Bette Midler Version
Bette Midler included the song—with the original title restored, "Do You Want to Dance"—on her 1972 debut album The Divine Miss M. Whereas the Bobby Freeman and Beach Boys versions are uptempo rock and roll, Midler slowed the tempo of the song down to a sultry-sounding ballad. Midler's first single release, it was a hit, reaching #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1973.
In 1985, Ula Hedwig, a Bette Midler-soundalike and former backup singer, sang the song emulating Bette Midler's version for a Mercury Sable television commercial. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that using this sound-alike version in a TV commercial violated Midler's right of publicity. Midler v. Ford Motor Co., 849 F.2d 460 (9th Cir. 1988).
Read more about this topic: Do You Wanna Dance?
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