Groove Is in the Heart

"Groove Is in the Heart"
Single by Deee-Lite
from the album World Clique
Released August 1990
Format 7" single, 12" maxi, CD maxi, cassette
Genre Dance-pop, house, disco, funk, hip hop
Length 3:54 (album version)
3:32 (single version [peanutbutter mix])
Label Elektra
Writer(s) Dmitry Brill, Chung Dong-Hwa, Kierin Kirby, Herbie Hancock, Jonathan Davis
Producer(s) Deee-Lite
Deee-Lite singles chronology
"Groove Is in the Heart"
(1990)
"Power of Love"
(1990)
Music video
"Groove is in the Heart" on YouTube

"Groove Is in the Heart" is a song by American dance band Deee-Lite. It was released in August 1990 as the lead single from their debut album, World Clique. The song was a hit in many countries, including in Australia where it was a number-one hit.

Background

Though the album version was not recorded until 1990, the song was originally written in the late 1980s; it was performed live as early as 1989.[1] It compares the new feelings of infatuation with hearing a good ("groovy") song. However, the word 'Groove' could also represent the grooves of a vinyl record.

The backing track was built around many samples, primarily the main riff from Herbie Hancock's track "Bring Down the Birds" from the Blowup soundtrack and Vernon Burch's "Get Up", which provided the drum track and also formed the basis for the famous breakdown featuring a slide whistle. Parliament-Funkadelic legend Bootsy Collins played bass guitar and provided guest vocals, and the rap is provided by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.[2]

Critical reception and chart performances

Slant Magazine ranked the song second in its 100 Greatest Dance Songs list, adding: "No song delivered the group's world-conscious Word as colorfully and open-heartedly as "Groove Is in the Heart," which flew up the Billboard charts while goosing stuffed shirts".[3] NME and The Village Voice '​s Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll named "Groove Is in the Heart" the best single released in the year 1990.

An immediate smash in nightclubs, the song went to number one on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart and also hit number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It managed to peak at number 1 for one week in Australia in November 1990.

In the UK, the record was equally popular and was released as a double A-side with "What Is Love", and, with the UK single released with the subtitle "peanut butter mix" (because the single was heavily edited and completely omitted the contributions by Bootsy Collins and Q-Tip) it eventually reached number two during September 1990. Its placing second was due to a rule instituted in the UK Singles Chart in the 1980s, which settled any "ties" over chart positions due to equal sales: the single with sales that had increased most from the previous week would reside above the other. In September 1990, "The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band and "Groove Is in the Heart" sold enough copies to be the joint number-one, but because of the ruling, Deee-Lite was relegated to the number two spot and "The Joker" topped the chart; this was the first and only time that this ruling had ever been implemented to break a tie for the number one position and the overriding factors which led to the ruling being implemented in this case was that "The Joker" had been one position lower in the chart the previous week than "Groove Is in The Heart", and "The Joker" was therefore deemed to be the bigger-selling of the two. Following the controversy and complaints from Deee-Lite's record company, WEA, the rule was scrapped and joint positions were once again allowed. "The Joker" spent a second week at the Number One spot & thereafter convincingly outsold "Groove Is in the Heart".

Music video

The song was accompanied by a psychedelic music video, with Deee-Lite, Q-Tip, Maceo Parker and Bootsy Collins superimposed over a cartoonish 1960s-style background of various shifting shapes and colors. The video opens and closes with quotes by the band: Lady Miss Kier has an opening dialog consisting of "faux-French" originally spoken in the song's AA-side, "What Is Love?",[4] and the ending features Collins saying, "Don't forget, groove is in the heart, and Deee-Lite have definitely been known to smoke... on stage, that is!" and Lady Miss Kier exclaiming "Deee-groovy!"

Cover versions

Rick Braun released a smooth jazz cover of "Groove Is in the Heart" on his album Yours Truly (2005, ARTizen Music Group).

American lo-fi group Crocodiles also recorded a cover version of the song, as a medley with the Beach Boys classic "California Girls".

Natasha Bedingfield performed the song at VH1 Divas 2012 concert live with Iggy Azalea performing Q-Tip's rap verse and Bootsy Collins on bass.

Keke Palmer's song "Footworkin'", featured on her debut album So Uncool, features samples from the song.

