Get Down and Get with It

"Get Down With It" is a song by American R&B singer-songwriter Bobby Marchan, first released as the B-Side to his 1964 single "Half a Mind".^[1] In 1967, American singer Little Richard would record his own version, which was released as a single.^[2] In 1971, the British rock band Slade recorded a version of the song, "Get Down and Get with It", based on Little Richard's version, which gave the band their first UK chart hit.^[3]

Slade version

"Get Down and Get With It"
German cover of "Get Down and Get With It".
Single by Slade
B-side	"Gospel According To Rasputin Do You Want Me?"
Released	21 May 1971[4] August 1971 (US)[5]
Format	7" single
Length	4:12
Label	Polydor Records
Songwriter(s)	Bobby Marchan
Producer(s)	Chas Chandler
Slade singles chronology
"Know Who You Are" (1970) "Get Down and Get With It" (1971) "Coz I Luv You" (1971)
"Know Who You Are" (1970) "Get Down and Get With It" (1971) "Coz I Luv You" (1971)
Audio sample
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Alternative Cover
French cover of "Get Down and Get With It".

"Get Down and Get with It" was later covered by British rock band Slade. Released in 1971, the single was the band's first UK chart entry, reaching No. 16 and remaining in the charts for fourteen weeks.^[3] Slade's version was produced by Chas Chandler and would later appear on the band's 1973 compilation album Sladest.^[6]

Background

After the commercial failure of their 1970 album Play It Loud, Slade and their manager Chas Chandler began considering the band's next career move. Deciding to drop the skinhead image they had adopted in 1969, the band and Chandler felt that the best way to make a commercial breakthrough would be to capture the band's strong reputation as a live act onto record. The chosen song was "Get Down and Get with It", which the band frequently played live to great success. Released in May 1971, the song successfully broke the band into the UK and Europe. It reached No. 16 in the UK and would be the first of seventeen consecutive Top 20 hits for the band, which included six number ones.^[3]

Prior to recording the song in the studio, the band had established "Get Down and Get with It" as a popular number in their live-set, based on Little Richard's version. In the band's 1984 biography Feel the Noize!, Holder recalled: "The first time we heard that was at the Connaught in Wolverhampton and whenever the DJ used to play it, it went down a storm. We started doing it and the skinheads used to love that bit at the finish where you put your hands in the air and take your boots off and all that. It was just right for our tempo and they loved it so much, it took any thoughts of aggravation out of them.".^[7]

Impressed by the general audience reception of the song, Chandler suggested recording the song as a single. The band entered Olympic Studios in Barnes for its recording, where Chandler told the band: "Just play it like you do on-stage. Blast it out like it's live, and pretend that there's an audience in there with you."^[8] Successfully recorded in a single take, the band included foot-stomping and hand-clapping in the recording to give the song a live feel.^[9][10]

The single was released twice during 1971; firstly on 21 May as "Get Down and Get With It" with writing credit for the song being given to the band and Little Richard. The band had believed the song to have been written by Little Richard. However, as the song started to climb the charts, publishers on behalf of Marchan soon got involved. The single was hurriedly re-issued as "Get Down With It" and correctly changed the writing credit to Marchan. In his 1999 biography Who's Crazee Now?, Holder recalled: "The record company sorted out the lawsuit, but we learnt to be more careful in future."^[11] "Get Down and Get with It" would remain a popular song within the band's set-list for the rest of their live career.

In 1990, Kiss AMC sampled a segment of the Slade Alive! version of the song for their single "My Docs", which featured an appearance from Holder in the music video.^[12] The song reached No. 66 in the UK.^[13]

Release

"Get Down and Get with It" was released on 7" vinyl by Polydor Records in the UK, Ireland, across Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. In America, it was released by Cotillion.^[14][15] The B-Sides, "Do You Want Me" and "Gospel According to Rasputin", would appear on certain editions of the band's 1972 European compilation Coz I Luv You. They were also included on the 2007 compilation B-Sides. For the UK and Ireland release, both B-Sides were included on the single, while in most European countries, only "Gospel According to Rasputin" was included.

