Songoftheday 10/1/14 - Move it to the left and you go for yourself, move it to the right if it takes all night...

The Rolling Stones - "Harlem Shuffle"
from the album Dirty Work (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 10

Today's Song of the Day is by the Rock & Roll icons the Rolling Stones, who were going through a rough patch in the mid-80s, as their 1983 album Undercover got a mixed reception on pop radio, although the politically charged "Undercover Of The Night" managed to get into the top-10. Furthermore, lead singer Mick Jagger went off to record a successful solo album as well as scored a top-10 hit with the Live Aid charity one-off cover of "Dancing In The Street" with David Bowie, leaving Keith Richards to take the lead with the band's next studio album, Dirty Work. Instead of racing to write a lead single, the band released a cover of a minor hit for R&B duo Bob & Earl. "Harlem Shuffle" was a funky number that went to #44 on the pop and R&B charts in 1964, and five years later ended up going top-10 in the UK and the Netherlands. You may recognize it more from the opening trumpets, which House Of Pain sampled for their top-ten rap hit "Jump Around" in 1991....

With the band in shambles (even drummer Charlie Watts was too strung up to play on the album), animation from future Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi dominated the music clip, with the band appearing just as cartoonish (hell, Watts seems completely catatonic here), and Mick and Keith won't even look at each other..

Despite the slap-together cover that doesn't really go farther than the original save for Mick's constant growl, the single made it to the top-5 on the American pop chart in May of 1986, most likely from name recognition itself. The record also climbed up to #2 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart in Billboard, and even crossed over to the dance club play list at #4. Internationally, the song was also a bit hit, going top-10 in Australia, Canada, Italy, Ireland, and a #1 placing in New Zealand, while in their native Britain stalling out at #13.

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


The rift between the "Glimmer Twins" of Jagger and Richards was so great that Mick went out on his own to tour, bringing "Harlem Shuffle" along for the ride...

But by 1990 they boys were back together...

Finally, here's the remixed version of "Harlem Shuffle" that hit the top ten on the club chart...

Up tomorrow: a sister is asking for something recent.