Let's Groove
Encyclopedia
"Let's Groove" is a 1981 song from the album Raise!
by the R&B
act Earth, Wind & Fire
. The song peaked at #3 in the U.S. and in the UK. It also spent eight weeks at number one on the Hot Soul Singles
chart in late-1981/early-1982 and was the second R&B song of 1982 on the year end charts. The music video of "Let's Groove" was the first video ever to be played on Video Soul
on BET
.
The video, rich with vintage electronic effects, was created by Ron Hays using the Scanimate
analog computer system at Image West, Ltd.
(*) designates lists that are unordered.
, where it went platinum reaching #2 in the Australian Singles Chart and #1 in New Zealand chart.
Tracklist
on the track "Put Your Hands Up" which was featured on his album "Hypnotica
".
Another cover was made by Marcia Hines
in 2006.
The band B5 also made a remix of the song.
Raise!
Raise! is the eleventh studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire, produced by the band's leader Maurice White for Kalimba Productions, and released in 1981 on ARC/Columbia Records. Raise! has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA. Raise! was the bestselling R&B album of 1982. The album featured...
by the R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
act Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of...
. The song peaked at #3 in the U.S. and in the UK. It also spent eight weeks at number one on the Hot Soul Singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart in late-1981/early-1982 and was the second R&B song of 1982 on the year end charts. The music video of "Let's Groove" was the first video ever to be played on Video Soul
Video Soul
Video Soul was a 2-hour long American music video program that aired on BET from 1981 to 1996.-History:Video Soul premiered in June 1981 and was originally a half hour show. It was devoted to helping showcase new R&B/soul recording artists and performers...
on BET
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
.
The video, rich with vintage electronic effects, was created by Ron Hays using the Scanimate
Scanimate
Scanimate is the name for an analog computer animation system developed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.The Scanimate systems were used to produce much of the video-based animation seen on television between most of the 1970s and early 1980s in commercials, promotions, and show openings...
analog computer system at Image West, Ltd.
Reception
"Let's Groove" was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. The single sold over a million copies and it has been certified gold as up until the RIAA lowered the sales levels for certified singles in 1989, a Gold single equaled 1 million units sold.Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to Let's Groove is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Pollock | U.S | The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000 | 2005 | * |
| NME NME The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles... |
U.K | Singles of the Year | 1981 | 16 |
(*) designates lists that are unordered.
CDB version
The song was covered in 1995 by the Australian R&B band CDBCDB (band)
CDB is an Australian R&B and dance group that started out in the 1990s, best known for their cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Let's Groove". Its original members were brothers Gary Pinto and Brad Pinto, as well as Andrew De Silva and Danny Williams...
, where it went platinum reaching #2 in the Australian Singles Chart and #1 in New Zealand chart.
Tracklist
- "Let's Groove"
- "You Will Be Mine"
- "Let's Groove" (Summer Groove)
- "Let's Groove" (Instrumental)
| Year | Single details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
NZL New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
||
| 1995 | Let's Groove
|
2 | 1 |
Other covers and samples
The song has been sampled by Italian electro house music DJ and producer Benny BenassiBenny Benassi
Marco Benassi , better known as Benny Benassi, is a Grammy Award winning Italian disc jockey and record producer of electro house music. He is best known for his 2002 summer club hit "Satisfaction"...
on the track "Put Your Hands Up" which was featured on his album "Hypnotica
Hypnotica
Hypnotica is the debut album of DJ/Producer Benny Benassi which was released in 2003. The album was titled as Benny Benassi Presents the Biz, where the Biz are the singers Paul French and Violeta. It reached the top five in the French Album charts and left the top 20 after a month. For Hypnotica,...
".
Another cover was made by Marcia Hines
Marcia Hines
Marcia Elaine Hines, AM is a vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted homeland of Australia. Hines made her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the Australian version of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar...
in 2006.
The band B5 also made a remix of the song.
Appearances in other media
- The song has been featured in the films The WaterboyThe WaterboyThe Waterboy is a 1998 American comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It stars Adam Sandler alongside Henry Winkler, Kathy Bates, Jerry Reed, and Fairuza Balk. Lynn Swann, Lawrence Taylor, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Cowher, Paul Wight, and Rob Schneider have cameos...
, DrumlineDrumline (film)Drumline is a 2002 American film directed by Charles Stone III. The screenplay, which was inspired by The Southwest Dekalb High School Drumline , was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Shawn Schepps...
and Kronk's New GrooveKronk's New GrooveKronk's New Groove is a 2005 direct-to-video animated film released by The Walt Disney Company on December 13, 2005. The film is the sequel to the 2000 animated film The Emperor's New Groove, and features reprises of the roles of David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton and Wendie... - This song is also featured in the JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
party gameParty gameParty games are games that some people play as forms of entertainment at social gatherings. Party games usually involve more than one player. There are a large number and styles of party games available and the one selected will depend on the atmosphere that is sought to be generated...
Iwatobi Penguin: Rocky × Hopper. - In the second episode of the TV series That's My Bush!That's My Bush!That's My Bush! is an American comedy television series that aired on Comedy Central from April 4 to May 23, 2001. Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, best known for also creating South Park, the series centers on the fictitious personal life of President George W. Bush, as played by Timothy...
, "A Poorly Executed Plan", the song is featured in a running gagRunning gagA running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
, where old fratFraternityA fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...
buddies of George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
sing this song together. - It also makes an appearance in Scarface: The World Is YoursScarface: The World is YoursScarface: The World Is Yours is a video game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games. The game is based on and is a quasi-sequel to the 1983 motion picture Scarface starring Al Pacino reprising his role as Tony Montana, with André Sogliuzzo providing Montana's...
, under '80s music. - The song is also available as Downloadable ContentDownloadable contentDownloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
on the popular Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
game LipsLips (video game)Lips is a video game for the Xbox 360. Lips was developed by iNiS and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game features the use of motion sensitive wireless microphones and supports the use of songs already owned through a Zune or iPod. The game was released on November 18, 2008 in North...
. - The song is in the movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the SmithsonianNight at the Museum: Battle of the SmithsonianNight at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is an American adventure comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Steve Coogan. The film is a sequel to Night at the Museum...
starring Ben StillerBen StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
. - Earth, Wind and Fire performed the song on the 2009 TV Land Awards Show.
- Used in the trailer for the Disney Movie The Emperor's New GrooveThe Emperor's New GrooveThe Emperor's New Groove is a 2000 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures through Buena Vista Distribution on December 15, 2000. It is the 40th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics...
. - Covered by B5 for Kronk's New GrooveKronk's New GrooveKronk's New Groove is a 2005 direct-to-video animated film released by The Walt Disney Company on December 13, 2005. The film is the sequel to the 2000 animated film The Emperor's New Groove, and features reprises of the roles of David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton and Wendie...
(the original version is used during the movie, while the cover can be heard during the credits). - It has also been heavily featured in the YoutubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
parody Stupid Mario Brothers. - Used in game DDR Max 2.
- Also featured in the comedy movie Super Bowlin'.
Chart positions
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
3 |