"One Nation Under a Groove" is a

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

, the title track from their album of the same name. It has endured as a dance funk classic and is probably Funkadelic's most widely known song. "One Nation Under a Groove" was Funkadelic's first million selling single, as well as the third million selling single for the

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive ...

organization overall.

Song background

Compared to Funkadelic's earlier output, which was characterized by sound typical for

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

music, this song has sound more typical for dance music. The lyrics refer to dancing as a way to freedom. The song opens with the lyrics "So wide, you can't get around it/ So low, you can't get under it/ So high you can't get over it." Though it is not stated where these lyrics originate, it is quite likely that they come from the traditional gospel song "So High", itself having been previously referenced in

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

' song "

Psychedelic Shack ''Psychedelic Shack'' is the twelfth studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1970. Completely written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield, ''Psychedelic Shack'' almost completely abando ...

". According to Tom Vickers, who served as Minister of Information for

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive fu ...

from 1976 to 1980, during an impromptu performance in front of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, a woman who accompanied George Clinton to the event witnessed a U.N worker hoisting the flags in front of the building. When Clinton asked the woman what she thought, she replied, "One Nation Under A Groove".

Chart performance

"One Nation Under a Groove" was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

and peaked at number twenty-eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Soul chart for six weeks, the longest of any number one single released in 1978. On other US charts, it reached thirty-one on the ''Billboard''

Club Play Singles Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart. Outside the US, "One Nation Under a Groove" reached the top ten in the

UK Singles Charts The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

attaining a peak of number nine in January 1979. It is the band's only UK hit. In Canada, the song reached number 71 in the Top 100 and number 5 on the Dance charts.

Accolades

The song is included in the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

's list of 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. It is also ranked No. 474 on the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's list of "

the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

". It was dropped in the 2010 version but it has been updated to No. 210 in the 2021 version.

Cover versions

The Style Council The Style Council were a British musical ensemble, band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/New wave music, new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previousl ...

covered the song in concert during the 1980s, incorporating some of its lyrics into their instrumental song "Dropping Bombs on the White House," originally released in its studio form on their album ''

Café Bleu ''Café Bleu'' is the official debut album released by the English band The Style Council. It was released on 16 March 1984, on Polydor Records, produced by Paul Weller with Peter Wilson. It followed the compilation '' Introducing The Style Cou ...

'' in 1984. A live recording was later released on their 1998 live album ''The Style Council in Concert''.

References

External links

* Allmusic Track Review* Funkadelic songs 1978 singles Songs written by George Clinton (funk musician) 1978 songs Funk songs Songs written by Walter Morrison Warner Records singles Songs about dancing {{1970s-R&B-song-stub