First Sunday in April already?! WTF?
Get Down on It – Kool & the Gang
“Get Down on It” is a song originally recorded by the funk/R&B/pop band Kool & The Gang on their album Something Special in 1981. The song reached number 10 on the Billboard charts in early 1982, displaying some of the characteristics of a blend of disco and funk, with the title of the song repeating continuously. The song was released in the UK on the British charts on 19 December 1981 on the record label De-Lite and reached number 3, their highest chart hit in the UK at that time. It spent a total of 12 weeks in the charts before drifting out of sight.
Ten years later it was re-released in the UK charts on the record label Mercury but only reached number 69 and was on the chart for only one week. In 1997 the German rapper and DJ Der Wolf covered it for the German song “Gib’s doch gar nicht”. In 2004, the song was re-recorded as part of a collaboration with Blue. The song was the last single from Blue to date. My Morning Jacket covered the song at their midnight set at Bonnaroo 2008. The concert featured many special covers, including “Hit It and Quit It” and “Across 110th Street”. In 2008, the song was performed by Westlife on their Back Home Tour.
*PS: There’s nothing wrong with your computer. This is actually how the video was released. Trippy huh?*
Jungle Love – The Time
“Jungle Love” is a song from The Time’s third album, Ice Cream Castle. The track was one of the first songs recorded for the album, being cut in late March 1983 during Prince’s 1999 tour. “Jungle Love” was also one of the first Time tracks to involve other members of the band in the creation of the song. Morris Day and Jesse Johnson both contributed to writing the song. Day provided lead vocals and Johnson played guitar on the recording. Prince played all the other instruments.
“Jungle Love” is a funk-pop offering relying mainly on bass and drums (drum machines), although there are elements of New Wave keyboards and a rock guitar solo, allowing the song to cross musical boundaries. Added to this are animalistic sound effects by Day and good-humored sexual lyrics. All this, combined with the Purple Rain momentum, propelled the song to The Time’s highest position thus far on the pop charts (#20 on the Billboard Hot 100).
The song is one of The Time’s signature numbers and is played at every concert to this day. Live versions of the song have been released on two DVDs, including one of the band performing the song on Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. A live recording from 1998 was also included on the Morris Day release, It’s About Time (released in 2004).
It can be heard in the movies “Bringing Down the House” (2003) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It is also featured in the movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, where it is performed by the full band. A cover version can be heard in the Super Mario Bros Super Show episode ‘Jungle Fever” during the original run.
When I See You Smile – Bad English
When I See You Smile is the second single of American/British hard rock band Bad English, taken from their self-titled debut album Bad English, released in 1989. The single was a huge success and went on to become the band’s first and only US number one hit when it peaked there in the fall of 1989 for two weeks.
In the video the band are performing on a stage, which contains close-up shots of its members. The footage was taken at one of their arena concerts.
Be Good Johnny – Men at Work
“Be Good Johnny” is a 1982 song by Australian band, Men at Work, from their first album, Business as Usual.
The song is written from the viewpoint of a 9-year-old boy who is constantly being told to be good, but prefers to daydream rather than concentrate in class or play sports. Johnny feels like he understands some of his instructions, but also that he is completely misunderstood by the adult world. The lead singer, Colin Hay, uses his voice in different ways throughout the song to imitate Johnny, Johnny’s mother and father, and his teacher. The song also features spoken dialog by keyboardist Greg Ham as he tries to figure out what Johnny is like. The title of the song is a reference to Johnny B. Goode.
Although the song was played extensively on US radio stations, it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 as it was not released in the states as a physical single, a criterion that was still used by the Hot 100 at the time.
The melody of the chorus is used as the theme song of the British and US versions of the reality TV program Supernanny.
