Get Up Offa That Thing

"Get Up Offa That Thing"
Single by James Brown
from the album Get Up Offa That Thing
B-side "Release the Pressure"
Released May 1976
Format 7"
Recorded April 1976, Criteria Studios, Miami, FL
Genre Funk
Length
  • 4:11 (Get Up Offa That Thing)
  • 5:27 (Release the Pressure)
Label Polydor
14326
Writer(s)
  • Deanna Brown
  • Diedra Brown
  • Yamma Brown
Producer(s) James Brown
James Brown charting singles chronology
"(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons"
(1976)		 "Get Up Offa That Thing"
(1976)		 "I Refuse to Lose"
(1976)

"Get Up Offa That Thing" is a song written and performed by James Brown. It was released in 1976 as a two-part single (the B-side, titled "Release the Pressure", is a continuation of the same song). It reached #4 on the R&B chart, briefly returning Brown to the Top Ten after a year's absence, and #45 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1][2] It would be Brown's biggest hit during his late-1970s career decline. The song's lyrics urge listeners to "Get up offa that thing / and dance 'til you feel better." Brown's declamatory vocals include slights directed at his musical competitors, including Barry White, the Ohio Players, and K.C. and the Sunshine Band. Due to his troubles with the IRS for failure to pay back taxes, Brown credited authorship of the song to his wife Diedre and their daughters, Deanna and Yamma Brown.

According to Brown, the inspiration for "Get Up Offa That Thing" came to him during a club performance in Fort Lauderdale:

The audience was sitting down, trying to do a sophisticated thing, listening to funk. One of the tightest bands they'd ever heard in their lives, and they were sitting. I had worked hard and dehydrated myself and was feeling depressed. I looked out at all those people sitting there, and because I was depressed they looked depressed. I yelled, "Get up offa that thing and dance til you feel better!" I probably meant until I felt better.[3]

Unlike most popular music of the time, which made sophisticated use of multitrack recording and other techniques, "Get Up Offa That Thing" was recorded live in the studio in only two takes.[4]

Brown re-recorded "Get Up Offa That Thing" for the Doctor Detroit soundtrack album. He also performs the song during his guest appearance in the film. Other performances of the song appear on the albums Hot on the One, Live in New York, Live at Chastain Park, and Live at the Apollo 1995.

Personnel

with The J.B.'s:

Appearances in other media

References

  1. ↑ White, Cliff (1991). "Discography". In Star Time (pp. 54–59) [CD booklet]. New York: PolyGram Records.
  2. ↑ Leeds, Alan, and Harry Weinger (1991). "Star Time: Song by Song". In Star Time (pp. 46–53) [CD booklet]. New York: PolyGram Records.
  3. ↑ Brown, James, and Bruce Tucker (1986). James Brown: The Godfather of Soul, 245. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press.
  4. ↑ Smith, R.J. (2012). The One: The Life and Music of James Brown, 310. New York: Gotham Books.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Kevin. "Stories Behind the Songs: Will Lee". No Treble. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "Mallory Hagan, Miss New York, Wins Miss America 2013 Title (PHOTOS)". The Huffington Post. 2013-01-12. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  7. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0377tb1

External links