Chart Success
Released as a single prior to the album's release, the song spent four weeks at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart (his highest charting song to date) in June–July 1984 (it was kept off the #1 spot by Duran Duran's "The Reflex" and that year's song of the summer, Prince's "When Doves Cry"). It did reach #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart. It was also the first of a record-tying seven top 10 hit singles to be released from Born in the U.S.A. "Dancing in the Dark" also held the #1 spot for six weeks on Billboard's Top Tracks chart.
Although the song only peaked at #5 in Australia, it remained on the charts for most of 1984 and was that country's highest selling single of the year. It spent a total of 64 weeks in the Top 100.
In the UK, "Dancing in the Dark" originally reached number 28 in the UK Singles Chart when released in May 1984. However, the song was re-released in January 1985 and subsequently reached number 4 in the charts, becoming the 27th best-selling single of the year.
The recording also won Springsteen his first Grammy Award, picking up the prize for Best Rock Vocal Performance in 1985. It also won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance. In the 1985 Rolling Stone readers poll, "Dancing in the Dark" was voted "Song of the Year". The track has since gone on to earn further recognition and is as such listed one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
| Chart (1984/85) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders) | 1 |
| Canada (RPM) | 3 |
| United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company) | 4 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 2 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) | 11 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 1 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 5 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 2 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 7 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Preceded by "Magic" by The Cars |
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single June, 9 – July 21, 1984 |
Succeeded by "No Way Out" by Jefferson Starship |
| Preceded by "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds |
Dutch Top 40 number-one single June 22, 1985 – June 29, 1985 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "19" by Paul Hardcastle |
| Preceded by "19" by Paul Hardcastle |
Belgian Singles Chart number one single July 6, 1985 – July 12, 1985 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran |
| Preceded by "19" by Paul Hardcastle |
Belgian Singles Chart number one single July 27, 1985 – August 9, 1985 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora |
Read more about this topic: Dancing In The Dark (Bruce Springsteen Song)
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