Released September 29, 1986 Recorded CBS (1986) Length 4:04 | Format Vinyl record (7") Genre R&B Label Columbia | |
"Shake You Down" is a song by American R&B artist, writer and producer Gregory Abbott. It was released in September 1986 as the lead single from his debut album. It became Abbott's biggest hit and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Abbott went on the chart with several other songs as well. The track is also featured in the 2007 film Are We Done Yet?
Contents
Origin
Gregory Abbott wrote the song along with over thirty others before striking a record deal with CBS. He recorded a demo tape and chose the best three.
Composition
According to Billboard, the song is about sex.
Music video
Dominic Sena of Propaganda Films came up with the idea of the scrolling effect on the music video. It is recorded as a single image on a photographic film.
There is also another music video recorded in Rio de Janeiro, especially for the Brazilian TV show Fantástico.
Chart performance
"Shake You Down" was released as the first single from Gregory Abbott. It went to number one on the black singles chart in October 1986, and on January 17, 1987, it reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1987. It was a hit across the Atlantic Ocean, as well, peaking at number six in the UK Singles Chart (spending a total of 13 weeks on that chart from 22 November 1986). It was not intended as the original single to promote the album, as "I Got the Feeling" was scheduled to be the first single. It was postponed as the follow-up, peaking at #56.