| "Get a Job" | |
|---|---|
| Single bythe Silhouettes | |
| A-side | "I Am Lonely" |
| Released | November 1957 (1957-11) |
| Recorded | October 1957 |
| Studio | Robinson Recording Laboratories, Philadelphia |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:45 |
| Label | Junior |
| Songwriters |
|
"Get a Job" is a song bythe Silhouettes released in November 1957. It reached the number one spot on theBillboard pop and R&B singles charts in February 1958,[1] and was later included inRobert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published inChristgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[2] The song celebrates the virtues of securing gainfulemployment.
"When I was in the service in the early 1950s and didn't come home and go to work, my mother said 'get a job' and basically that's where the song came from," said tenor Richard Lewis, who wrote the lyrics.[3] The four members of the group shared the credit, jointly creating the "sha na na" and "dip dip dip dip" hooks later imitated by otherdoo-wop groups.[citation needed]
It was recorded at Robinson Recording Laboratories inPhiladelphia in October 1957.Rollee McGill played the saxophone break, and the arranger wasHoward Biggs. Intended as theB-side to "I Am Lonely",[4] "Get a Job" was initially released onKae Williams' Junior label; Williams, who was also a Philadelphia disc-jockey, was the Silhouettes' manager.[5][6]Doug Moody, an executive atEmber Records, acquired the rights to the song for that label, where it was licensed for national distribution.
In early 1958, the Silhouettes performed "Get a Job" several times onAmerican Bandstand and once onThe Dick Clark Show, appearances that contributed to the song's success by exposing it to a large audience.[7][a] Ultimately the single sold more than a million copies.[9]
The song was later featured in the soundtracks of the moviesAmerican Graffiti (1973),Stand By Me (1986),Trading Places (1983),Get a Job (1985),Joey (1986), andGood Morning, Vietnam (1987).[citation needed] In the 1980s, the UK recruitment agency Brook Street Bureau used it in their two TV commercials, replacing the words "get a job" with "better job".[citation needed]
The revival groupSha Na Na derived their name from the song's doo-wop introduction.[4] They performed it atWoodstock in 1969. Sha Na Na in return, though under the spelling "Xanana" became the nickname of formerEast TimoresePresident andPrime Minister José Alexandre Gusmão, better known as "Xanana Gusmão".[10]
"Get a Job" inspired a number ofanswer songs, including "Got a Job", the debut recording bythe Miracles.[11]Dennis Wilson, co-founder ofthe Beach Boys, believed that his group's song "She's Goin' Bald" (1967) paid homage to "Get a Job".[12] Several bars of "Get a Job" are quoted at the start of "The Obvious Child," the first track onPaul Simon's albumThe Rhythm of the Saints.
The famous line "yep yep yep yep yep um um um um get a job" was used in an episode ofMarried... with Children (Al Bundy tells his sonBud what he should do to earn money).
Another line "sha na na na na - sha na na na na get a job" was said in an episode ofAqua Teen Hunger Force byMeatwad. He chants the phrase (while holding a "lunar melting amulet") to cast a spell uponMaster Shake, which fails by a shotgun discharge.
In addition to the 1973American Graffiti soundtrack album (MCA2-8001), the song appears on the 1962 compilationAlan Freed's Top 15 (End LP 315), the 1964 compilationOriginal Golden Hits of the Great Groups Vol. III (Mercury MGH 25007), as well as the 1973 ABC Records compilationRock 'N' Soul 1958 (ABCX-1958).
