"Fresh" | ||||
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Single by Kool & the Gang | ||||
from the album Emergency | ||||
B-side | "In the Heart" | |||
Released | November 24, 1984 | |||
Recorded | 1984 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:27 | |||
Label | De-Lite, Mercury | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
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Kool & the Gang singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Kool & the Gang – Fresh" on YouTube |
"Fresh" is a song by the American group Kool & the Gang. Released as a single in 1984 from the album Emergency , the song peaked at #9 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, and #11 on the UK chart. It also reached number one on both the U.S. R&B chart and U.S. Dance chart. [1] [2]
The action in the music video references the fairy tale Cinderella with the band performing the song at the ball. The two overweight women, the Ugly Sisters, are seen eating sandwiches, and a girl, Cinderella, cleaning the floor. Then suddenly Marilyn-lookalike Fairy appears and saves the day.
Weekly singles charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [19] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [20] | Silver | 250,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [21] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
The song was played on the 5733rd episode of the American television soap General Hospital on August 14, 1985, when Terri (Robyn Bernard) was going wild at the bar.
Kool & the Gang themselves were featured in a 1986 television advertisement for the fast-food hamburger chain Wendy's, in which they were in a recording studio singing and dancing to the song, with lyrics slightly altered to fit the tagline, "Choose Fresh. Choose Wendy's."
In Edward Yang's 1986 film Terrorizers , the song was played in a dance club when the young woman wants to attract a man so she and a criminal gang can steal his money.
In 2021, the supermarket chain Kroger started using the song in its television commercials.
"Fresh" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Beat System | ||||
from the album Refreshinator | ||||
Released | April 21, 1996 | |||
Recorded | 1995 | |||
Length | 3:42 | |||
Label | Intercord | |||
Songwriter(s) | JT Taylor, Sandy Linzer | |||
Producer(s) | Black Nero | |||
Beat System singles chronology | ||||
|
In 1996, Beat System released their version of "Fresh", which samples the original with added vocals and rapping.
Maxi-CD
Maxi-CD
Chart (1996) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [22] | 29 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [23] | 37 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [24] | 18 |
France (SNEP) [25] | 15 |
Germany (GfK) [26] | 32 |
"Fresh" | ||||
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Single by Kool & the Gang featuring Liberty X | ||||
from the album Being Somebody and The Hits: Reloaded | ||||
Released | April 14, 2004 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:14 | |||
Label | Edel, V2 | |||
Songwriter(s) | JT Taylor, Sandy Linzer | |||
Producer(s) | Tony Lundon | |||
Liberty X singles chronology | ||||
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Audio | ||||
Fresh (feat. Liberty X) on YouTube |
"Fresh" was re-recorded with English-Irish pop group Liberty X in 2004, to feature on Kool & the Gang's re-recorded greatest hits compilation, The Hits: Reloaded . The new version of the song features Liberty X on vocals, with Kool & the Gang merely playing the instruments. Thus, due to the popularity of this version, it was released as a single in certain European countries on April 14, 2004. Despite its success across Europe, the single was never released in Liberty X's home country, the United Kingdom.
Subsequently, "Fresh" appeared as a bonus track on the Liberty X album Being Somebody in Japan, as well as appearing on certain European editions. At the time of the single's release, the band were in a dispute with their British record label, V2 Records, and thus, it was decided that the single would not be released in the band's home country. The band's version of "Fresh" was produced by band member Tony Lundon, who also went on to produce the band's follow-up hit single, "Song 4 Lovers". Despite this, "Fresh" was regarded as one of the band's best cover versions. The track peaked at number three in Germany, number 12 in France and number 55 in Spain.
The music video for the single was recorded in late 2003, and features Liberty X playing to an audience in a club, all supported by mics and surrounded by a crowd of the group's fans. Although the video does not feature a vocal appearance from Kool & the Gang, they appear as guests inside the club, charming a woman who has arrived in search of a man. The video received a small amount of airplay on British music channels, but was often, as is with its upload to the band's official YouTube channel, credited to Liberty X featuring Kool & the Gang, whereas the official release credits the two artists the other way around.
German CD single
German maxi CD single
French CD single
Spanish CD single
"Cruel Summer" is a song by English girl group Bananarama. It was written by Bananarama and Steve Jolley, Tony Swain, and produced by Jolley and Swain. Released in 1983, it was initially a stand-alone single but was subsequently included on their self-titled second album a year later. The song reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart in 1983 and the group appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops that summer, and after its inclusion in the 1984 film The Karate Kid, it reached number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"It Ain't Hard to Tell" is the second single and last track from American rapper Nas' debut album, Illmatic. Although the track was technically the second single on the album, it was the first single to be released after the album was pressed in 1994. The first single, "Halftime," was released two years prior to Illmatic's debut.
