Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

Album

What It Means to Be King

Label

Columbia Records

Genre

Bubblegum

Composer(s)

George Michael

Entered Chart

Sep 8, 1984

Peak Date

Nov 17, 1984

Released

14 May 1984

Recorded

February 1984 Studio Sarm West, London[

Catalog #

Columbia 04552

B-Side

"A Ray of Sunshine"

Andrew Ridgeley lived at home with his parents even after Wham! made it big, which isn't as lame as it sounds: they were on the road all the time, so it was easier than maintaining his own empty household (he and George Michael used a room in the house to make their demos). One day, Ridgeley needed a wake-up call, so he left a note for him mum on his door. He wrote, "Wake me up up," and realizing he duplicated a word, finished the sentence with "before you go go." George Michael got a kick out of it and decided to use it as a song title. Michael put together a song called "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go," and it became Wham's first American hit. A "go-go" is a dance club, and dancing is the theme of this song, which tells the story of a guy who is head over heels for his girl, and bummed when he finds out she went dancing while he slept. He asks that in the future, she wake him up before she goes. This isn't the first "go-go" hit; Smokey Robinson's group The Miracles scored in 1965 with "Going To A Go-Go." Dobie Gray had a minor hit that same year with "See You At The Go-Go," and Lee Dorsey charted in 1967 with "Go-Go Girl," which was written by Allen Toussaint. Around the time of this song's release, the all-girl American group The go-go's were big. George Michael (born Georgios Panayiotou) and Andrew Ridgeley met at Bushey Meads School in Hertfordshire when both were in their early teens. They became friends and after leaving school they made a demo of "Wham! Rap" at Andrew Ridgeley's parents' house, which was picked up by the record label Innervision and released without success. Their next release "Young Guns (Go For It)" was more successful rising to #3 in the UK. Their first single was reworked and became their second Top 10 hit. After two more Top 10 releases, problems developed between the duo and their label. Wham! signed with former Marc Bolan manager Simon Napier-Bell, who fought to get them released from Innervision. When they finally freed themselves they signed with Epic with whom this was their first release. The song opens with four repetitions of the word "Jitterbug," with finger snaps in between. The jitterbug was a popular dance in the 1930s; combined with the finger snaps and lyrics that harken back to a more innocent time, it helps give the song a retro feel. Another throwback: the line "You make the sun shine brighter than Doris Day," which refers to the singer-actress who was popular in the '40s and '50s. This was the first track Wham! recorded for the Make It Big album. It was done at Sarm West Studios in London. According to Chris Porter, who engineered the session, they didn't work from a demo recording as was standard protocol. George Michael had the song in his head and it was recorded with a live band. Many TV shows and movies have used this song. Grant Lee Phillips performed it in the 2002 Gilmore Girls episode Dead Uncles and Vegetables. His rendition is quirky but reverent, unlike Seth Green's performance (as Chris Griffin) in the 2005 Family Guy episode "Jungle Love," where he murders the song. Other TV shows to use it include: The Fall Guy ("Spring Break" - 1985) 3rd Rock from the Sun ("The Dicks They Are A-Changin'" - 1996) The X Factor ("Episode #6.24" - 2009, "Episode #7.2" - 2010) Psych ("Who Ya Gonna Call?" - 2006) Glee ("Guilty Pleasures" - 2013) American Dad! ("The Unincludeds" - 2016) Among the movies to use the song: The Wedding Singer (1998) Charlie's Angels (2000) Zoolander (2001) Zoolander 2 (2016) Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) Heartbreaker (2010) Happy Feet 2 (2011) Sausage Party (2016) More songs from Wham!

Jitterbug
Jitterbug
Jitterbug
Jitterbug

You put the boom boom into my heart (hoo, hoo)
You send my soul sky high when your lovin' starts
Jitterbug into my brain (yeah, yeah)
Goes a bang-bang-bang 'til my feet do the same
But something's bugging you (ha-ha, ha-ha)
Something ain't right (ha-ha, ha-ha)
My best friend told me what you did last night (ha-ha, ha-ha)
Left me sleepin' in my bed (ha-ha, ha-ha)
I was dreaming, but I should have been with you instead (ha-ha)

Wake me up before you go-go
Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo
Wake me up before you go-go
I don't want to miss it when you hit that high
Wake me up before you go-go
'Cause I'm not plannin' on going solo
Wake me up before you go-go
Take me dancing tonight
I wanna hit that high (yeah, yeah)

You take the grey skies out of my way (hoo, hoo)
You make the sun shine brighter than Doris Day
Turned a bright spark into a flame (yeah, yeah)
My beats per minute never been the same
'Cause you're my lady, I'm your fool (ha-ha, ha-ha)
It makes me crazy when you act so cruel (ha-ha, ha-ha)
Come on, baby, let's not fight (ha-ha, ha-ha)
We'll go dancing, everything will be all right (ha-ha)

Wake me up before you go-go
Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo
Wake me up before you go-go
I don't want to miss it when you hit that high
Wake me up before you go-go
'Cause I'm not plannin' on going solo
Wake me up before you go-go
Take me dancing tonight
I wanna hit that high (yeah, yeah, yeah)

Jitterbug (baby)
Jitterbug (woo)

Cuddle up, baby, move in tight
We'll go dancing tomorrow night
It's cold out there, but it's warm in bed
They can dance, we'll stay home instead

Jitterbug

Wake me up before you go-go
Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo
Wake me up before you go-go
I don't want to miss it when you hit that high
Wake me up before you go-go
'Cause I'm not plannin' on going solo
Wake me up before you go-go
Take me dancing tonight

Wake me up before you go-go (don't you dare)
Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo
(Leave me hanging on like a yo-yo, yo-yo, yo)
Wake me up before you go-go
I don't want to miss it when you hit that high
(Take me dancing)
(A boom-boom-boom-boom, oh)
Wake me up before you go-go
'Cause I'm not plannin' on going solo
(A boom-boom-boom-boom)
Wake me up before you go-go (ah)
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Take me dancing tonight

Ooh ah
Yeah
Writer/s: George Michael