Oops Upside Your Head
Encyclopedia
"I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops!)", (titled "Oops Upside Your Head" on the single), is a 1979 funk
anthem recorded by the R&B group The Gap Band and released off their fourth album, The Gap Band II
.
The single was released in several countries in different formats. In America, it was a 12" with the B-side being "Party Lights". In Holland, the 12 B-side was "The Boys Are Back in Town". In France, the single was a 7" with no B-side.
The single became an international hit for the group upon its late 1979 release, though it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100
(peaking at number-one on its Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart), the song hit the top ten on the US R&B and disco charts and became a big-seller overseas where it peaked at number six in the UK and number six in the Netherlands.
In the UK, this song is typically "danced" to by sitting on the floor in rows and performing a rhythmic "rowing" action. The origin of this unusual dance, unique to this track, is unknown, but is very widely seen. It was especially popular during the 1980s.
era:
A previous chant in the 1980s had been "You'll get a boot wrapped 'round your head" to opposing fans.
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
anthem recorded by the R&B group The Gap Band and released off their fourth album, The Gap Band II
The Gap Band II
The Gap Band II is an album by The Gap Band, released in 1979 on Mercury Records. Contrary to the title, the album is actually the Gap Band's fourth album.-Reception:...
.
The single was released in several countries in different formats. In America, it was a 12" with the B-side being "Party Lights". In Holland, the 12 B-side was "The Boys Are Back in Town". In France, the single was a 7" with no B-side.
The single became an international hit for the group upon its late 1979 release, though it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
(peaking at number-one on its Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart), the song hit the top ten on the US R&B and disco charts and became a big-seller overseas where it peaked at number six in the UK and number six in the Netherlands.
Structure
- The song, which runs for nearly nine minutes in the full 12" single version, features an infectious driving bass-line with a simple repeated E-G-A-B pattern.
- The song's repetitive chorus "say, oops upside your head/say oops upside your head", has led to the alternate name "Oops Upside Your Head".
- "Just because you don't believe that I wanna dance/don't mean that I don't want to" is also in the chorus, but is not as frequently mentioned and thus the shorter name is usually remembered.
P-Funk Influence
- The humorous monologues throughout the song by Gap Band lead singer Charlie WilsonCharlie Wilson (musician)Charles Kent "Charlie" Wilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter-producer and the former lead vocalist for the Gap Band. As a solo artist he has been nominated for four Grammy awards, received a 2009 Soul Train Icon Award, and a recipient of a BMI Icon Award in 2005...
were inspired by his cousin Bootsy CollinsBootsy CollinsWilliam Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American funk bassist, singer, and songwriter.Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s, and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the '70s, Collins's driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk...
' own humorous slant in his songs.
- Wilson's spoken intro, "this is radio station W-GAP", was a reference to Parliament's opening line in "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)"P. Funk " is a funk song by Parliament. It is the first track on their 1975 album Mothership Connection and was the first single to be released from the album. It was also released as the B-side of the album's second single, "Give Up The Funk ". It reached number 33 on the U.S...
", "welcome to radio station W-E-F-U-N-K, better known as WE-FUNK."
- The line, "the bigger the headache the bigger the pill, the bigger the doctor the bigger the bill" was said to be influenced by similar lines from Parliament-FunkadelicParliament-FunkadelicParliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
in the mid-'70s including the line "the bigger the headache, the bigger the pill" in "Dr. Funkenstein". The Jack & Jill line would later be continued on their next anthem, "Humpin'Humpin'"Humpin'" is a 1980 song by The Gap Band, from their fifth album The Gap Band III released as a single in 1981. The original B-side, "No Hiding Place", was originally released on The Gap Band II. The song had mixed chart success, only peaking at #60 R&B, but busting into the top-20 on the dance...
"
- The horn break is a direct lift from the intro to "Disco To Go" by The Brides of FunkensteinThe Brides of FunkensteinThe Brides of Funkenstein was a funk musical group originally composed of singers Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry.-History:Previously background singers for Sly Stone, Mabry and Silva joined the P-Funk collective in the mid-1970s. George Clinton named the group...
.
- The band made little use of the synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
prior to this song, and the use of the synthesizer expanded with each passing album. By 1982, most of the band's hits were synthesizer-laden ElectrofunkBoogie (genre)Boogie is an electronic/funk-influenced variation of post-disco.Boogie, as one of the post-disco subgenres, lacks the four-on-the-floor beat, which is a "traditional" rhythm of disco music. Aside from the moderate influence of synthpop, boogie heavily draws from funk music...
