Peak
5
Weeks
22
Score
3,262
Chart Year
1979
This song was a Freddie Perren production. Perren worked at Motown Records, where he co-wrote the Jackson 5 hits "I Want You Back," "The Love You Save" and "ABC" before forming his own production company with another former Motown writer, Dino Fekaris. Perren knew Herb Feemster from the Washington, DC area, where they both worked at record stores in the '60s. With the original Peaches, Francine Barker, Herb had a #8 hit in 1967 with "Close Your Eyes" and a #13 with "Love Is Strange." They made the Hot 100 nine more times before Herb quit the business in 1970 to become a police officer. In 1976, Herb got the act back together with a new Peaches, Linda Greene. Their 1977 self-titled album was produced by Charles Kipps and Van McCoy, but went nowhere. The duo then began work with Perren and Fekaris, who wrote and produced the eight songs on their next album, 2 Hot, including this disco mainstay. "Shake Your Groove Thing" was released as the first single, but the follow-up proved even more successful, as the ballad "Reunited" went to #1 in America. This was recorded at Freddie Perren's Los Angeles studio, which was called Mom & Pop's Company Store. Perren used some of the same studio musicians he used on "I Will Survive" - Bob Bowles on guitar, Scott Edwards on bass and James Gadson on drums. Edwards told Songfacts about the session: "They had a basic chord chart. We were playing the changes that they had written for the song, and it wasn't working. So we took a break and while we were in the break, we were still sitting at our instruments. So I started doing a funny little thing on the bass, Bob joined in and the drummer, James, drummed in. Freddie in the recording booth heard what we were doing and cut on the tape recorder and recorded part of it. Then when we came back from the break, Freddie said, 'What you cats were doing a few minutes ago, do that same thing to the changes of the song.' And that's what we did, and that became 'Shake Your Groove Thing.' We actually were writers and composers, but because we had the name 'musician,' we were just players. But we actually were having to write, because the things that we came up with, the arrangers and the producers were nowhere in that direction for our particular instruments. As far as 'Shake Your Groove Thing,' we basically were jamming and we took that jam and applied it to the changes of 'Shake.' Which really is just two chords, that's how basic it was. But it was a big hit, that's the way it works." Nothing conveys lighthearted fun like "Shake Your Groove Thing," which has made the song a favorite for commercials, promo campaigns, movies and TV shows. Television shows to feature the song include It Takes Two and That '70s Show. Among the movie uses are The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), 200 Cigarettes (1999), The Sweetest Thing (2002), Monster (2003), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), and Shrek Forever After (2010).
Shake it, shake it Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah Show 'em how we do it now Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah Show 'em how we do it now, show 'em how we do it now Let show the world we can dance Bad enough to strut our stuff The music gives us a chance We do more out on the floor Groovin' loose or heart to heart We put in motion every single part Funky sounds wall to wall We're bumpin' booties, havin' us a ball, why'all Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah Show 'em how we do it now Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah Show 'em how we do it now We got the rhythm tonight All the rest know we're the best Our shadows crash in the light Twistin', turnin', we keep burnin' Shake it high or shake it low We take our bodies where they want to go Feel that beat, never stop Oh, hold me tight, spin me like a top Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah Show 'em how we do it now Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah Show 'em how we do it now There's nothing more that I'd like to do Than take the floor and dance with you Keep dancin', let's keep dancin' Shake it, shake it Shake it, shake it Groovin' loose or heart to heart We put in motion every single part Funky sounds wall to wall We're bumpin' booties, havin' us a ball, why'all Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah Show 'em how we do it now Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah Show 'em how we do it now, yeah Shake it Show 'em how we do it now, yeah Shake it, shake it Shake it Doo, doo, doo, whoa Shake it Doo, doo, doo, whoa Shake your groove thing Shake your groove thing Show 'em how we do it now, let's get on down Show 'em how we do it now, show 'em how we do it now, ooh Ooh Show 'em how we do it now, shake your groove thing Shake it, shake it Shake it, shake it, a bumpin' booty, now Shake it, shake it Shake it, shake it, a little freaky now Shake it, shake it A shake it, shake it, a do it to it why'all
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 16, 1978 | 83 | 43 |
| 2 | Dec 23, 1978 | 71 | 55 |
| 3 | Dec 30, 1978 | 71 | 55 |
| 4 | Jan 6, 1979 | 57 | 69 |
| 5 | Jan 13, 1979 | 51 | 75 |
| 6 | Jan 20, 1979 | 44 | 82 |
| 7 | Jan 27, 1979 | 36 | 90 |
| 8 | Feb 3, 1979 | 30 | 96 |
| 9 | Feb 10, 1979 | 24 | 102 |
| 10 | Feb 17, 1979 | 21 | 105 |
| 11 | Feb 24, 1979 | 18 | 108 |
| 12 | Mar 3, 1979 | 11 | 115 |
| 13 | Mar 10, 1979 | 7 | 119 |
| 14 | Mar 17, 1979 | 5 | 121 |
| 15 | Mar 24, 1979 | 5 | 121 |
| 16 | Mar 31, 1979 | 5 | 121 |
| 17 | Apr 7, 1979 | 5 | 121 |
| 18 | Apr 14, 1979 | 18 | 108 |
| 19 | Apr 21, 1979 | 24 | 102 |
| 20 | Apr 28, 1979 | 60 | 66 |