# Dobie Gray — Out on the Floor

Dobie Gray’s Out on the Floor (1966) is No. 1 in our Northern Soul ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1966
- **On one list:** Northern Soul
- **Updated:** 2026-08-31
- **Artist:** [Dobie Gray](https://waxonia.com/artist/dobie-gray/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/dobie-gray--out-on-the-floor/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Northern Soul](https://waxonia.com/genre/northern-soul/)

A song about dancing all night that flopped in America and became a commandment in Lancashire. The Wigan anthem, and it sounds like it was written for the room it found.

## Analysis

5 sections, no single moment the energy jumps to.

- **Tempo:** 143.6 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** G major
- **Dynamic range:** 1.9 dB — compressed hard — very little between the quiet and the loud
- **Length:** 2:56

- `0:00` A · **intro**, sung — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `0:11` A · **peak** (bar 7), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `1:46` B · **peak** (bar 64), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `2:03` A · **peak** (bar 74), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `2:42` C · **outro** (bar 97), sung — the closing fall — playing: vocals

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Dobie%20Gray%20Out%20on%20the%20Floor) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ylviFjAM1J0)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.