Get a Job (song)
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
| "Get a Job" | |
|---|---|
| Single by The Silhouettes | |
| A-side | "I Am Lonely" |
| Released | November 1957 |
| Format | 45 rpm, 78 rpm |
| Recorded | October 1957. Robinson Recording Laboratories, Philadelphia |
| Genre | Doo-wop, rhythm and blues |
| Length | 2:25 |
| Label | Junior |
| Writer(s) |
|
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) |
"Get a Job" is a song by the Silhouettes released in November 1957. It reached the number one spot on the Billboard pop and R&B singles charts in February 1958.[1]
Background
"When I was in the service in the early 1950s and didn't come home and go to work, my mother said 'get a job' and basically that's where the song came from," said tenor Richard Lewis, who wrote the lyrics.[2] The four members of the group shared the credit, jointly creating the "sha na na" and "dip dip dip dip" hooks later imitated by other doo-wop groups.[citation needed]
The song was recorded at Robinson Recording Laboratories in Philadelphia in October 1957. Rollie McGill played the saxophone break, and the arranger was Howard Biggs. Intended as the B-side to "I Am Lonely",[3] "Get a Job" was initially released on Kae Williams' Junior label; Williams, who was also a Philadelphia disc-jockey, was the Silhouettes' manager.[4][5] Doug Moody, an executive at Ember Records, acquired the rights to the song for that label where it was licensed for national distribution.
In early 1958, the Silhouettes performed "Get a Job" several times on American Bandstand and once on The Dick Clark Show, appearances that contributed to the song's success by exposing it to a large audience.[6][lower-alpha 1] Ultimately the single sold more than a million copies.[8]
Legacy
The song was later featured in the soundtracks of the movies American Graffiti (1973), Stand By Me (1986), Trading Places (1983), Get a Job (1985), Joey (1986), and Good Morning, Vietnam (1987).[citation needed] In the 1980s, the UK recruitment agency, Brook Street Bureau, used the song in their two TV commercials, replacing the words "get a job" with "better job".[citation needed]
The revival group Sha Na Na derived their name from the song's doo-wop introduction.[3] "Get a Job" inspired a number of answer songs, including "Got a Job", the debut recording by The Miracles.[9] Dennis Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys, believed that the group's song "She's Goin' Bald" (1967) paid reference to "Get a Job".[10]
Cover versions
The song was covered by Jan Berry of Jan & Dean on his 1997 solo album Second Wave. Other covers include those by the Hampton String Quartet (What if Mozart Wrote "Roll Over Beethoven"?, Neil Young & Crazy Horse (Americana, 2012).[citation needed] and The Delltones
Note
- ↑ Bandstand was a Philadelphia show, broadcast nationally by ABC. Bandstand producer Tony Mammarella bought a share of the rights to "Get a Job" from Kae Williams, an example of the "pay for play" practices for which Clark, Mammarella and others were later rebuked during the Payola scandal.[7]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
| Preceded by | Billboard Hot 100 number one single "Get a Job" by The Silhouettes February 24, 1958 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Don't" by Elvis Presley |
| Preceded by | Billboard R&B Best Sellers in Stores number-one single February 3, 1958 - March 3, 1958 (four weeks) |
Succeeded by "Sweet Little Sixteen" by Chuck Berry |
