Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)
Encyclopedia
"Shake Your Body", released December 9, 1978, is a hit single recorded by The Jacksons
for the CBS
/Epic Records
album Destiny and peaked in the Spring of 1979.
The most successful of the Jacksons' disco
/funk
-era recordings for Epic, "Shake Your Body" (originally demoed as "Shake a Body") was produced by the Jackson brothers, written by Randy and Michael
, and featured Michael on lead vocals.
Released to radio in a single edit of three minutes and forty-five seconds and played in its full eight-minute album version by clubs, the single peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart and at #3 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart
. The ensuing 12" Disco Single Remix featured a more focused drum and rhythm track, as well as the new synthesizer-voiced 3 octave climbing glissando
that was not heard on the album version. "Shake Your Body" sold over two million copies, attaining double-platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America
.
The single was later sampled by reggae
artist Shaggy
for his 2000 single "Dance & Shout".
It was also sampled by rapper Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
on their song "Get on the Dance Floor
".
The B-side on the 7" was "That's What You Get (for Being Polite)".
The first performance of "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" was on the second leg of The Jacksons Destiny Tour
in 1979. Later, it was performed on the Triumph Tour
in 1981. In 1984 it was performed on the Victory Tour
. It was performed also during the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in September 2001; it would be the last song performed live by the Jacksons before the death of Michael Jackson
in 2009.
The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...
for the CBS
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
/Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
album Destiny and peaked in the Spring of 1979.
The most successful of the Jacksons' disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
/funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
-era recordings for Epic, "Shake Your Body" (originally demoed as "Shake a Body") was produced by the Jackson brothers, written by Randy and Michael
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, and featured Michael on lead vocals.
Released to radio in a single edit of three minutes and forty-five seconds and played in its full eight-minute album version by clubs, the single peaked at #6 on the 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...
chart and at #3 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart
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,...
. The ensuing 12" Disco Single Remix featured a more focused drum and rhythm track, as well as the new synthesizer-voiced 3 octave climbing glissando
Glissando
In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
that was not heard on the album version. "Shake Your Body" sold over two million copies, attaining double-platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
.
The single was later sampled by reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
artist Shaggy
Shaggy (musician)
Orville Richard Burrell , better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 1995 single "Boombastic" and 2000 single "It Wasn't Me"...
for his 2000 single "Dance & Shout".
It was also sampled by rapper Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock are a hip-hop duo from Harlem, New York who are best known for their hit "It Takes Two." The duo consists of Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock .- Career :Their first U.S...
on their song "Get on the Dance Floor
Get on the Dance Floor
"Get on the Dance Floor" is a 1988 hip-hop single by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock. The single was their follow up to their highly successful recording, "It Takes Two". On the dance chart, "Get on the Dance Floor" was more successful than it predecessor, hitting number one for two weeks in January 1989...
".
The B-side on the 7" was "That's What You Get (for Being Polite)".
The first performance of "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" was on the second leg of The Jacksons Destiny Tour
Destiny Tour
The Destiny Tour was a concert tour by The Jacksons that began a world tour to promote the Destiny album on January 22, 1979 with their opening concert in Bremen. Countries that were visited included Britain, Holland, France, and Kenya. During the spring of 1979 The Jacksons performed some concerts...
in 1979. Later, it was performed on the Triumph Tour
Triumph Tour
The Triumph Tour was a concert tour by The Jacksons, covering the United States from July 9 to September 26, 1981. The tour grossed a total of $5.5 million, setting a record breaking 4 sold out concerts in Los Angeles, California.-History:...
in 1981. In 1984 it was performed on the Victory Tour
Victory Tour
The Victory Tour was the biggest and final concert tour of the United States and Canada by The Jacksons. Beginning July 6, 1984, and ending on December 9 of that year, the tour included 55 concerts to an audience of approximately 2 million...
. It was performed also during the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in September 2001; it would be the last song performed live by the Jacksons before the death of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
in 2009.
Charts
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| 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... |
6 |
| Billboard Hot Soul Singles | 3 |
Personnel
- Written and composed by Randy Jackson and Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
- Lead vocals by Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
- Background vocals by Jackie JacksonJackie JacksonSigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson is an American singer and musician, a member of The Jackson 5, and the second child in the Jackson family.-Life and career:...
, Randy Jackson, Tito JacksonTito JacksonToriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson is an American singer and lead guitarist and original member of The Jackson 5. He is the older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.-Early life and rise to stardom:...
and Marlon JacksonMarlon JacksonMarlon David Jackson is an American entertainer singer, dancer, former member of The Jackson 5, and elder brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.-Personal life:... - Produced and vocal arrangements by The Jacksons
- Rhythm arrangements by Greg PhillinganesGreg PhillinganesGreg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Technical High School, Detroit Michigan....
- Horn and strings arranged by Tom Tom 84
- Keyboards and synthesizers by Greg Phillinganes and Mike Boddicker
- Drums by Ed Green
- Percussion by Paulinho Da CostaPaulinho Da CostaPaulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...