"Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)," Leo Sayer
It was fifty years ago this year when Leo Sayer had a commercial breakthrough as a performer in America. The British pop singer had debuted on record with his Silverbird album in 1973, which included the song "The Show Go On." that song, as covered by Three Dog Night, was his first American hit as a singer, even though Three Dog Night changed on word in the refrain "I won't let the show go on" became "I must let the show go on"), which changed the meaning of the whole song. This time, Sayer and co-writer David Courtney were in full charge of their song with the single that became Sayer's first Top Ten hit in America. (It peaked at number nine.)
"Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)" follows a humorous premise; a traveling stranger encounters a house along the road in which free food and drink are offered. he goes in and tears up at the sight of all the wonderful food available but there's a catch - he literally has to dance for his dinner. Protesting that he cannot dance, Sayer ponders the situation and decided to have a go at twirling his pins.
Sayer's vocal on "Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)" is nasal and endearingly kooky, while the music is dominated by slide guitar and banjo - hardly the sort of instruments one might think of when thinking of dance music, which was probably the point. Sayer sings about discovering a previously hidden talent, and as the song concludes, he vows to come back for more food - and more dancing - the following week.
The promotional video for "Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)" - my Music Video Of the Week - shows Sayer presenting the song while miraculously dancing on a platform so small, one could fall off it. But Leo keeps his poise and delivers a performance with more ham than that banquet. It's all good fun. Enjoy.
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