And We Danced Like a Wave on the Ocean

And we danced like a wave on the ocean, romanced;
We were liars in love and we danced…

Song: And We Danced (1985)

Song: And We Danced (1985)

Artist: The Hooters

Album: Nervous Night (Columbia)

Writers: Eric Brazilian, Rob Hyman

And We Danced was the first single from the second album of The Hooters, a very popular band of the 1980s. The song reached no. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1985, spending 20 weeks on the charts. It also reached no. 3 on the Mainstream Rock chart and was a no. 6 hit in Australia.

The Hooters formed in Philadelphia in 1980. Their name had nothing to do with women’s breasts or the restaurant chain Hooters, which was founded in 1983. In fact, the group began with Eric Bazilian and Bob Hyman, both great songwriters, who called themselves Baby Grand. They were a hometown favorite but their first album went nowhere. They added drummer David Uolikkinen in 1980 and continued to play regularly and gain popularity until they broke out nationally in 1985 when they landed a spot in the Live Aid concert.

Their name came from an unusual feature of the band. They regularly used instruments not normally found in rock such as mandolin, accordion, and violin. They also used the melodica. A melodica is like a harmonica with a keyboard. It is also called a melodeon, melodica, pianica, clavietta, and sometimes, a hooter.

The first time the band used a melodica they were in the studio recording their first demo tape and John Senior, who was the engineer, kept yelling for “more hooter!” He subsequently suggested the band use the name for themselves. They didn’t like it at first but eventually, it stuck, although drummer Uosikkinen was never really on board with it.

In 1985, the Hooters filmed their video for And We Danced at the Exton Drive-In in Philadelphia, located on West Lincoln Highway. Many local residents were present during the filming. Opened in 1956, the drive-in, like so many others, closed in 1990 and was demolished. Although the drive-in slowly faded from the American landscape, the video ironically begins with something that may have helped lead to its downfall, sneaking people in by hiding them in the trunk of a car. Hard to stay in business when its so easy to get in without paying and to bring plenty of your own snacks, beer, and soda. In the video, the two fellows who hide in the trunk get stuck and various people try to unlock the trunk to get them out.

Other notable songs from the Hooters are “All You Zombies” and “Day by Day.”

Rob Hyman worked in the studio with Cyndi Lauper on her She’s So Unusual album. He co-wrote her biggest hit, the timeless classic ballad, Time After Time. Hyman also plays his signature hooter (Hohner Melodica) on her recording of “Money Changes Everything.”

Eric Bazilian is also the writer behind Joan Osbourne’s provocative mega-hit from 1995, “One of Us,” which asked the simple question “What if God was one of us?” Brazilian got the idea for the song while working in the studio with Osbourne with Rob Hyman, helping to write the songs. He was showing his girlfriend the studio, by his own admission, to impress her. He played her a guitar idea that had been stuck in his head. Later on the same night, he wrote the whole song and brought it to the studio for Osbourne. The song worked for both Osbourne and Brazilian. She got a hit song and he definitely impressed his girlfriend, whom he later married. “One of Us” became the theme song for Joan of Arcadia.

Watch ‘And We Danced’ Official Music Video