 3:34
Written-By – Bob Etoll*
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Dare Me | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #11 |
| 1985 | Dare Me | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | #6 |
| 1985 | Dare Me | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #1 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: RCA – JW-14127, RCA – PW-14127
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Mastered By – Precision SM*
Producer – Richard Perry
NOTES:
From the LP “CONTACT”
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Schiit Mani
Soundcard: ESI Juli@ XTe Audio Interface
Monitiring: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Username: btg
Password: burningtheground
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Hi Paul (and everybody else reading), this 12″ single has the stereo channels swapped. I don’t think this is your transfer error since your transfers are always with the correct channel alignment. I think the 12″ single was pressed or mastered wrongly. Although I noticed something weird in the sound picture of the 12″ I compared this with various CD transfers and initially thought that the CD transfer of the Dance Mix from the remastered “Contact” CD might be wrong since this happens quite often in our present time. But also the 1989 “Greatest Hits” CD (which although unlikely for… Read more »
I forgot about this song. One of their best. Thanks.
… best Pointer Sisters Track ever. Thanks for uploading, Paul!
Love the Pointer Sisters! One of the best things about them was that they took music from all different genres and made it their own. R&B, pop, country, all rolled into one great package. Thanks for uploading this one!
Paul, I wasn’t sure you would be posting today but I am so glad you did. The Pointer Sisters rock!! I love their catalog very much. Interesting tidbit concerning American Top 40. I didn’t know this was the track of Casey’s ire. I did hear his rant and it was quite shocking. I never expected “Shaggy” to go off with all that profanity. Maybe he was “possessed” by a demon or something. Oh well. Great track Paul and thanks for this funky dance music!!
Jeff
I was just a little late getting around today so the post came later too. I have not heard Casey’s rant so I will have to locate it. should be interesting to hear.