4 Songs by KC & The Sunshine Band That Still Make Me Wanna Get up and Dance

I might not have grown up in the peak disco era, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what kind of music makes people groove. Here are some iconic songs from KC & The Sunshine Band that make me want to dance.

“Give It Up”

This song was a comeback song for KC & The Sunshine Band, ironically at a time when disco was starting to die out.

“Give It Up” is about that one person who is wanted by everybody but doesn’t want anybody. As Harry Wayne Casey told Songfacts: “…Everybody looks and stares at this person, but they’re always like too good to give it up to anybody. They’re always just playing this little game…”

“Boogie Shoes”

This song, which chronicles the adventures of a magical pair of boogie shoes, uses a sixteen-bar blues chord progression.

Like several popular songs from this group, “Boogie Shoes” was featured on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Other popular hits from this era, like “Stayin Alive” by the Bee Gees, emerged from this soundtrack as well.

“(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty”

Like many KC & The Sunshine Band songs, “Shake Your Booty” contains some lyrics that could definitely be deemed sexually suggestive. You could also listen to this one and choose to believe it’s an innocent tune about dancing, but I digress.

Apparently, this song was written to encourage those who were less likely to get up and dance to bite the bullet and get on the floor. “Shake Your Booty” must have elicited some kind of response, because it became the group’s third No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“That’s The Way (I Like It)”

This No. 1 hit sounds like pure happiness, and recording it was, as bassist Richard Finch told Songfacts. At the time, the group had already achieved success with songs like “Rock Your Baby” and “Sound Your Funky Horn”. In 1975, they would release their self-titled second album, which contained many of their biggest hits.

“…If you listen to that record closely, you can hear everyone smiling while they’re singing,” Finch explained. “Especially the background singers. It was a very, very magic moment. I mean, we’re in Miami, Florida, and we’re in a little independent label, and we’re becoming successful? C’mon, man, this is not possible, this must be a dream!”

Photo by: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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