John Mellencamp - Dance Naked

About "Dance Naked"

Dance Naked is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp released on June 21, 1994. The album was released in response to the record company's accusations that Mellencamp's previous album, Human Wheels, didn't "fit the format." Mellencamp was irritated with this remark, feeling that none of his albums ever fit the format. As a result, he wrote several purposely radio-friendly songs and recorded them within the span of 14 days at his Belmont Mall recording studio in Belmont, Indiana, intending to show the lack of effort required to produce the type of album they were asking for. It is also the shortest of Mellencamp's albums, clocking in at just 29 minutes.

Although Mellencamp claims that Dance Naked was merely an easy output to give the record company what they wanted, the album was still well received and earned a Platinum certification by the RIAA. The most notable accomplishment was the largely successful single "Wild Night", a cover of the 1971 song by Van Morrison. The song featured Me'shell Ndegeocello on a duet with Mellencamp as well as the prominent bass lead. The single reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary List for 8 weeks.

The album itself reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and produced several music videos: two versions for "Wild Night," another for the title track "Dance Naked," and unreleased videos for "L.U.V." and "Another Sunny Day 12/25."

Dance Naked was re-mastered and re-released on July 19, 2005, along with three other Mellencamp albums. The re-mastered edition includes an acoustic version of "Wild Night" as a bonus track.

Spin Magazine named Dance Naked the 20th best album of 1994.