Boogie Wonderland

"Boogie Wonderland"
Single by Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions
from the album I Am
B-side "Boogie Wonderland (Instrumental)"
Released 1979
Format 7", 12"
Genre Funk
Disco
Length 8:21 (12" version), 4:55 (7" version), 4:47 (album version)
Label ARC/Columbia Records
Writer(s) Allee Willis, Jon Lind
Producer(s) Maurice White, Al McKay
Earth, Wind & Fire singles chronology
"September"
(1978)
"Boogie Wonderland"
(1979)
"After the Love Has Gone"
(1979)

"Boogie Wonderland" is a 1979 hit single by Earth, Wind & Fire featuring The Emotions.

Boogie Wonderland was written by Allee Willis and Jon Lind, and included on the album I Am. It is regarded as a classic of the disco age, peaking at number 14 on the US disco chart. [1] On other US charts, "Boogie Wonderland" peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. [2]

Reception

"Boogie Wonderland", written for the lead singer of Earth, Wind, & Fire's cousins, was very successful commercially, selling over a million copies and being certified gold as up until the RIAA lowered the sales levels for certified singles in 1989, "gold" equaled 1 million units sold and has also been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for selling over 400,000 copies in the U.K.[3][4][5]

Covers

"Boogie Wonderland" was the basis for the dance song "I'm Alive" by Stretch & Vern Present "Maddog"; the song reached number 6 in the U.K. in September 1996.[6]

The rock band Girls Against Boys covered the song for the 1999 movie 200 Cigarettes.

A rendition of the song was featured on the reality television competition series American Idol, during the closing minutes of the April 2, 2003 episode. It was performed by the Top 8 finalists from Season 2: Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Kimberley Locke, Josh Gracin, Trenyce, Carmen Rasmusen, Kimberly Caldwell and Rickey Smith.[7][8]

It was covered by Brittany Murphy for the soundtrack to the 2006 movie Happy Feet.

Appearances in other media

"Boogie Wonderland" has been featured in the American films Roller Boogie,[9] Madagascar, Happy Feet, Don't Look Under the Bed, Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure, Caddyshack,[9] and Kronk's New Groove, as well as the French film The Intouchables. It was also in the 23rd episode of Season 9 of "The Office (U.S. TV series)".

A remix of the song was also used in the arcade game Dance Dance Revolution 3rdMIX, and the original version appeared later in Hottest Party 3. "Boogie Wonderland" has also been made into different variations by The Ohio State University Marching Band, the Southern University Marching Band, Tennessee State University's Aristocrat of Bands, and the Marching 100. The song is also used in the Australian play, Priscilla: the Musical.

The song is used as the theme for "The Steve Czaban Show" on Yahoo Sports Radio.

Remixes

Chart positions

Chart (1979) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 6
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles 2
U.S. Billboard Disco Top 80 14
Chart (2012) Peak
position
France[10] 39

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to "Boogie Wonderland" is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.[11]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Gary Mulholland U.K. This Is Uncool: The 500 Best Singles Since Punk Rock 2002 *
Dave Marsh U.S. The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made 1989 737
Bruce Pollock U.S. The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000 2005 *
Panorama Norway The 30 Best Singles of the Year 1970-98 1999 13

(*) designates lists that are unordered.

References

  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 86.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 179.
  3. RIAA Certification for After the Love Has Gone
  4. "Rock Music, etc., Terms". spider.georgetowncollege.edu. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  5. RIAA Certification for After the Love Has Gone
  6. "Chart Stats Stretch 'N' Vern Presents 'Maddog' - I'm Alive".
  7. "American Idol: Not The Final Coundown!". TV.com. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  8. American Idol. Season 2. Episode 23. April 2, 2003. FOX.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Roller Boogie on imdb.com
  10. lescharts.com
  11. Acclaimed Music - Boogie Wonderland

External links