Le Freak

"Le Freak"

One of the U.S. editions
Single by Chic
from the album C'est Chic
B-side "You Can Get By"
"Savoir Faire"
Released July 10, 1978
Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl
Recorded January 1978
Genre Disco[1]
Length 5:23
Label Atlantic (3519)
Writer(s) Bernard Edwards
Nile Rodgers
Producer(s) Bernard Edwards
Nile Rodgers
Chic singles chronology
"Everybody Dance"
(1977)		 "Le Freak"
(1978)		 "I Want Your Love"
(1978)
Le Freak
Chic's "Le Freak" from C'est Chic
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"Le Freak" is a song by the band Chic. It was the band's third single and first Billboard Hot 100 and soul music number-one song.[2][3] Along with the tracks, "I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer", "Le Freak" scored number one on the disco charts for seven weeks.[4]

The single has the distinction of being the best selling record ever for Atlantic Records company, and the best-selling single ever for Warner Music Group until it was displaced in 1990 (by Madonna's song "Vogue").

The single achieved sales of seven million[5] and also scored number seven in the UK singles chart.

Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1979.[6] The song was ranked number 21 on Billboard magazine's top 100 songs of the first 55 years of the "Hot 100" chart.[7]

Lyrics

Part of the lyrics mention "Stompin' at the Savoy", which is an actual song composed by Edgar Sampson. They also invite the listener to "Come on down to the 54", which is a reference to a popular nightclub at that time.

History

This song commemorates Studio 54 for its notoriously long customer waiting lines, exclusive clientele, and discourteous doormen. According to guitarist Nile Rodgers, the song was devised during New Year's Eve of 1977, as a result of his and bassist Bernard Edwards' being refused entrance to Studio 54, where they had been invited by Grace Jones, due to her failure to notify the nightclub's staff. He said the lyrics of the refrain were originally "Fuck off!" rather than "Freak out!"[8]

"Le Freak" was the first song to score the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 three separate times. This record remained until 2008, when three different songs, "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, "Whatever You Like" by T.I., and his follow-up single "Live Your Life", featuring Rihanna all achieved this feat. Bruno Mars also managed this in 2011 with "Grenade".

In 1987, an acid house-styled re-mix was issued under the title "Jack Le Freak". It reached #18 in the United Kingdom, becoming Chic's last top 40 hit to date in that country.

The song is featured in the home edition of Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova 2. It is also featured in the game Just Dance for the Wii. The song is featured in Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail! during the fashion show portion of the game. It was performed on the television program Glee on the episode "Showmance", much to the characters' chagrin. The song was featured in a series of early 2000s commercials for the Ford Motor Company with the alternate lyrics "Break out!"

The song is heard in the 2004 movie, Shrek 2.

Most recently, "Le Freak" was covered by the electronica band Millionaires for the MTV movie Turn the Beat Around. The song can be heard in the 2010 film Diary of a Wimpy Kid in the Mother Son Sweetheart Dance scene. This song was featured in Toy Story 3 while Ken is modeling clothes for Barbie. The song can be heard in the trailer for Freaky Friday. The bass line from the song was used by American industrial rock group My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult for their track, "Waiting for Mommie" on the Confessions of a Knife... album that was released in 1990 by Wax Trax Records.

The song was also used on one TV ad in a series of TV ads for the all-new, eleventh-generation Toyota Corolla in the United States, shown with a first-generation Corolla, then a seventh-generation Corolla, and finally, the new Corolla. The song was used with the 1970s Corolla.

