I Will Dare

"I Will Dare" is a song by American alternative rock band The Replacements, written by Paul Westerberg. The song was released as a single on independent record label Twin/Tone Records in July 1984, shortly before the release of the band's album Let It Be that October, on which the song served as the opening track. Allmusic writes that the song "stands as perhaps the band's most beloved song and is a touchstone for their mid-'80s heyday, not to mention its status in the jangle and college rock canons."[1] The song has been included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

"I Will Dare"
Single by The Replacements
from the album Let It Be
ReleasedJuly 1984
GenreAlternative rock, college rock
Length3:18
LabelTwin/Tone
Songwriter(s)Paul Westerberg
The Replacements singles chronology
"I Will Dare"
(1984)		 "Bastards of Young"
(1985)

The song is based on a shuffle rhythm and features Paul Westerberg playing a mandolin. Peter Buck of R.E.M. plays guitar on the song.[2] Westerberg himself noted that the song's title was an apt motto for the band, and said, "We'll dare to flop [. . .] We'll dare to do anything."[3]

For the single release, "I Will Dare" was backed by cover recordings of T.Rex's "20th Century Boy" and Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'." The cover of "Hey Good Lookin'" was recorded at a club performance in Madison, Wisconsin. Although Replacements guitarist Bob Stinson claimed his guitar solo on the recording was deliberately off-key, Stinson tried to grab the tape of the recording from his bandmates as they replayed it endlessly and laughed at the solo after the show.[4]

A 1986 live recording of the song is found on the 2017 album For Sale: Live at Maxwell's 1986.

Track listing
  1. "I Will Dare" (Westerberg)  – 3:18
  2. "20th Century Boy" (Bolan)
  3. "Hey Good Lookin'" (Williams)

Notes and references
  1. ""I Will Dare" (song review)". Allmusic.com. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  2. "An excerpt from Jim Walsh's book "The Replacements: All Over but the Shouting"". Minneapolis Star Tribune. November 9, 2007. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
  3. Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991. Little Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1, p. 221
  4. Azerrad, p. 221-222
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