Get Down Saturday Night

"Get Down Saturday Night"
European 7" single cover
Single by Oliver Cheatham
from the album Saturday Night
Released1983
Genre
Length7:32 (12" version)
6:26 (album version)
3:58 (7" version)
LabelMCA (U.S.)
Ariola (Germany)
SongwritersOliver Cheatham, Kevin McCord[5]
ProducersAl Hudson, Dave Roberson, Kevin McCord (as A.D.K.)
Oliver Cheatham singles chronology
"Everybody Wants to Be the Boss"
(1982)
"Get Down Saturday Night"
(1983)
"Bless the Ladies"
(1983)

"Get Down Saturday Night" is a song by American singer Oliver Cheatham, released in 1983 as the first single from his second album Saturday Night. That spring, the song reached number 37 on the US R&B chart,[6] as well as reaching number 38 on the UK Singles Chart.[7] Considered a disco classic, it was revived in the 21st century through remixes, most notably "Make Luv" by Italian DJ Room 5 (2003) and through use in popular culture.

Critical reception and legacy

The song has consistently received positive reviews. Upon its release, The Washington Informer called it a "TGIF anthem", with its chief virtues being Cheatham's voice and its beat — "not too fast, not too slow, just right for eight minutes on the dance floor."[8] James Hamilton of Record Mirror called it a "superb quietly stated jauntily tripping 116½bpm chunky finger snappin’ killer of a cut."[9] Retrospectively, Music Week called it a "blinky-blonky delight" and a "storming feelgood tune,"[10] while Billboard′s Michael Paoletta described it as "dancefloor anthem."[11] Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times called it a "swirling, silky" piece of R&B.[12]

The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey wrote that it "has a far more alluring New York swagger" than "Make Luv."[13] Tom Bromley noted that while it was a minor hit in 1983, following the success of "Make Luv" it was retroactively talked up as a "lost disco classic."[1] Others have also dubbed it a classic.[14][15]

Remixes and samples

A remix by Grove feat. Juan Wells was released on Indochina Records in 1995. The song had previously gained underground popularity as a bootleg titled "Make Love And Listen To The Music" by Barrio De Bargo.[16]

French house producer DJ Kom sampled it in his 1997 single "Git Down Saturday," which was used as part of Daft Punk's 1997 Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1.[17]

The song was remixed as "Make Luv" by Italian DJ Room 5 (Junior Jack) in 2003, which reached No. 1 in the UK chart.[18] In 2004 it was remixed by British DJ Michael Gray titled "The Weekend", reaching No. 7 in 2004.[18]

The song has been popularized by uses in popular culture. Most notably, it was featured on the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)[19] and the sci-fi film Ex Machina (2014).[3]

Track listing

1983 releases

12" vinyl[20]
  • US: MCA / L33-1103
Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Get Down Saturday Night"7:32
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Get Down Saturday Night"7:32
12" vinyl
  • UK: MCA / MCAT-828[21]
Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Get Down Saturday Night" (Special extended version)7:32
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Something About You"4:42

Other releases

  • 1988 – "Get Down Saturday Night (You Can Do It)"
  • 1989 – "Get Down Saturday Night (Get Down in the 90's)"
  • 1998 – "Get Down Saturday Night '98"
  • 1999 – "Get Down Saturday Night '99"
  • 2002 – "Get Down Samedi Soir" (DJ Abdel feat. Rohff & Oliver Cheatham)
  • 2003 – "Get Down Saturday Night (Stand for Love)"
  • 2003 – "Get Down Saturday Night (LMC Remix) Rock the Dancefloor 8/Clubland III: The Sound of the Summer/Kiss Hitlist Summer 2003/Clubmix Summer 2003
  • 2005 – "Get Down Saturday Night" (Unreleased Promo Mix) (Edit by Thomas Bangalter)
  • 2007 – "Get Down Saturday Night" (Special extended version)

Chart positions

References

  1. ^ a b Bromley, Tom (2006). "Make Luv - Room 5 featuring Oliver Cheatham". We Could Have Been the Wombles: The Weird and Wonderful World of One-Hit Wonders. London: Penguin Books. pp. 125–127. ISBN 978-0-14-101711-2.
  2. ^ Zumberge, Marianne (30 June 2018). Fembots: Female Androids in Mainstream Cinema and Beyond. English (Master of Arts thesis). Vanderbilt University. p. 1.
  3. ^ a b
  4. ^ "Prime Time: Kym's chart smash not just Hear'Say". Belfast News Letter. 14 April 2003. p. 32. ProQuest 324767510.
  5. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2003). All music guide to soul: the definitive guide to R&B and soul. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 135. ISBN 0-87930-744-7.
  6. ^ a b Get Down Saturday Night at AllMusic.
  7. ^ a b "Get Down Saturday Night" on Official Charts.
  8. ^ "Review". The Washington Informer. 19 (40): 20. July 27, 1983. ProQuest 375903315.
  9. ^ Hamilton, James (May 28, 1983). "OLIVER CHEATHAM: 'Get Down Saturday Night' (LP 'Saturday Night' US MCA MCA-5410)". Record Mirror.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ^ "Miami Delivers New Wave of Dance" (PDF). Music Week: 10. 30 March 2002.
  11. ^ Paoletta, Michael (July 17, 2004). "'Da Hype' Jacks Up Buzz On Junior Jack". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 29. ProQuest 227232460.
  12. ^ Olsen, Mark (December 26, 2015). "The intersection of music and movies in 2015 sparks startling connections". Los Angeles Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (28 July 2006). "Readers recommend: songs about Friday and Saturday". The Guardian.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  14. ^ Towler, Barry. "OLIVER CHEATHAM Get Down Saturday Night". Soul Express Album Review.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  15. ^ Booth, Samantha (28 March 2003). "TOP OF THE PITS PARADE ; Deodorant ad's soundtrack is set to top the charts". Daily Record. ProQuest 327913205.
  16. ^ "GROVE FEAT. JUAN WELLS" (PDF). Music & Media. 12 (50): 14. December 16, 1995.
  17. ^ "Daft Punk - Radio 1's Essential Mix 1997-03-02". 1001tracklists.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Oliver Cheatham Dies". Echoes. 2 December 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  19. ^ Robinson, Samuel (9 January 2023). "Giving flowers to Kevin McCord, Detroit R&B's "unsung legend"". Axios.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  20. ^ ""Get Down Saturday Night" (MCA, US) on Discogs". Discogs. 1983. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  21. ^ ""Get Down Saturday Night" (MCA, UK) on Discogs". Discogs. 1983. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  22. ^ "Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles" (PDF). Cashbox: 26. August 6, 1983.
  23. ^ "Top Disco & Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week: 28. July 30, 1983.
  24. ^ "Disco" (PDF). Record Mirror: 26. July 30, 1983.
  25. ^ "Get Down Saturday Night (Get Down In The 90's-Mix) Single". offiziellecharts.de.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  26. ^ "Get Down Saturday Night Song von Oliver Cheatham". chartsurfer.de (in German).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  27. ^ "Disco '83" (PDF). Record Mirror: 38. December 17, 1983.; "Record Mirror year-end disco charts, 1975 to 1989". James Hamilton's Disco Page. 3 September 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)