Track listings

Atlantic 7" 3519, September 21, 1978
Atlantic promo 12" DSKO 131, 1978 / Atlantic 12" DK 4700, 1978
Atlantic 12" DK 4620, 1978 / Atlantic Oldies promo 12" DSKO 178, 1979

Charts and certifications

Chart performance

Chart (1978-1979) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 2
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[11] 1
Canadian RPM Disco Singles[12] 1
Canadian RPM Top 15 12inch[13] 1
Canadian RPM Top Singles[14] 1
France [15] 2
Germany (Media Control Charts)[16] 5
Irish Singles Chart[17] 20
Italy (FIMI)[18] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[20] 5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[22] 9
South African Chart[23] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 2
UK (Official Charts Company)[26] 7
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[3]
(with "I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer")		 1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles[3] 1
Chart (1987) (Jack Le Freak) Peak
position
Irish Singles Chart[17] 13
UK (Official Charts Company)[26] 19
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play[3] 15
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[3] 21
Chart (2013) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[27] 192

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[28] 2× Platinum 300,000^
France (SNEP)[29] Platinum 700,000[30]
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Gold 500,000^
United States (RIAA)[32] 4× Platinum 4,000,000[33]
Total available sales: 5,500,000

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


Year-end charts

Chart 1979 Position
US Billboard Hot 100 3

All-time charts

Chart (1958–2013) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[34] 21


Preceded by
"MacArthur Park" by Donna Summer		 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (with "I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer")
November 25, 1978 – January 6, 1979 		Succeeded by
"Contact" by Edwin Starr
Preceded by
"I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan		 Billboard's Hot R&B Songs number-one single
December 2, 1978 – December 30, 1978 		Succeeded by
"Got to Be Real" by Cheryl Lynn
Preceded by
"You Don't Bring Me Flowers" by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond
"You Don't Bring Me Flowers" by Barbra Sreisand and Neil Diamond
"Too Much Heaven" by The Bee Gees		 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
December 9, 1978
December 23, 1978 – December 30, 1978
January 20, 1979 – February 3, 1979 		Succeeded by
"You Don't Bring Me Flowers" by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond
"Too Much Heaven" by The Bee Gees
"Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? by Rod Stewart
Preceded by
"Too Much Heaven" by The Bee Gees		 RIANZ New Zealand Singles Chart number-one single
January 28, 1979 – February 18, 1979 		Succeeded by
"Y.M.C.A." by The Village People

References

  1. ↑ Heather Phares. "Disco Fever, Vol. 2 [SPG] on Allmusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 July 2013. "disco hits like Chic's "Le Freak,""
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 116.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Chic > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved November 28, 2009. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 56.
  5. ↑ Haden-Guest, Anthony (February 24, 1986). New York Magazine: "Jewel of a Nile", p. 49. New York Magazine. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  6. ↑ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1979
  7. ↑ Bronson, Fred (2 August 2013). "Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "CLASSIC TRACKS: Chic – 'Le Freak'". Sound On Sound Magazine. 2005. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Chic – Le Freak" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  10. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Chic – Le Freak" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  11. ↑ "Le Freak in Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "Le Freak in Canadian Disco Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Le Freak in Canadian Top 15 12inch Chart (with Macho man)". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Le Freak in Canadian Top Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "Le Freak in French Chart". Dominic DURAND / InfoDisc. Retrieved 16 June 2013. You have to use the index at the top of the page and search "Chic"
  16. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Chic – Le Freak". GfK Entertainment.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "irishcharts.ie search results". Retrieved November 28, 2009.
  18. ↑ "HPI – Settimana del 20/01/79". Retrieved November 28, 2009.
  19. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Chic search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  20. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Chic – Le Freak" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  21. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Chic – Le Freak". Top 40 Singles.
  22. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Chic – Le Freak". VG-lista.
  23. ↑ John Samson. "Le Freak in South African Chart". Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  24. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Chic – Le Freak". Singles Top 60.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Chic – Le Freak". Swiss Singles Chart.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Chic". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  27. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Chic – Le Freak" (in French). Les classement single.
  28. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Chic – Le Freak". Music Canada. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  29. ↑ "French single certifications – Chic – Le Freak" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Select CHIC and click OK
  30. ↑ "Les Singles en Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  31. ↑ "British single certifications – Chic – Le Freak". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Enter Le Freak in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  32. ↑ "American single certifications – Chic – Le Freak". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 March 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  33. ↑ Perrone, Pierre (27 April 1996). "Obituary: Bernard Edwards". The Independent. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  34. ↑ Bronson, Fred (2 August 2013). "Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  • Bronson, Fred. The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books.

External links