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“Dancing With You” imagery (something I’m always working on to improve
by Mike Turner in my writing). More importanly, the audience loved it
– we were a big hit at the show! And our instructors still
play the single on occasion in our weekly dance parties;
hen I’m not writing songs, one of my creative the song always gets couples up and dancing – even me,
outlets is ballroom dancing. My wife, Pamela, “traffic” and all!
Wand I have been dancing for years, and we
annually perform in a ballroom showcase, dancing a Mike Turner retired to the U.S. Gulf Coast after a 27-
two- to three-minute choreographed routine. Over the year career as a Federal law enforcement executive.
years we’ve danced foxtrot, rumba, swing, cha-cha, tango While he grew up in a musical family, Mike had never
and Texas two-step for our audiences.
pursued performing or songwriting – until an adult
education class in ukulele ignited long-dormant musical
Our dance instructors know that I’m a songwriter, and yearnings. In the past 8 years, Mike’s completed over 120
they also know that my least favorite dance is the waltz. original songs, from blues, folk and country to gospel.
I can dance it just fine – what I don’t like is the “traffic His recordings have received radio play in the U.S., UK,
management” aspect of dancing waltz on a crowded Europe, New Zealand and on the U.S. Armed Forces
floor in a social setting. But since our showcase routines Radio Network; and are included in several curated
are just my wife and I out on the floor, “traffic” isn’t a Internet playlists. Mike was named 2016 Male Gospel
problem. So a few years back, our instructors Entertainer of the Year by the Alabama Music
suggested we do a waltz for our showcase routine – and Association; and 2017 Male Gospel Entertainer of the
they sweetened the deal by suggesting I write and record Year by the North America Country Music Associations
a waltz-time song for us to dance to.
International (NACMAI). You can follow Mike’s music
at:
Challenge accepted! I hadn’t written many ¾ time songs
up to that point – most of my songs were 4/4 blues, folk Web: www.MikeTurnerSongwriter.com
or country tunes. So the thought of writing a Facebook: www.facebook.com/miketurnersong-
waltz-tempo song appealed to me. I set out to capture writer
the wide, sweeping and rising/falling nature of the waltz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/
step in both my lyric and melody; along with the UCEnNxm0y6KELGPo6k7oMajg
romantic aspect of dancing. A love song, with dancing as Twitter: @SchoonerSkipper
a subject, seemed tailor-made to the project.
ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/miketurner9

I didn’t think much about genre in writing the song – I
had in mind something of a cross between an old-style
country song (the ¾ time aspect), and a “crooner” style
that one might have heard in a classic dance musical
film. In fact, I’ve since pitched this song in country
music circles once or twice in Nashville, and received
feedback that the song isn’t “country” enough. I think
that’s valid – the song wasn’t strictly written to be
“country,” but was custom-written for a specific
purpose, the dance showcase (two purposes, really, the
primary being a love song to my wife).

Tempo was particularly important – not so slow as to
make the floor performance “drag;” lively enough to
make for an entertaining dance routine, but not so quick
as to “rush” the floor performance. The demo (see link)
is in “folk rhythm” and around 135 bpm, which seemed
around right for the choreography.

I’m pleased with the result from a technical,
songwriting perspective – it lays out the love the story
in a dance context and, to my mind, employs some nice

26 www.writeawaymagazine.co.uk