The game is back again. This time I’m doing one I just happened to notice as I was scrolling through a huge list of these “different songs with the same name” thing. I wasn’t aware there were enough different songs with this same title to do this one and when I saw it I figured I’d give it a whirl. I was aware of the existence of exactly one of these songs before I set out on this course.

Real quick for anyone who hasn’t seen one of these posts before, it’s really simple – I go through a bunch of different songs with the same name (not covers, actual different songs) and pick the best one/my favorite. I don’t do exhaustive searches to try and cover every instance of the song’s title in all of recorded music history, I just go with what’s in front of me. Today’s contest has five entries which is a good spot for these posts.

Bing Crosby

The first entry is from one of music’s most popular artists. Bing Crosby was the man, and was for a very long time all through the 20^th Century. The song was released in 1931 and was a hit, and would go on to be recorded by everyone and their mother as was the fashion in the old days of music.

I’m not a huge expert on this era of music so I won’t get that much into it. The song is fine to listen to and it reminds me of the kind of stuff my older relatives would play when I was growing up. It’s not stuff I’d seek out but I think it’s fine to hear.

Bruce Springsteen

It’s quickly on to the one I’m familiar with. Dancing In The Dark was the lead single from Springsteen’s seminal Born In The USA album and was his best-performing single ever (perhaps still is). The song was written literally overnight when producer Jon Landau told Springsteen the album needed a hit single, and hence one was delivered. The video famously features a young Courtney Cox.

If I were to list my favorite Springsteen tracks this song probably wouldn’t be on the list, but it’s still a really good song. It was the first time Springsteen used synthesizers in his music, thought they’re just a part of the song here. It was a good song to set the Boss apart from his usual fare.

Imagine Dragons

No thank you. Next.

Rihanna

This track comes from a movie soundtrack that Rihanna also provided voice acting to. It was some kid’s movie that I’ve never heard of so I’m entirely unfamiliar with it. Rihanna is immensely talented but this song doesn’t do much for me, it’s extremely repetitive and doesn’t have a lot going on.

Kim Wilde

The 1980’s pop star recorded her own version of Dancing In The Dark, which was a single released in 1983. Wilde had a few early international hits but this turn to dance music did not do her any favors – the song and album flopped, and it would be a few years before Kim would find her biggest success.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this tune, but I’d agree with consensus that Kim had better music elsewhere. This may come as a shock to my readers, but I’m not much of a dancing person and it would stand to reason that dance music isn’t really my bag.

It’s time to pick a winner and this turned out to be really easy, my dance partner is Bruce Springsteen. This song title appears to be a popular one, more results turned up but I don’t have the time or energy to go through every one. But no one else here could argue with the Boss.