"Get It Up" is the debut single by the Time, from their 1981 self-titled debut album. Like most of the album, the song was recorded in

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

's home studio in April 1981, and was produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince with

Morris Day Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time. Music career Morris Day is best known as the lead singer of The Time, a group associated with Prince. Day and Pri ...

later adding his lead vocals.

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

keyboardist Doctor Fink provided synth solos on the track, uncredited. The funk-

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

number relies on synthesizers and contains numerous solos throughout the song. The song is propelled by a strong bass line and contains live drums and handclaps. A raunchy guitar solo provides a rock element to the funky track. "Get It Up" is basically an ode to sex and Day's attempts to get some. Prince's vocals are very apparent in the song, both in the background and the lead at times. "Get It Up" was only released as a 7" single with the poppy "After Hi School" as its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

. "After Hi School", while not an outstanding effort was composed by Dez Dickerson and is perhaps the strongest pop effort on the album. Along with the track "Cool", "Get It Up" peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot R&B singles chart, and at number 16 on the

Disco Top 80 Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

chart. The full version of "Get It Up" was later a B-side for the 12" single of "Ice Cream Castles" in 1984. "Get It Up" is one of The Time's more popular numbers, and a live version of the song recorded at the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film '' The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...

in 1998 was included on Morris Day's 2004 album, '' It's About Time'' where it segues into " 777-9311".

TLC version

"Get It Up" was covered by girl group TLC for the ''

Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, hen ...

'' soundtrack becoming a major hit for the group and was later included in TLC's greatest hits album, '' Now and Forever: The Hits''. The video for TLC's "Get It Up" was shot in June 1993.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1981 debut singles 1993 singles The Time (band) songs Songs written by Prince (musician) TLC (group) songs Song recordings produced by Tim & Bob Song recordings produced by Dallas Austin Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) 1981 songs Warner Records singles