Heartbeat (Taana Gardner song)


"Heartbeat" is a 1981 dance single by Taana Gardner. It was arranged by Dennis Weeden and Kenton Nix, and released by West End Records, with the more famous club mix created by Larry Levan. It reached the Billboard R&B chart at No. 10 and the No. 6 on the dance chart. It has sold over 800,000 copies.

Composition

"Heartbeat" is a post-disco song, which runs for 9 minutes and 34 seconds for the 12-inch "Club version" mixed by Levan. It is set in common time and has a tempo of 100 beats per minute. Despite praised for its "hip-shaking, booty-bumpin' beats and rhythms" and hook-ladden lyrics, it was considered peculiar at the time due to its slow tempo, "dizzy" vocal delivery and dissonant accompaniment. Danny Krivit recalls "When put on, a full club of people left the room to get food. There was not one person left on the floor." Levan, known for his musical idiosyncrasies, kept playing the record at the Paradise Garage even several times in an evening until weeks later "no one off the floor when they played ." Because of its atypical "dance music-hostile" tempo numerous DJs find it unsuitable for dancefloors even today.

Reception

In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau reviewed the song's 12-inch release in 1981 and gave it an A rating, indicating "a great record both of whose sides offer enduring pleasure and surprise." He dubbed it a "classic one-shot" and "the hottest r&b record in the city right now for two self-evident reasons", stating:
Allmusic editor Andy Kellman found the song's rhythm "instantly memorable" and recognized its widespread sampling by hip hop producers, stating "Though hip hop fans are just as familiar with that bass line – often put to great use after its original recording — as rock fans are familiar with the guitar riffs of 'Purple Haze,' no song that has referenced 'Heartbeat' comes close to matching it." Kellman also writes that the song's "greatness comes down to Gardner’s vocals just as much as that rhythm", stating:

Track listing

"Heartbeat" has been extensively sampled in Hip hop music, pop music and dance music:

Taana Gardner version

Seduction version