| "Cha-Cha Slide" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single byDJ Casper | |
| Released | August 2, 2000 |
| Recorded | 1998 |
| Length |
|
| Label | Universal |
| Songwriter | Willie Perry Jr. |
| Producers |
|
| Music video | |
| "Cha-Cha Slide" onYouTube | |
"Cha-Cha Slide" (or "Casper Slide Part 2") is aline dance song by American musicianMr. C the Slide Man (also known asDJ Casper). The song was released as a single in August 2000 and spent five weeks on theBillboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 83. Four years later, "Cha-Cha Slide" became a hit in Europe and Australia, especially in the United Kingdom, where it topped theUK Singles Chart in March 2004.
DJ Casper (Willie Perry Jr.) originally wrote "The Cha-Cha Slide" as astep aerobics routine for his nephew, David Wilson, who was working at the time as a fitness trainer atBally Total Fitness Health Club inChicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. In its original form, the song was just a set of instructions of the original version of the song, titled "Casper Slide Part 1" in January 1998 using "Plastic Dreams" byJaydee as the musical track.[2]
The song was inspired by theChicago stepping movement, where DJ Casper cut a notable figure in the clubs. Wilson went so far as to compare his uncle's dancing prowess toMC Hammer.[2] Because Casper did not own "Plastic Dreams", he hired a band to record an instrumental track at the home studio of Fred Johnson with the help of Hollywood Scott, band leader for the Platinum Band. He called this version of the song "Casper Slide Part 2."[3]: 3
Musically, the song utilizes afour-on-the-floorhouse rhythm.
Perry recorded and released the song at his own expense, and manufactured copies and distributed them with the help of Gardner Douglas ("Cisco"), owner of the Cisco's Music World record stores in Chicago, Illinois. It was publicly released August 2, 2000.
DJ Casper enlisted the help of M.O.B. Music Publishing to produce, edit, and engineer the new version of the song "Cha-Cha Slide". Men On Business also produced several other accompanying songs to produce the entireSlide Album. DJ Casper and Men On Business licensed theSlide Album toUniversal Records, and it was released on September 19, 2000.
Universal's Senior VP of Urban Promotion Michael Horton recalled, "we made some instructional 'Cha-Cha Slide' dance videos and distributed them to clubs...We also promoted the song at various black functions, such as homecoming events atblack colleges." Horton claimed many radio stations initial response to the song was, "There's no way we're playing it," but Universal's promotion department was persistent and finally got it on the air. The song then made its way toR&B/hip hop stationWGCI-FM, in DJ Casper's hometown of Chicago, the first radio station to play the song. Horton accurately predicted the future of the song: "It's like a novelty that will eventually die down, but it will never go away completely—just like theelectric slide and thebus stop are still around."[4]
In 2001, the following year, the dance caught on around Canada and the United States, whereurban contemporaryradio stations (and later mobile DJs) played the song continuously.[5] In March 2004, "Cha Cha Slide" was released in the United Kingdom and went on to top theUK Singles Chart.[6][7] Its success in the United Kingdom was helped byScott Mills ofBBC Radio 1, who promoted the song on his weekday afternoon radio show.[8]
In August 2020, in honor of the 20th anniversary,Google added anEaster egg where, when "Cha Cha Slide" is searched for, a microphone appears next to the music video. Some lyrics from the song are played when the button is clicked.[9]
"Cha Cha Slide" is also played during the eighth inning ofSan Francisco Giants home games atOracle Park to ward off seagulls.
The music video was shot in downtown Chicago.[10] At the beginning of the video, a news van arrives in front of a crowd of people doing the dance on a sidewalk. After that, the reporter reports on the dance. Then, the video transitions to several scenes, including DJ Casper dancing with a group of people on a white background and different people in various locations doing said dance. Near the end of the video, the news camera crew begins dancing a bit. In the last scene, the reporter dances with them.
In 2011, Willie Perry Jr. and Jerome Haywood filed a lawsuit against M.O.B. Productions.[11] The suit alleged that M.O.B. obtained a false copyright registration under the title "Casper Cha-Cha Slide (Live Platinum Band)".[3]: 5
The song was also part of an 11-track album,Cha-Cha Slide: The Original Slide Album, released in September 2000.[6]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cha-Cha Slide" (radio edit) | 3:46 | |
| 2. | "Cha-Cha Slide" (club edit) | 7:44 | |
| 3. | "Bus Stop/Electric Slide" | Charles Green Hudson Beaudy | 4:45 |
| 4. | "Casper Slide Part 2" | With Live Platinum Band | 6:27 |
| 5. | "Step To This" | Colta / Ken Uchida | 5:29 |
| 6. | "Unworthy" | Colta | 4:47 |
| 7. | "Unworthy" | Colta | 4:25 |
| 8. | "Bus Stop/Electric Slide" (original) | Charles Green Hudson Beaudy | 7:55 |
| 9. | "DJ Eric-B Slide" | DJ Eric-B | 9:45 |
| 10. | "Step To This" | Colta / Ken Uchida | 5:29 |
| 11. | "R-U-Here" | Colta |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[36] | Platinum | 760,000[35] |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | August 2, 2000 |
| Universal | [citation needed] |
| September 19, 2000 | [37][38] | |||
| United Kingdom | March 1, 2004 |
| All Around the World | [39] |
| United States | April 26, 2004 | Contemporary hit radio | Universal | [40] |
| Australia | May 17, 2004 | CD | [41] |
| "Cha Cha Slide" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byCrazy Frog | ||||
| from the albumEverybody Dance Now | ||||
| Released | August 25, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Dance | |||
| Length | 3:03 | |||
| Label | MOB Music Publishing | |||
| Songwriter | William Perry Jr.[1] | |||
| Producer | M. Thompson[1] | |||
| Crazy Frog singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Cha Cha Slide" onYouTube | ||||
On August 25, 2009,Crazy Frog released "Cha Cha Slide" for the albumEverybody Dance Now.
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[42] | 18 |
