Dr. Beat

"Dr. Beat"
One of cover arts
Single by Miami Sound Machine
from the album A Toda Maquina / Eyes of Innocence
Released	August 9, 1984
Format	CD single cassette single 7" single 12" maxi-single
Recorded	1983–84
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	4:26
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Enrique Garcia
Certification	Gold (ARIA) Silver (BPI)
Miami Sound Machine singles chronology
"Comunicación" (1984) "Dr. Beat" (1984) "Prisoner of Love" (1984)
Eyes of Innocence track listing "Dr. Beat" (1) "Prisoner of Love" (2) Greatest Hits track listing "Dr. Beat" (1) "Conga" (2)

"Dr. Beat" is the first international single released by the American band Miami Sound Machine, led by Gloria Estefan, on their first English language, but eighth overall, studio album Eyes of Innocence (1984). The song which was written by the band's lead songwriter and drummer Enrique "Kiki" Garcia and was released worldwide in 1984 becoming a top success across Europe where the album impacted the charts with this hit.

Song history

"Dr. Beat" was not quite as popular in the US as some of their later singles, only peaking at number 15 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. However, it has become one of the group's biggest international hits, reaching the Top 10 in Spain and peaking at number 6 in the United Kingdom.

The song has maintained popularity through inclusion on a number of 1980s retrospective albums. It also became popular again in 2005 when dance artist Mylo mashed the song up with his hit "Drop the Pressure" to create "Doctor Pressure", which became a hit single in its own right.

Chart performance

"Dr. Beat" became a sensation in the charts across Europe becoming in the band's first song to enter the charts in a career for more than eight years, the song firstly entered the chart in the UK at the top 10, helped in large part by an appearance on Top of the Pops by the band, and then started to make debut at some another charts at other countries of Europe. The song was a complete failure in the United States in comparison to the other countries, only entering to the Top 20 at the Dance Club Play charts.

The song was certified Silver by the BPI in the United Kingdom for its sales of 200,000 copies and Gold by the ARIA in Australia for its sales of 35,000 units.^[1]

Music video

At the beginning of the music video, which was shot on location on the rooftop of the Bacardi Imports building where Enrique Garcia and Emilio Estefan worked for a short time, Gloria Estefan is singing and dancing on the roof of a tall building, in front of frantic crowd. Estefan is calling for Dr. Beat, which is played by songwriter and drummer Enrique Garcia, to help cure her from her desire to dance continuously. Dr. Beat takes her from the scene to the hospital, as Estefan performs a choreography on the way. In the hospital, Dr. Beat conducts some investigations and performs surgery on Estefan. In the end a boom box is removed from inside of Estefan.^[2]

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Dr. Beat".

US Vinyl 12" Maxi-Single (49 05023)

1. "Dr. Beat" (Long Version)
2. "Dr. Beat" (Instrumental Version)

Worldwide Vinyl 7" Single (34 04574)

1. "Dr. Beat" (Album Version)
2. "When Someone Comes Into Your Life" (Album Version)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1984–85) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 11 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 3 Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[5] 3 France (SNEP)[6] 23 Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 7 Ireland (IRMA)[8] 16 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 3 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 6 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 15 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[12] 11 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 5 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 6 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[15] 17

Year-end charts Chart (1984) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[16] 83 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[17] 28 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 42 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 58

Official versions

Original versions

1. Album Version – 4:26
2. Long Version – 6:26
3. Instrumental Version – 5:26
4. Hustlers Up-Town Full Length Disco Remix – 6:51

References

1. Dr. Beat (Single - 1984) at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 2009). Geocities.com. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
2. "Dr. Beat Video". MyVideo.de. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. p. 199. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
4. "Ultratop.be – Miami Sound Machine – Dr. Beat" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
5. "Radio 2 Top 30 : 6 oktober 1984" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
6. "Lescharts.com – Miami Sound Machine – Dr. Beat" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
7. "Officialcharts.de – Miami Sound Machine – Dr. Beat". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Dr Beat". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Miami Sound Machine - Dr. Beat search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Miami Sound Machine – Dr. Beat" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
11. "Charts.org.nz – Miami Sound Machine – Dr. Beat". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
12. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (M)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
13. "Swisscharts.com – Miami Sound Machine – Dr. Beat". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
14. "Archive Chart: 1984-09-22" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
15. "Gloria Estefan – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
16. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
17. "Jaaroverzichten 1984" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
18. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
19. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1984" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2014.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics