"Hum Along and Dance"
Song by Rare Earth
from the album Ma
Released	1973
Format	Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM)
Genre	Rock
Label	Motown
Songwriter(s)	Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Producer(s)	Norman Whitfield

"Hum Along and Dance"
Song by The Jackson 5
from the album Get It Together
Released	1973
Format	Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM)
Recorded	May 1973
Genre	Funk
Length	8:14 (Album Version) 14:54 (Uncut Version)
Label	Motown
Songwriter(s)	Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Producer(s)	Norman Whitfield

8:14 (Album Version)

"Hum Along and Dance" is a soul song written for the Motown label by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Originally recorded by the Temptations, the song was later covered by Motown acts Rare Earth and the Jackson 5. The song is essentially an instrumental piece and a vehicle for scatting and improvisational vocals, since, as the chorus (the song's only actual lyric) states, "ain't no words to this song/you just dance and hum along". All three versions of the song were produced by Whitfield.

The original version of "Hum Along and Dance" was recorded by the Temptations in early 1970 as an album track for the Psychedelic Shack album. The track, one of the Temptations' many psychedelic soul recordings, features Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, and Dennis Edwards taking turns in delivering the song's chorus and scatting over the instrumental track. The Funk Brothers were the instrumentalists for this version of "Hum Along and Dance", and Whitfield uses a number of echo effects and stereo-panning effects on their tracks during the song. Towards the final few bars of the record, Otis Williams delivers a heavily echoed chant: "Come on man/take a drag/don't be afraid/it ain't gonna hurt you", an overt reference to marijuana use. In fact, on the Psychedelic Shack album, "Hum Along and Dance" leads directly into "Take a Stroll Through Your Mind", an eight-minute ode to marijuana use.

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Wikipedia