The Loco-Motion

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"The Loco-Motion"
The Loco-Motion by Little Eva 1962 US vinyl A-side.jpg
A-side of U.S. vinyl release
Single by Little Eva
from the album Llllloco-Motion
B-side "He Is the Boy"
ReleasedJune 1962
Recorded1961
Genre Pop, rhythm and blues
Length2:27
Label Dimension 1000
Songwriter(s) Gerry Goffin, Carole King
Producer(s) Gerry Goffin
Little Eva singles chronology
"The Loco-Motion"
(1962)
"Keep Your Hands Off My Baby"
(1962)
Audio video
"The Loco-Motion" on YouTube

"The Loco-Motion" (or "Locomotion") is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down. [1]

Contents

The song is especially notable for making three appearances in the American Top 3, each in a different decade: in 1962 by Little Eva (U.S. No. 1); [2] in 1974 by Grand Funk Railroad (also U.S. No. 1); [3] and in 1988 by Kylie Minogue (U.S. No. 3). [4]

The song is an enduring example of the dance-song genre; much of the lyric is devoted to a description of the dance itself, usually performed as a type of line dance. However, the song pre-dates the dance.

"The Loco-Motion" was also the second song to reach No. 1 by two different musical acts in America. The earlier song to do this was "Go Away Little Girl", also written by Goffin and King. It is one of only nine songs to achieve this feat.

Little Eva version

Background

King and Goffin wrote "The Loco-Motion" in hopes to have it recorded by Dee Dee Sharp, who had a hit with "Mashed Potato Time". Sharp passed on the song, leaving the opportunity open for Eva Boyd, who had recorded the demo. [1] Boyd's version was released, and her name was changed to Little Eva. Boyd was Carole King's babysitter, having been introduced to King and King's husband Gerry Goffin by The Cookies, a local girl group who would also record for the songwriters.

"The Loco-Motion" was the first release by the new Dimension Records company, whose releases were mostly penned and produced by Goffin and King. There are two common versions of the song in circulation: one includes handclaps during the verses; the other has no handclaps. King performed the backup vocals in the recording.

Reception

Advertisement featured in Billboard magazine, July 21, 1962 The Loco-Motion ad - Billboard 1962.jpg
Advertisement featured in Billboard magazine, July 21, 1962

In the United States, "The Loco-Motion" was the seventh most successful single of 1962, according to Billboard. It was also the third most successful single of 1962 in South Africa. [5]

In March 1965, Little Eva sang the song on the ABC-TV series Shindig! , and this is the only known video of her singing this song. A cover version of the song was recorded quickly by British girl group The Vernons Girls and scored the chart the same week as the Little Eva version. The Vernons Girls' version stalled at No. 47 in the UK, while the Little Eva version reached No. 2 on the UK charts. It re-entered the chart some 10 years later and almost became a top 10 again, peaking at No. 11. The Little Eva version of the song was later featured in the David Lynch film Inland Empire (2006). "The Loco-Motion" is ranked No. 359 on Rolling Stone 's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2016, the 1962 Little Eva version of "The Loco-Motion" on Dimension Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [6]

"The Loco-Motion" myth

The widely believed story of how the song "The Loco-Motion" came to be is that Carole King was playing music at home and Eva Boyd was doing some chores and started dancing to it, and that was The Loco-Motion dance. However, this is not true. Eva Boyd was introduced to Goffin and King and they liked her singing voice, so they had her record "The Loco-Motion". King stated this during an interview on National Public Radio (NPR) shortly after Little Eva died. [7]

As the song came before the dance, there was no dance when the song was originally written. When the song became a smash hit, Eva Boyd ended up creating a dance to go along with the song. King stated this in her "One to One" concert video. In live performances of the song, Little Eva can be seen doing her version of the dance.

Another bit of the conventional lore is that Boyd received only $50 for "The Loco-Motion". However, although she never owned the rights to her recordings, it seems $50 was actually her weekly salary during the years she was making records (an increase of $15 from what Goffin and King had been paying her as nanny). In 1971, she moved to North Carolina and lived in obscurity on menial jobs and welfare until being rediscovered in 1987. [8] She died of cervical cancer in 2003.

Top-40 DJ Dan Ingram has been quoted as saying that he believes the original "The Loco-Motion" was recorded by King herself. Producer Pete Waterman has also stated he believes it is King singing on the recording. [9]

Chart performance

Sylvie Vartan version (in French)

"Le Loco-motion"
Sylvie Vartan Le Loco-motion.jpg
Single by Sylvie Vartan
from the album Sylvie
LanguageFrench
B-side "Comme l'été dernier"
ReleasedOctober 1962
RecordedSummer–Fall 1962
Genre Pop
Length2:15
Label RCA Victor
Songwriter(s) Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Georges Aber
Sylvie Vartan singles chronology
"Madison Twist"
(1962)
"Le Loco-motion"
(1962)
"Moi je pense encore à toi"
(1962)
Music video
"Le Loco-motion" (live) on YouTube

In 1962, the French singer Sylvie Vartan recorded a cover of "The Loco-Motion" in French, called "Le Loco-motion". Vartan's version went to number 1 in France on October 13, 1962, and remained there for one week. [27]

