"Le Freak" is a 1978 funk / disco song by American R&B band Chic. It was the band's third single and first ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B number-one hit song. Along with the tracks " I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer", "Le Freak" scored number one on the disco charts for seven weeks. The single achieved sales of 7 million and also scored number seven in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. ''Billboard'' magazine ranked it as the number 3 song for 1979. The song was ranked number 21 on ''Billboard'' magazine's top 100 songs of the first 55 years of the "Hot 100" chart. In 2018, it was selected for preservation in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."

Lyrics

The lyrics mention " Stompin' at the Savoy", a 1933 song composed by

Edgar Sampson Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, r ...

. They also invite the listener to "Come on down to 54", that is,

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater ...

, a popular nightclub in New York City at the time. This song is written in the key of A minor.

History

This song commemorates

in New York City for its notoriously long customer waiting lines, exclusive clientele, and discourteous doormen. According to guitarist

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

, the song was devised during New Year's Eve 1977, as a result of his and bassist

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...

' being refused entrance to Studio 54, where they had been invited by

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

, due to her failure to notify the nightclub's staff. He said the lyrics of the refrain were originally "Fuck off!" rather than "Freak out!"; for the documentary "How to Make It in the Music Business", he said that 'fuck off' was what the doorman had said to him when he slammed the door on them; first it was changed to "freak off" after Rodgers mused that they wouldn't be able to say 'fuck off' on the radio, but that sounded "terrible", so he changed it to 'freak out'. "Le Freak" was the first song to score the number one position on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 three separate times. In 1987, an

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthes ...

-styled re-mix was issued under the title "Jack Le Freak". It reached number 18 in the United Kingdom, becoming Chic's last top 40 hit to date in that country.

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rap music, rapper, Disc jockey, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 19 ...

sampled the song "Woo Woo (Freak Out)" featuring Nicci Gilbert of the group

Brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...

, which first appeared on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the 1998 movie '' Woo'' and was also included on her album '' Seven & Seven'', titled "Woo Woo (Party Time)", which released three months later.

Reception

'' Cash Box'' wrote it is "a handclapping disco song bolstered by solid bass work and airy vocals."

Track listing and formats

Atlantic 7" 3519, September 21, 1978 *A. "Le Freak" (7" Edit) – 3:30 *B. "Savoir Faire" – 4:57 Atlantic promo 12" DSKO 131, 1978 / Atlantic 12" DK 4700, 1978 *A. "Le Freak" – 5:23 *B. "Savoir Faire" – 4:57 Atlantic 12" DK 4620, 1978 / Atlantic Oldies promo 12" DSKO 178, 1979 *A. "Le Freak" – 5:23 *B. "You Can Get By" – 5:36

Personnel

* Alfa Anderson –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

* Diva Gray – lead vocals *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– vocals * Luci Martin – vocals *

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

– vocals *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, vocals * Raymond Jones – Fender Rhodes electric piano *

Robert Sabino Robert Sabino is an American rock keyboardist.(14 July 1996)Star Turns From a Home in the Firehouse '' The New York Times'' ("Mr. Sabino, a well-known keyboardist, attracted a record producer, Nile Rodgers, who lived in Fairfield County, to some ...

– clavinet, acoustic piano,

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

, vocals * Tony Thompson –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Sammy Figueroa Sammy Figueroa (born November 16, 1948, The Bronx, New York) is an American percussionist. At 18 he joined the band of bassist Bobby Valentín and also co-led the Brazilian/Latin fusion group Raíces. Selected Discography Jon Faddis Jon Faddis (born July 24, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known ...

– trumpet * Ellen Seeling – trumpet * Alex Foster – saxophone * Jean Fineberg – saxophone * Barry Rogers –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

* Jose Rossy –

tubular bell Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells withi ...

s * The Chic Strings: ** Marianne Carroll – strings ** Cheryl Hong – strings ** Karen Milne – strings * Gene Orloff – concert master

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

In popular culture

This song was used in a 2010 film

Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American computer-animated film, computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the third installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' series and t ...

scene in which Ken models his outfits for Barbie. It was also shown in the 2004 film

Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book ''Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek'' (2001) and the se ...

, when they were partying in Shrek Swamp.

References

* {{authority control Songs about dancing Songs about parties Songs about nightclubs 1978 singles 1979 singles Chic (band) songs Disco songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Australia Songs based on actual events Songs written by Bernard Edwards Songs written by Nile Rodgers Song recordings produced by Nile Rodgers Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards 1978 songs Atlantic Records singles United States National Recording Registry recordings Studio 54