Fancy Dancer
Commodores | Artist Essentials
First released: 1976 (year verified)
Original 1976 full studio album presentation
MusicAtlas editorial note: The busy rhythm section is balanced by short, cleanly separated horn and vocal accents.
YouTube opens a title-and-artist search. The selected recording and date are identified below.
Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1976 (year verified)
The original studio recording was released in 1976 and belongs to the original Hot on the Tracks program. Year precision does not assign an album day to a single or a later reissue.
Recording: Original 1976 full studio album presentation
Credit: Commodores
Role in this collection: Primary artist
Original album: Hot on the Tracks
Original album association; the supported year is not an exact worldwide release day.
Hot on the Tracks - original licensed album program
The original 1976 program identifies the selected Commodores performances. Only original program membership and corroborated year are used. Isolated inherited track dates, later anthologies, extended mixes and live versions do not replace the original release event. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
Hot on the Tracks - original release and songs
The label-owned article explicitly dates the original album to 1976 and identifies Just to Be Close to You, Fancy Dancer and High on Sunshine in its original program. The retained 1982 Fancy Dancer annotation is not adopted as its first-release year. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
Annual version match under review
The selected recording has release evidence, but its version has not been matched to the retained annual entry. It is omitted from Beyond the yearly lists until this match is resolved.
The original studio release is supported in 1976. The actual inherited annual row is labeled 1982 and does not establish a distinct later edition or explain the mismatch. The row remains unchanged and is retained as a provisional candidate, not a positive year-based match or a Beyond addition.
Hot on the Tracks - original licensed album program
The original 1976 program identifies the selected Commodores performances. Only original program membership and corroborated year are used. Isolated inherited track dates, later anthologies, extended mixes and live versions do not replace the original release event. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
Hot on the Tracks - original release and songs
The label-owned article explicitly dates the original album to 1976 and identifies Just to Be Close to You, Fancy Dancer and High on Sunshine in its original program. The retained 1982 Fancy Dancer annotation is not adopted as its first-release year. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
About Commodores
The Commodores developed from musicians studying at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Their recordings joined tightly played funk with melodic ballads, giving space to several songwriters and contrasting lead voices. Machine Gun and Walter Orange's performances on Brick House represent the group's rhythmic side, while Lionel Richie sang songs including Easy and Three Times a Lady. Producer James Anthony Carmichael helped shape their recorded work. After Richie left for a solo career, the group continued with J.D. Nicholas and the later recording Nightshift.
Artist background sources
Classic Motown: The Commodores
Label history supports Tuskegee origins, funk/ballad range, distinct vocal roles, Carmichael and post-Richie continuation; reviewed retained Commodores/The Commodores variants share one catalog ID. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
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