"Your Mama Don't Dance" is a hit 1972 song by the rock duo Loggins and Messina. Released on their self-titled album Loggins and Messina, it reached number four on the Billboard pop chart and number 19 on the Billboard Easy Listening Chart as a single in early 1973.
This song, whose refrain and first verse is done in a blues format, deals with the 1950s and 1960s lifestyle concerning the generation gap, where the parents oppose the Rock and Roll Revolution of the younger generation, which includes the rebelliousness against the old society that monitors curfews on dating; as well as being arrested for having sex with a girl in the back seat of a car during a drive-in movie, which happens during the bridge section of the song.
When released as a single, it was the duo's biggest hit as well as their only gold single.
"Your Mama Don't Dance" was covered in 1973 by the Australian band The Bootleg Family Band, which made the top 5 in Australia. It was also covered in 1985 by the rock band Y&T.
Elvis Presley included the song in a medley of rock n' roll songs on his 1974 album Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis.
The glam metal band Poison released a cover of "Your Mama Don't Dance" in 1989. It appeared as the ninth track on their second album, Open Up and Say... Ahh!, and was released as the album's fourth single. The Poison version reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 39 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. It has since been certified gold in the US. The song also charted at number 21 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. The single's B-side is "Tearin' Down the Walls".
Cash Box said "Take a classic Loggins & Messina rock/blues song, and play. ItâÂÂs an instant hit." Melody Maker called Poison's version "defiantly, purposefully, irredeemably rock'n'roll" and considered it "cringing tribute" to its golden age. Reviewer of Record Mirror was disappointed by this single. He found it â³completely naffâ³ when contrasted with "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", the band's previous â³quite listenable hitâ³. Edwin Pouncey in his review for New Musical Express criticized unnatural sound of the band resulted with verdict: "we get this wimpy pile of crapola dished up dog style." Jerry Smith from British music newspaper Music Week also expressed an opinion that this "ordinary slice of good-time rock'n'roll" is "highly unlikely to enhance their reputation as wild, heavy rockers". Pan-European magazine Music & Media described the song as "energetic version" of traditional 12 -bar with a vague doo-wop edge. In 2017, Billboard and OC Weekly ranked the song number six and number five, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Poison songs.
Loggins and Messina version
Poison version
Loggins and Messina version
Poison version