In 2018, Rodgers recalled "This recording was the first indication of what we could do together as I took his 'folk song' and arranged it into something that the entire world would soon be dancing to and seemingly has not stopped dancing to for the last 35 years! It became the blueprint not only for 'Let’s Dance' the song but for the entire album as well." An edited version of the demo recording, mixed by Rodgers, was released digitally on 8 January 2018, and the full-length (7:34) demo was released as a 12" vinyl single on 21 April. Rodgers' guitar work features a distinct funk influence, but he was afraid that the "disco sucks" movement could hamper the song's success; the version of "Let's Dance" that made it into the album had the guitar parts treated with delays by engineer Bob Clearmountain and separated into groups of notes, punctuated by the bassline.