Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)

"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"
Single by The Jacksons
from the album Destiny
Released December 8, 1978
Format 7" single, 12" maxi single
Recorded August 1978
in Los Angeles, California
Genre Disco, funk
Length 8:00 (album)
3:47 (7")
8:37 (Extended)
2:27 (Immortal version)
Label Epic
8-50656
Writer(s) Randy Jackson
Michael Jackson
Producer(s) The Jacksons
The Jacksons singles chronology
"Blame It on the Boogie"
(1978)		 "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"
(1978)		 "Destiny"
(1979)
Destiny track listing
"Things I Do for You"
(3)		 "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"
(4)		 "Destiny"
(5)
This Is It track listing
"The Way You Make Me Feel"
(6)		 "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"
(7)		 "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
(8)

"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" is a disco/funk song recorded by The Jacksons for their 1978 album Destiny, and released as a single on December 8, 1978. It peaked at no. 7 in the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1979.[1]

The most successful of the Jacksons' disco/funk-era recordings for Epic, "Shake Your Body" (originally demoed as "Shake a Body") was produced by the Jackson brothers, written by Randy and Michael, and featured Michael on lead vocals. The chorus "let's dance/let's shout (shout)/shake your body down to the ground" was inspired by an ad-lib from Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up": "Let's dance/let's shout (shout)/gettin' funky's what it's all about" and the rhythmic pattern from Teddy Pendergrass's "Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose" (from his album Life Is a Song Worth Singing, released a couple of months previously).

Released to radio in a single edit of three minutes and forty-five seconds (and played in its full eight-minute album version by clubs), the single reached no. 3 in Cash Box magazine and peaked at no. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[2] It also peaked at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.[2] The ensuing 12" Disco Single Remix featured a more focused drum and rhythm track, as well as the new synthesizer-voiced three octave climbing glissando that was not heard on the album version. "Shake Your Body" sold over two million copies, attaining double-platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America.

The single was later sampled by reggae fusion artist Shaggy for his 2000 single "Dance & Shout".[3] It was also sampled by rapper Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock on their song "Get on the Dance Floor".[4]

The B-side on the 7" was "That's What You Get (For Being Polite)".

The first performance of "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" was on the second leg of The Jacksons' Destiny Tour in 1979. Later, it was performed on the Triumph Tour in 1981. In 1984 it was performed on the Victory Tour. In 1987, it was performed on the first leg of Jackson's Bad Tour. It was also performed during the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary concerts at the Madison Square Garden in New York City in September 2001; it would be the last song performed live by the Jacksons before the death of Michael Jackson in 2009. The song was going to be performed as an instrumental interlude (merged with Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough) during Jackson's 2009-2010 This Is It concert series at London's O2 Arena, which was cancelled due to his sudden death. The song was remixed and released on the deluxe edition of the Michael Jackson's Immortal album.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 59
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 6
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[7] 4
Canada (CHUM)[8] 5
Canada (RPM 100 Singles)[9] 13
Canada (RPM Disco Singles)[10] 5
France (IFOP)[11] 30
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 9
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 8
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[2] 7
US Billboard Hot Soul Singles[2] 3
US Cash Box[17] 5
US Record World[18] 3
Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Digital Songs[2] 50

Year-end charts

Chart (1979) Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[19] 46
Canada (RPM Top 200 Singles)[20] 98
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 34
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 19
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 25
US Cash Box[24] 26

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Gold 75,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Silver 250,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Platinum 2,000,000^

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

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 91 (20): 100. May 19, 1979. ISSN 0006-2510.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Destiny – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Shaggy feat. Pee Wee's Dance & Shout sample of The Jacksons's Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)". WhoSampled. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock's Get on the Dance Floor sample of The Jacksons's Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)". WhoSampled. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Jacksons – Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Shake Your Body – THE JACKSONS" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved June 19, 2014. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 4
  8. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1167 – Saturday, May 26, 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived November 7, 2006). CHUM. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 31, No. 10, June 02 1979". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Dance/Urban – Volume 31, No. 8, May 19, 1979". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  11. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "The Jacksons" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  12. ↑ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. When searching "Shake your body". Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Jacksons - Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Jacksons – Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – The Jacksons – Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1979-04-21" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  17. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending MAY 19, 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived February 5, 2011). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  18. ↑ RECORD WORLD 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived May 11, 2005). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1979" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 32, No. 13, December 22, 1979". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Single Top 100 1979" (PDF) (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1979" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1979". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  24. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived August 25, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Jacksons – Shake Your Body". Music Canada.
  26. ↑ "British single certifications – Jacksons – Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  27. ↑ "American single certifications – The Jacksons – Shake Your Body". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH