Get a Job (song)
Encyclopedia
"Get a Job" is one of the best known doo-wop
songs of the 1950s. Recorded by The Silhouettes
in October 1957, the song reached the number one spot on the Billboard
pop and R&B singles charts in February 1958.
"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. The four members shared the credit, jointly creating the sha na na and dip dip dip dip hooks later imitated by other doo-wop groups.
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. It was released on the Junior label and Doug Moody who later formed Punk / Thrash label Mystic Records
brought it to Ember Records where it was licensed for national distribution. Moody then worked with Dick Clark to get the group on American Bandstand
.
The Silhouettes performed the song several times on Dick Clark's American Bandstand
in early 1958, and it sold more than a million copies.
The song was later featured in the soundtracks of the movies American Graffiti
, Stand By Me
, the end credits for Trading Places
and Joey (in which the group also performed it). The revival group Sha Na Na
derived their name from the song's catchy doo-wop introduction. "Get a Job" inspired a number of answer song
s, including "Got a Job", the debut recording by The Miracles
.
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
songs of the 1950s. Recorded by The Silhouettes
The Silhouettes
The Silhouettes were an American doo wop/R&B group whose single "Get A Job" was a #1 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958. The doo-wop revival group Sha Na Na derived their name from the song's lyrics. "Get A Job"' is included in the soundtracks of the movies,...
in October 1957, the song reached the number one spot on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
pop and R&B singles charts in February 1958.
"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. The four members shared the credit, jointly creating the sha na na and dip dip dip dip hooks later imitated by other doo-wop groups.
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. It was released on the Junior label and Doug Moody who later formed Punk / Thrash label Mystic Records
Mystic Records
Mystic Records is a record label and music production company that was based in Hollywood CA one block south of Hollywood and Vine and later moved to Oceanside, California...
brought it to Ember Records where it was licensed for national distribution. Moody then worked with Dick Clark to get the group on American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
.
The Silhouettes performed the song several times on Dick Clark's American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
in early 1958, and it sold more than a million copies.
The song was later featured in the soundtracks of the movies American Graffiti
American Graffiti
American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
, Stand By Me
Stand by Me (film)
Stand by Me is a 1986 American drama film directed by Rob Reiner. Based on the novella The Body by Stephen King, the film takes its title from the Ben E. King song of the same name, which plays over the end credits.-Plot:...
, the end credits for Trading Places
Trading Places
Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy film, of the satire genre, directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. It tells the story of an upper class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler whose lives cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet...
and Joey (in which the group also performed it). The revival group Sha Na Na
Sha Na Na
Sha Na Na is an American rock and roll group. The name is taken from a part of the long series of nonsense syllables in the doo-wop hit song "Get a Job", originally recorded in 1957 by the Silhouettes....
derived their name from the song's catchy doo-wop introduction. "Get a Job" inspired a number of answer song
Answer song
An answer song is, as the name suggests, a song made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. It is also known as a response song. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s...
s, including "Got a Job", the debut recording by The Miracles
The Miracles
The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...
.
External links
- The Silhouettes tribute page
- "Get A Job"/"I Am Lonely" (7", 1958) on DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
.com