American retail chain Target Corporation used the song, as performed by Charli XCX with Questlove and Black Thought from The Roots, in a series of 2015 television advertisements.[5]

Samples used

This is an incomplete list of samples used in the song.[6][7]

Track listings

  • CD maxi - Europe
  1. "Groove Is in the Heart" (meeting of the minds mix) – 5:14
  2. "Groove Is in the Heart" (peanut butter mix) – 3:31
  3. "What Is Love?" (holographic goatee mix) – 4:10
  4. "What Is Love?" (rainbow beard mix) – 4:04
  • CD maxi - US
  1. "Groove Is in the Heart" (LP version) – 3:55
  2. "Groove Is in the Heart" (peanut butter radio mix) – 3:32
  3. "Groove Is in the Heart" (meeting of the minds mix) – 5:14
  4. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Jelly Jam beats) – 2:12
  5. "What Is Love?" (holographic goatee mix) – 4:13
  6. "What Is Love?" (frenchapella) – 0:57
  7. "What Is Love?" (rainbow beard mix) – 4:03

  • 7" single
  1. "Groove Is in the Heart" (peanut butter mix) – 3:29
  2. "What Is Love?" (holographic goatee mix) – 4:10
  • 12" maxi
  1. "Groove Is in the Heart" (meeting of the minds mix) – 5:10
  2. "Groove Is in the Heart" (peanut butter mix) – 3:29
  3. "What Is Love?" (holographic goatee mix) – 4:10
  4. "What Is Love?" (rainbow beard mix) – 4:02
  • Cassette
  1. "Groove Is in the Heart"
  2. "What Is Love?" (holographic goatee mix)

Personnel

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1990–1991) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 25
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[11] 18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 19
Canada RPM 100 Hit Tracks[13] 15
Canada (RPM 10 Dance)[14] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 9
France (SNEP)[16] 31
Germany (Media Control Charts)[17] 17
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 8
Italy (FIMI)[19] 16
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 10
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 10
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 13
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[24] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 4
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[25] 1
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[25] 1
US Billboard Hot R&B Singles[25] 28
US Cash Box[26] 3
Chart (2012) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[16] 151

Year-end charts

Chart (1990) Position
Australia (ARIA)[27] 38
Canada (Top 50 Dance Tracks)[28] 2
Italy (FIMI)[19] 75
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[29] 86
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[30] 90
Chart (1991) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[31] 91

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[32] Platinum 70,000^
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Preceded by
"Jukebox in Siberia" by Skyhooks
Australian number-one single
November 18, 1990 (1 week)
Succeeded by
"Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers
Preceded by
"Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" by The Adventures of Stevie V
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
August 25, 1990 – September 8, 1990 (3 weeks)
Succeeded by
"Let's Get Busy" by Clubland featuring Quartz
Canadian RPM Dance number-one single (first run)
September 22, 1990 (1 week)
Succeeded by
"Oops Up" by Snap!
Preceded by
"Oops Up" by Snap!
Canadian RPM Dance number-one single (second run)
November 3, 1990 – November 10, 1990 (2 weeks)
Succeeded by
"Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice

References

  1. Metzger, Richard (April 4, 2013). "Bringing the Funk from the East Village to the Global Village: Vintage Deee-Lite performances.". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  2. Plagenhoef, Scott; Schreiber, Ryan, eds. (November 2008). The Pitchfork 500. Simon & Schuster. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-4165-6202-3.
  3. "100 Greatest Dance Songs". Slant Magazine. January 30, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  4. liner notes.
  5. "Questlove, Black Thought, and Charli XCX cover "Groove is in the Heart" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  6. "Les samples de Deee lite" (in French). Du-bruit. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  7. "Australian-charts.com – Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  8. "Austriancharts.at – Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  9. "Radio 2 Top 30 : 10 november 1990" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  10. "Ultratop.be – Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  11. "Top Singles – Volume 53, No. 5, December 15, 1990". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  12. "Dance/Urban Volume 52, No. 19, September 22, 1990". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  14. 16.0 16.1 "Lescharts.com – Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  15. "Officialcharts.de – Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  16. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  17. 19.0 19.1 "I singoli più venduti del 1990" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  18. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  20. "Charts.org.nz – Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  21. "Swisscharts.com – Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  22. "Archive Chart: 1990-09-15" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  23. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 "Deee-Lite – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  24. CASH BOX Top 100 Pop Singles – Week ending NOVEMBER 24, 1990 at the Wayback Machine (archived October 7, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  25. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Singles 1990". ARIA Charts. ARIA. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  26. "Dance/Urban – Volume 53, No. 6, December 22, 1990". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  27. "Single Top 100 over 1990" (PDF) (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  28. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1990" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  29. "Top 100 Hits for 1991". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  30. "Australian Fun Countdowns – Accreditation Awards". Australian Fun Countdowns. April 7, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  31. "American single certifications – Deee-Lite – Groove Is in the Heart". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links