Throwing back to the week of May 9, 1976, we find family R&B band The Sylvers atop the Hot 100 with ‘Boogie Fever.’ This song, which spent one week at #1, was the group’s only chart-topping hit.
Nine Sylvers siblings perform on this track. A 10th, Christopher, never performed with the band, depriving them of the chance to say they were twice as good as the Jackson 5.
Sadly, Christopher died of hepatitis at just 18, and the band split shortly thereafter (even though he was never a member).
This song was co-written by Freddie Perren, who also wrote The Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’ and Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive.’
Got to boogie down
Boogie fever
I think it’s going around
I took my baby to the drive-in show
She turned the speaker down
And then she turned on the radio
I watched a silent movie digging funky sound
She’s got the boogie fever
She likes to boogie down
Uh huh, she’s got the boogie fever
I think it’s going around
I took my baby to the pizza parlor (Pizza parlor)
To get a bite to eat. Ah, ah, ah
I put some money in the jukebox for her
You know she ate a pizza dancing to the beat
She’s got the boogie fever
She likes to boogie down
Uh huh, she’s got the boogie fever
I think it’s going around
All night long, we did the bump, bump, bump
Yes we did, yes we did, yes we did, yeah. (Yeah.)
She kept it going strong doing the bump, bump, bump
Doing the bump, bump, bump, yeah. (Yeah.)
I called my doctor on the telephone. (Doctor, doctor)
Said doctor, doctor, please, I-I-I
I got this feeling rocking and a-reeling
Tell me, what can it be?
Is it some new disease?
They call it boogie fever
You got to boogie down
Uh huh, just get on down
Boogie fever
I think it’s going around
Fever
Fever
Fever
Oooh, oooh, oooh
Oooh, oooh, oooh
Oooh, oooh, oooh
All night long, we did the bump, bump, bump
Yes we did, yes we did, yes we did. (Yeah.)
She kept it going strong doing the bump, bump, bump
Yeah
Everybody’s got the boogie fever. (Boogie fever, baby.)
Boogie down
Just get on down, just get on down
Boogie fever. (B-B-Boogie fever, baby.)
I think it’s going around and around and around
I said I (I) got the boogie fever
And I said you (You) got the boogie fever
And I said she’s (She’s) got the boogie fever
Everybody’s got the boogie fever
Boogie fever
You got to boogie down
Just get on down, just get on down
Boogie fever. (B-B-Boogie fever, baby.)
I think it’s going around
Meet Me In Montauk 