Promotion

In the UK, the band performed the song on the music show Top of the Pops and The Roger Whittaker Show. In Belgium, they performed it on the TV show Popshop. In 1972, the band performed the song on 2Gs and the Pop People. A live performance of the song, recorded at the band's concert in Sydney, Australia, in 1973, was filmed for the Australian music TV show Sydney Outdoor Show.^[16]

Music video

A music video was filmed to promote the single, although it received few airings at the time. The black-and-white video was filmed by Caravelle. It featured Slade in the back of an open-roofed American car on the flyover roads in Central London. Arriving at a power station, the band climb onto the roof, dance and walk around, then return to the car and drive off.^[17][18] In a Raiders of the Lost Archive episode, Holder was shown the clip for the first time since the video was created.^[19]

In a 1973 interview with Music Star, guitarist Dave Hill recalled the making of the song's video after in relation to his fear of heights:

"We were making a special film for Top of the Pops at a power station. I was wearing a silver suit so they decided to film me walking along an overhead ledge as though I was a spaceman who'd just landed. It was very high up and I suddenly looked down at the ground. That was a mistake because I just froze. I had this terror of falling and I just froze completely, like a cat does when it gets stuck up a tree. You know, you watch that cat and you know it could get down the same way it came up - but the cat's too frightened, and it just sits there till somebody rescues it."

Track listing

7" Single (UK only)

1. "Get Down and Get with It" - 4:12
2. "Do You Want Me" - 4:30
3. "Gospel According to Rasputin" - 4:23

7" Single (Europe/Argentina release)

1. "Get Down and Get with It" - 4:12
2. "Gospel According to Rasputin" - 4:23

7" Single (US release)

1. "Get Down and Get with It" - 3:25
2. "Do You Want Me" - 4:30

7" Single (US promo)

1. "Get Down and Get with It" - 3:25
2. "Get Down and Get with It" - 3:25

7" Single (French release)

1. "Get Down and Get with It" - 4:12
2. "Know Who You Are" - 2:50

7" Single (Mexican release)

1. "Get Down and Get with It" - 4:12
2. "Know Who You Are" - 2:50
3. "I Remember" - 2:55

7" Single (Australian 1972 EP)

1. "Get Down and Get with It" - 4:12
2. "Look Wot You Dun" - 2:54
3. "Coz I Luv You" - 3:24
4. "Take Me Bak 'Ome" - 3:13

7" Single (Brazilian 1972 EP)

1. "Get Down and Get with It" - 4:12
2. "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" - 3:45
3. "Cum On Feel the Noize" - 4:24
4. "Gudbuy T'Jane" - 3:33

Critical reception

Upon release, Record Mirror said: "Producer Chas Chandler thinks this will be a hit. So do I. It's a scream-up of an adaption of a Little Richard rocker and there's a positive air of desperation as Noddy Holder builds up the excitement. As the feet-stamping goes on, it purposefully thunders along. A split value for money flip - chart chance."^[20] Bradford Telegraph commented: "A gentleman with the voice of a cut-throat razor urging the people to join in his fun. Pier-end entertainment brought up to date."^[21]

In a 1979 fan club opinion poll, Slade fans voted "Get Down and Get with It" at No. 2 of the band's top three live tracks.^[22][23] In a 1986 opinion poll, the song was voted No. 1 for the same category.^[17] In 2010, Classic Rock listed the song as one of 14 Slade songs that belong on an "Essential Playlist". In a retrospective song review by AllMusic, Dave Thompson said: "The [song] perfectly encapsulates the madness of a period Slade show, and the band's only complaint was that it wasn't half as heavy as it should have been. No matter, the stamping and clapping accompaniment became a Slade trademark regardless, while the record's overall aura of unrestrained power was simply too much for many radio DJs."^[24]

Chart performance

Personnel

Slade

• Noddy Holder - lead vocals, guitar
• Dave Hill - lead guitar, backing vocals
• Jim Lea - bass, piano, backing vocals
• Don Powell - drums

Additional personnel

• Chas Chandler - producer

References