Hello Everyone!
Were you around in 1967? I was... and barring the fact that I'm getting so old I'm beginning to feel like a dinosaur, I can say it was a very good year to "get on up and dance!"
The hit song, Get on Up, was written by Johnny Taylor, Gilbert Moorer, and Bill Sheppard and performed by The Esquires. It was a crowd stirrer in that it could get the shyest, most reserved person off their rear and onto their feet to dance. Listen to the lyrics and you'll hear the lead singer encouraging young and old to get on up and do all of what were then the latest dances: The boogaloo, the monkey, the Philly dog (whatever that was), the jerk, and the shing-a-ling. To this day I couldn't tell you what those dances looked like, only that we danced until we couldn't dance no more!
As a footnote, it's so refreshing to have this platform to enjoy wonderful memories from yesterday, and to share some of the music from my childhood. I know it's hard to imagine, but when this song debuted, most fans had no idea what the performers looked like. There was no internet, no way of seeing performers unless they were scheduled on a famous talk show or appeared on Soul Train on Saturdays.
Ahhh, those were the days.
Anyway, without further ado, here are the lyrics to GET ON UP!
Title: GET ON UP
DATE OF RECORDING: May 3, 1986.
Written by Gilbert Moorer, Bill Sheppard, Johnny Taylor & Prince (ad lib).
Ooh, ooh ooh, dit-dit-dit-do
Ooh, ooh ooh, dit-dit-dit-do
Get on up (Get on up)
Get on up (Get on up)
Now get on up (Get on up)
Now get on up (Get on up)
How can you sit yourself down for a rest
When you know that I'm trying my best
To dance with you, girl (Get on up)
To dance with you, girl (Get on up)
So get on up (Get on up)
On the floor (Get on up)
Get on up, now (Get on up)
And dance some more (Get on up)
Get on up (Get on up)
Let's boogaloo (Get on up)
Get on up, now (Get on up)
Just me and you (Get on up)
So get on up (Get on up)
On the floor (Get on up)
Get on up, now (Get on up)
And dance some more (Get on up)
Get on up (Get on up)
Let's boogaloo (Get on up)
Get on up, now (Get on up)
Just me and you (Get on up)
Da da da da da da
Hey you (Get on up)
Over there (Get on up)
Get on up, now (Get on up)
Don't go nowhere (Get on up)
We gonna dance, dance, dance
We gonna dance, dance, dance
The boogaloo (Get on up)
Too (Get on up)
We're gonna do the Monkey
(The Philly Dog too)
We're gonna do the Jerk
(Just me and you)
We're gonna dance, dance, dance
We're gonna shing-a-ling
We're gonna do the thing tonight
Dit-dit-dit-do
So get on up (Get on up)
And sock it to me (Get on up)
Get on up (Get on up)
And rock it to me (Get on up)
So get on up (Get on up)
And sock it to me (Get on up)
FAIR USE
“Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.”
