When The Replacements released Let It Be in 1984, it caused people to ask their local record stores for other albums with a similar sound. As the decade continued, it led to alternative rock becoming its own genre. Sire Records signed The Replacements to a contract, and they led the charge of bands with an independent history trying to navigate the corporate landscape. By the early ’90s, the other bands were releasing records that sounded like Let It Be. Those same record store customers were asking for albums that didn’t sound like The Replacements’ classic. Let’s take a look at the story behind “I Will Dare” by The Replacements.
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How young are you?
How old am I?
Let’s count the rings around my eyes
How smart are you?
How dumb am I?
Don’t count any of my advice
“The Best Song I’ve Ever Written”
Replacements lead singer/songwriter Paul Westerberg saw U2 in 1981 during their Boy Tour. As a reaction to the song “I Will Follow,” the Minneapolis frontman wrote “Kids Don’t Follow,” which appeared on the 1982 EP The Replacements Stink. As they were finishing up their second full-length album Hootenanny, Westerberg wrote “I Will Dare.” He again attributed the song’s inspiration to a reaction to the Irish quartet’s anthem. Westerberg hoped to include the song on the album, but it was too late. It would have to wait until their next album Let It Be. Manager/producer Peter Jesperson told writer Bob Mehr, “I got a call from Paul saying, ‘I’ve just finished the best song I’ve ever written. We need to record it now.’ But the record was already done, so we couldn’t do it.”
Oh, meet me any place or anywhere or anytime
Now I don’t care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I might dare
“We’re Going to Be Rich”
A short time later, The Replacements performed the song live, and Jesperson heard it for the first time. “It was so instantly catchy,” he said. “The joke was, ‘Oh, my God, we’re going to be rich! He’s written the song.” They had to wait for the next album to record the song.
Call me on Thursday, if you will
Or call me on Wednesday, better still
Ain’t lost yet, so I gotta be a winner
Fingernails and a cigarette’s a lousy dinner
Young, are you? Ooh-ooh-ooh
Come on
“Ditch the Creep”
Westerberg had another theory, “Part of it has to do with the band. We’ll dare to flop. We’ll dare to do anything. ‘I Will Dare’ was a good slogan for a Replacements single. On the other hand, it was a kind of love song: Ditch the creep and I’ll meet you later. I don’t care. I will dare. The band seemed to constantly be their own worst enemy as they attempted to move up the ladder of success. They could deliver a red-hot live show one night and a drunken brawl onstage the next.
Meet me any place or anywhere or anytime
Now, I don’t care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
Meet me any place or anywhere or anytime
Now, I don’t care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
The Guitar Solo
Peter Buck of R.E.M. was at Blackberry Way Studios in Minneapolis during the first week of recording Let It Be. He told Mehr, “Me being there was really just kind of an excuse to run around at the clubs at night.” Buck watched as Bob Stinson played his guitar parts, “Bob knew all the songs, but he referred to them as ‘that one song,’ or ‘that other song,’ or ‘that other f–king song.’ He didn’t know the titles of anything. No matter how many times they played the song, it was a brand new song for Bob. I was just sitting there, and Bob said something like, ‘I can’t play a solo on this f–king thing.’ Those weren’t his chords, and Paul goes, ‘Hey, Peter, you do it.'” Buck laid down the solo right then on “I Will Dare.” Westerberg played mandolin and Buck’s Rickenbacker 12-string on the song.
How young are you?
How old am I?
Let’s count the rings around my eyes
How smart are you?
How smart are you?
How dumb am I?
Dumb, am I?
College Radio Success
“I Will Dare” was released as the lead single off Let It Be. Although the single failed to chart, it was very successful on campuses, reaching No. 1 on 55 college radio stations. The single included covers of “20th Century Boy” by T. Rex and “Hey Good Lookin'” by Hank Williams.
The band chose the album’s title by chance. Westerberg told writer Jonathan Valania, “We were going to call it Whistler’s Mammy, and then we were going to call it Stunk. And then we decided that the next song that came on the radio was going to be the album title. The next thing you know, When I find myself in times of trouble … ‘ comes on the radio.”
Meet me any place or anywhere or anytime
Now I don’t care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
Meet me any place or anywhere or anytime
Now I don’t care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
Melodic, Accessible Songs
Let It Be was a step in the wrong direction for guitarist Bob Stinson. He wanted the band to move more in the thrash direction of their debut album Sorry Ma, I Forgot to Take Out the Trash. Westerberg was writing more melodic, accessible songs, and Stinson was not happy about it. He hung on for one more album, but after Tim in 1985 on Sire Records, he left the band. The trend of writing more radio-friendly songs continued as The Replacements released Pleased to Meet Me, Don’t Tell a Soul, and All Shook Down. The band broke up in 1991 and reunited for a tour in 2012.
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Photo by Katie Stratton/Getty Images for Coachella