Track listing

7-inch EP: "Le Loco-motion" / "Aussi loin que j'irai" / "Oui c'est lui" / "Comme l'été dernier" RCA Victor 76.593, 86.593 (1962, France)

A1. "Le Loco-motion" ("The Loco-Motion")
A2. "Oui c'est lui" ("He Is the Boy")
B1. "Comme l'été dernier" ("Dancing Party")
B2. "Aussi loin que j'irai" [28]

Charts

Chart (1962)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [29] 6
France [27] 1

Grand Funk Railroad version

"The Loco-Motion"
Grand funk railroad loco motion.jpg
US vinyl single, whose artwork was also used for French and German releases
Single by Grand Funk Railroad
from the album Shinin' On
B-side "Destitute and Losin'"
ReleasedFebruary 1974
Recorded1973
Genre Hard rock [30]
Length2:46
Label Capitol 3840
Songwriter(s) Gerry Goffin, Carole King
Producer(s) Todd Rundgren
Grand Funk Railroad singles chronology
"Walk Like a Man"
(1973)
"The Loco-Motion"
(1974)
"Shinin' On"
(1974)

Background

American rock band Grand Funk Railroad recorded a cover version of the song in 1974, produced by Todd Rundgren. The decision to play the song came about after guitarist Mark Farner was heard whistling the song in the studio. The Grand Funk version of the song featured guitars, several layers of harmony, and heavy drums.

During the 2000s, this version of the song was featured in advertisements for the Japanese technology and communications company SoftBank, featuring the pop group SMAP. SMAP also used the song on their television variety show SMAP×SMAP for a music video, singing along to the original Grand Funk recording rather than covering it.

The song is available as downloadable content for Rock Band 3 .

Reception

Cashbox advertisement, March 2, 1974 The Loco-Motion - Cash Box ad 1974.jpg
Cashbox advertisement, March 2, 1974

"The Loco-Motion" appeared on Grand Funk Railroad's album Shinin' On and was released as a single in February 1974, eventually peaking at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in May 1974. It also reached number 5 in Australia, peaked at number 1 in Canada, and reached number 11 in Germany.

John Lennon, during a 1974 interview discussing recent hit songs, said "I like "Loco-Motion," thought that was a great record." [31]

In the 2004 edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide , Village Voice Media music critic Nick Catucci called the cover "embarrassing". [32]

Chart performance

Ritz version

"Locomotion"
Ritz Locomotion.jpg
Single by Ritz
from the album Puttin' On The Ritz
B-side "Lazy Love"
ReleasedJune 15, 1979
Genre Pop, disco
Length3:45
Label Epic
Songwriter(s) Gerry Goffin, Carole King
Producer(s) Ken Gold
Ritz singles chronology
"Movie Star"
(1979)
"Locomotion"
(1979)

Disco group Ritz covered this song in 1979. Their version peaked at number one in New Zealand for seven non-consecutive weeks in 1980, [41] becoming the most successful record of the year there. [42] The Ritz version was also a top-20 hit in Australia, Sweden, and Switzerland. [43] [44] The live arrangement that Kylie Minogue performed on her Golden Tour and Summer 2019 Tour is based upon this recording.

Charts

Carole King version

"Locomotion"
Song by Carole King
from the album Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King
ReleasedJune 1980
RecordedJanuary 1980
Studio Pecan Street Studios, Austin, Texas, US
Genre Pop
Length2:30
Label Capitol
Songwriter(s) Gerry Goffin, Carole King
Producer(s) Carole King, Mark Hallman

Carole King recorded a version of the song under the title "Locomotion" for her 1980 studio album Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King . The album peaked at No. 44 and spawned King's last top 40 hit to-date, "One Fine Day", which would reach No. 12 on the charts. King also sings the song on her live album The Living Room Tour , released in 2005. The album peaked at No. 17 on the US album chart on July 30, 2005. [47]

Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin version

"The Locomotion"
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin The Locomotion.jpg
Single by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin
B-side "Make Me Promises"
ReleasedMay 1986
Recorded1986
Genre Synth-pop
Length4:00
Label Broken
Songwriter(s) Gerry Goffin, Carole King
Producer(s) Dave Stewart
Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin singles chronology
"I'm In A Different World"
(1984)
"The Locomotion"
(1986)
"Subterranean Homesick Blues"
(1990)

In May 1986, Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin released a cover version of the song as a single. The duo had scored a UK No. 1 hit back in 1981 with their cover of "It's My Party" but had achieved little success since. For this 1986 single, they embarked on a big promotional push in an attempt to gain a second significant hit. The single, however, stalled at No. 70 on the UK charts in June that year. [48]

Kylie Minogue version

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"Locomotion"
Locomotion by Kylie Minogue, Australian (single cover).png
Artwork for Australian single
Single by Kylie Minogue
from the album Kylie
B-side
  • 1987 version:
    • "Getting Closer"
    • "Glad to Be Alive"
    1988 version:
  • "I'll Still Be Loving You"
ReleasedJuly 13, 1987 (1987-07-13) [49]
Recorded
Genre Dance-pop
Length3:07
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Kylie Minogue singles chronology
"Locomotion"
(1987)
"I Should Be So Lucky"
(1987)
Alternative cover
Kylie Minogue Locomotion (international cover).jpg
Single sleeve for most international editions, featuring still frames from the music video