“Your Mama Don’t Dance” stands out as a vibrant and somewhat surprising success story for the acclaimed duo Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina. This energetic track, originating from their self-titled second album Loggins and Messina, not only became their breakthrough single but also achieved a rare feat by charting twice. Initially reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning gold certification, the song experienced a second wave of popularity sixteen years later when glam-rock band Poison covered it, driving it to No. 10 on the same chart in 1988.
Alt text: Loggins and Messina, Kenny Loggins with acoustic guitar and Jim Messina with electric guitar, promotional shot circa 1972.
Interestingly, Loggins and Messina themselves initially underestimated the potential of “Your Mama Don’t Dance”. Loggins shared with UCR, “We didn’t really take it seriously. ‘Your Mama Don’t Dance’ was written to be a throwback song.” He elaborated that the song was intentionally styled after Wynonie Harris’s “Kansas City,” infused with a touch of Elvis Presley’s flair. It wasn’t conceived as a deeply emotional or profound piece, but rather as a lighthearted and fun track.
Jim Messina, in a 2018 interview with The College Crowd Digs Me, revealed the personal roots of the song. He explained that “Your Mama Don’t Dance” was “kind of born out of my own experiences growing up in a very strict household.” Messina depicted his stepfather, who hailed from Arkansas, as someone “not much of a mover or a groover.” His stepfather’s musical preferences leaned towards country legends like Johnny Cash, Hank Snow, and Ernest Tubb, and he held a dismissive view of rock ‘n’ roll, famously considering The Beatles as just “screaming, long-haired idiots.”
In contrast, Messina’s mother had a deep appreciation for music, enjoying artists like Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, and what Messina described as “race music.” This familial dynamic inspired the iconic line, “Your mama don’t dance and your daddy don’t rock ‘n’ roll.” Messina reflected, “It came from me thinking about how my mother wasn’t really doing what she loves to do. She couldn’t do that.” He added, “I grew up having to put up with that. And it was a fun lyric to come up with. I had no intention of it ever having any kind of social significance whatsoever other than my own experience of a kinda funky household. … It’s unbelievable how it’s affected not only our generation but other generations.”
Loggins recounted that “Your Mama Don’t Dance” was penned around the time of their debut album, Sittin’ In, in 1971. However, they initially decided against recording it, feeling it didn’t quite align with their desired artistic direction. Despite their reservations, audience reactions told a different story. Loggins noted, “But when we played it for audiences they would get up and dance immediately, and they thought they knew it already. A song that has that level of familiarity, we thought, ‘Well, we gotta record it.'”
Alt text: Poison band members performing live, Bret Michaels lead singer with microphone, C.C. DeVille lead guitar, Bobby Dall bass guitar, Rikki Rockett drums, 1988 stage performance.
“Your Mama Don’t Dance” became Loggins and Messina’s sole Top 10 hit, propelling their album to No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and achieving platinum sales. The duo expressed their appreciation for Poison’s 1988 cover of “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” and also acknowledged Y&T’s rendition from their 1985 album, Down for the Count. However, they were particularly thrilled when Elvis Presley himself began incorporating the song into his live performances. Presley included it in a medley of rock ‘n’ roll classics like “Long Tall Sally,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Hound Dog,” as captured on the 1974 album Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis. This inclusion signified Presley’s understanding of the song’s roots and spirit.
Loggins remarked on Presley’s interpretation, “It fascinated me when Elvis covered the tune and changed [the lyric] to ‘Your mama can’t dance,’ which may have been more of his experience.” Messina added, “I was so pleased … because I was a big Elvis fan. I loved Scotty Moore, his guitar playing. And of course James Burton.”
Loggins and Messina went their separate ways in 1976 but reunited for tours in the 2000s. In 2022, they reunited again at the Hollywood Bowl as part of its centennial celebration, with “Your Mama Don’t Dance” taking its place as the closing song of their set, demonstrating the enduring appeal of this unexpected hit.
Alt text: Loggins and Messina on stage at the Hollywood Bowl, Kenny Loggins in blue shirt singing, Jim Messina in hat playing guitar, during 2022 reunion concert.