"Heaven" is a song by the Canadian singer and songwriter Bryan Adams recorded in 1983, written by Adams and Jim Vallance. It first appeared on the A Night in Heaven soundtrack album the same year and was later included on Adams' album Reckless in 1984. It was released as the third single from Reckless and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in June 1985, over a year and a half after the song first appeared on record. The single was certified Gold in Canada in 1985.
"Freelove" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 5 November 2001 as the third single from the band's tenth studio album, Exciter (2001). "Freelove" reached No. 19 on the UK Singles Chart. The single version, which was produced by Flood, is different than the album version, with a shorter running time and an additional drum track. The B-side is an instrumental called "Zenstation". There is also a DVD release of "Freelove", a first for Depeche Mode. It contains video footage of "Freelove" from the Philadelphia concert in 2001, audio of other songs performed at the concert, and four bonus 30-second videos of the band. The videos were directed by Anton Corbijn.
"Close to Me" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released in September 1985 as the second and final single from their sixth album, The Head on the Door.
"Celebration" is a 1980 song by American band Kool & the Gang. Released as the first single from their twelfth album, Celebrate! (1980), it was the band's first and only single to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 2016, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
"Get Down on It" is a 1981 song by American band Kool & the Gang. It was originally released on their Something Special album in 1981. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA.
"Freak Me" is a song by American R&B group Silk. It was released in February 1993 as the second single from their debut album, Lose Control. It was co-written and co-produced by Keith Sweat, for whom Silk was a touring opening act. Tim Cameron, Jimmy Gates and Gary "Lil G" Jenkins sing lead on the song. The song was the group's highest-charting hit, reaching number-one on both the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, and the U.S. Hot R&B Singles chart for eight weeks. On the Hot 100, this song also spent ten weeks at number two. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and sold over 1.3 million copies domestically.
"Not Tonight" is a song performed by the American rapper Lil' Kim featuring Jermaine Dupri for her debut studio album Hard Core (1996). A remix was released the following year featuring female rappers Da Brat, Missy "Misdeameanor" Elliott, Angie Martinez, and the late singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes for the Nothing to Lose soundtrack. It was released on June 24, 1997, by Atlantic Records.
"Work to Do" is a 1972 funk song by the Isley Brothers, released on their T-Neck imprint. The song, written and produced by the group, was issued on their 1972 album, Brother, Brother, Brother, and charted at #51 pop and #11 R&B upon its initial charting.
"Living on Video" is a song by Canadian synth-pop band Trans-X written and published in 1982, but not released as a single until May 1983 by Polydor Records, and then remixed in 1985. It became a massive hit worldwide, with the remixed version peaking at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. Trans-X also originally recorded a French-language version under the title "Vivre sur Vidéo". The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years.
"Holding On for You" is a song by English-Irish pop group Liberty X. Written by Martin Prime and produced by Tim Laws, it released in the United Kingdom on 2 December 2002 as the fifth and final single from the group's debut studio album, Thinking It Over (2002). The single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the joint third highest-charting single from the LP. It was the band's first ballad to be released as a single, and despite low airplay, the song was a minor hit across Europe, being successful in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
"To France" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1984. It is from the album Discovery and features Maggie Reilly on vocals.
"Cherish" is a song by American R&B band Kool & the Gang, released in May 1985. It was the third single released from the band's sixteenth studio album, Emergency. It was certified Gold by the RIAA and held the number 1 position on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart for six weeks running. It would ultimately rank as the biggest Adult Contemporary chart hit of the 1980s.
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"Spaceman" is a song by the Killers. The song was released as the second single from the band's third studio album Day & Age on November 4, 2008, as a digital download on iTunes, and as 7" and promo CD in the US, Canada and the UK. It has been released to radio in Australia and has gone into regular rotation on Triple J. This song was number 17 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. The song has been used regularly as the opening song during the band's tour.
"Make It Right" is a song recorded by British singer-songwriter and actress Lisa Stansfield for the 1994 soundtrack to the American drama series, Beverly Hills, 90210. It was written by Rhett Lawrence, Crystal Bernard and Suzie Benson, and produced by Lawrence and Ian Devaney.
"Boy Pop" is the eleventh single released by the American synthpop band Book of Love. The song was released on May 6, 1993, as the first single from the band's fourth album Lovebubble.
The Hits: Reloaded is a studio album by the band Kool & the Gang issued in 2004 by Edel Records. It contains re-recorded versions of their songs in collaboration with other artists. The LP reached No. 19 on the Swiss albums chart, No. 21 on the UK R&B Albums Chart, No. 26 on both the Italian and German album charts and No. 30 on the French albums chart.
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