.- The Gap Band IIIThe Gap Band IIIThe Gap Band III is an album by The Gap Band, released in 1980 on Mercury Records. Contrary to the title, the album is actually the Gap Band's fifth album.-Reception:...
featured "Humpin'Humpin'"Humpin'" is a 1980 song by The Gap Band, from their fifth album The Gap Band III released as a single in 1981. The original B-side, "No Hiding Place", was originally released on The Gap Band II. The song had mixed chart success, only peaking at #60 R&B, but busting into the top-20 on the dance...
" and "Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" which use even more synthesizer than this song. - By Gap Band IVGap Band IVGap Band IV is an album by The Gap Band, released in 1982 on Total Experience Records. The album reached #1 on the Black Albums chart and #14 on the Pop Albums chart...
, almost all the songs which were not Quiet StormQuiet stormQuiet storm is a late-night radio format, featuring soulful slow jams, pioneered in the mid-1970s by then-station-intern Melvin Lindsey at WHUR-FM, in Washington, D.C. Smokey Robinson's like-titled hit single, released in 1975 as the title track to his third solo album, lent its name to the format...
ballads were heavily laden with synthesizer. The use of synthesizers led to two songs, "Early in the Morning" and "You Dropped a Bomb on MeYou Dropped a Bomb on Me"You Dropped a Bomb on Me" is an electrofunk song performed by The Gap Band, released in 1982 on producer Lonnie Simmons' label, Total Experience Records. It reached #2 on the Billboard R&B charts, #39 on the dance charts and #31 on the Billboard Hot 100....
topping the R&B charts in 1982.
- The Gap Band III
Nursery Rhyme Allusions
- (Jack & Jill) "Jack and Jill went up the hill to have a little fun/stupid Jill forgot her pill and now they have a son"
- Their 1980 song, "Humpin'Humpin'"Humpin'" is a 1980 song by The Gap Band, from their fifth album The Gap Band III released as a single in 1981. The original B-side, "No Hiding Place", was originally released on The Gap Band II. The song had mixed chart success, only peaking at #60 R&B, but busting into the top-20 on the dance...
", also references Jack & Jill.
- Their 1980 song, "Humpin'
- (Humpty DumptyHumpty DumptyHumpty Dumpty is a character in an English language nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an egg and has appeared or been referred to in a large number of works of literature and popular culture...
) "Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall/Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...I think he cracked all the way"
Legacy
The song is said to be one of the first songs to use hip-hop-styled monologues in a song. The song's success broke ground for the group, who would go on to become a successful R&B outfit throughout the 1980s. Today, it remains a popular song in the Gap Band's stable to this day.In the UK, this song is typically "danced" to by sitting on the floor in rows and performing a rhythmic "rowing" action. The origin of this unusual dance, unique to this track, is unknown, but is very widely seen. It was especially popular during the 1980s.
Sampling
The song was sampled several times,: especially during in 1990s G-FunkG-funk
G-funk, or Gangsta-funk, is a sub-genre of hip hop music that emerged from Westcoast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. G-funk incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of P-funk tunes, and a high-pitched...
era:
- "Ooops Up" by Snap!Snap!Snap! is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Frankfurt-based producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, but was most successful when fronted by rapper Turbo B, who performed on the UK number 1 singles "The Power" and...
(1990) - "Mo' P****" by DJ QuikDJ QuikDavid Martin Blake , better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is an MC and record producer. According to Quik himself, his stage name reflects his ability to produce records in short time....
(1992) - "Didn't Mean to Turn You On" by 2nd II None2nd II None2nd II None is a rap group from Compton, California. It consist of cousins KK and Gangsta D .- Early years :...
(1994) - "Strap on the Side" by Spice 1Spice 1Robert L. Green, Jr., better known by his stage name Spice 1, is an American rapper from Hayward, California. He has consistently been releasing solo and group albums since 1992. Spice 1 was ranked number 56 in The Source magazine's Top 115 Hip-Hop Artists from 1988–2003...
(1994) - "Snoop's Upside Ya HeadSnoop's Upside Ya Head"Snoop's Upside Ya Head" is the second European hit and the first single release of Snoop Doggy Dogg's 1996 sophomore album Tha Doggfather...
" by Snoop DoggSnoop DoggCalvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
feat. Charlie Wilson (1996) - "Bring U Up" by Romanthony (2000)
Football chants
In the 2000s, the song was adopted towards the end of the domestic football season by supporters of various British football clubs in danger of relegation: on winning a crucial match or securing themselves from relegation to a lower league, fans would sing 'We are staying up/Say we are staying up' to the song's tune.A previous chant in the 1980s had been "You'll get a boot wrapped 'round your head" to opposing fans.