B-side "You Don't Know" Genre Discofunk | Released February 11, 1975 Label TK | |
Length 3:20 (radio edit)5:19 (album version) Writer(s) Harry Wayne CaseyRichard Finch |
"Get Down Tonight" is a song released in 1975 on the self-titled album by the disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The song became widely successful, becoming the first of their five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the top of the Hot Soul Singles chart and was an international chart hit, reaching No. 1 in Canada and charting in Australia (No. 44), Belgium (No. 11), the Netherlands (No. 5), and the UK (No. 21).
Contents
Composition
The song displays some of the signature characteristics of the disco era such as a fast tempo and repeating lyrics. The song also features a distinctive introduction, employing a guitar solo rendered at double-speed.
The song was originally titled "What You Want Is What You Get" before KC changed the title to "Get Down Tonight".
Cover versions
Sampling
Appearances in other media
The original rendition of "Get Down Tonight" has been used in the films Sid and Nancy, Forrest Gump, Hotel de Love, Rush Hour, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Pirates of Silicon Valley, Arlington Road and Roll Bounce. It has also been used in the television shows Futurama (episode "Crimes of the Hot"), House, M.D. (episode "Top Secret") and The Big Bang Theory (episode "The Pulled Groin Extrapolation"), among others. It was also used in a Bollywood film The Great Gambler.