(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
KC & the Sunshine Band - "That's the Way (I Like It)"
Hit Number 1: November 22, 1975
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
Have you ever been scrolling through YouTube for an eternity, listening to a million different songs because there's a specific one in your head? You're singing this song over and over again in your head, but you don't have a damn clue what the song is called, as you only have a few lyrics to work with. Well, I've been there and it's annoying. Harry Wayne Casey, or better known as KC, has seen it happen firsthand. Before KC & the Sunshine Band became music superstars, he worked in a record store and would often deal with customers there who were looking for a specific song. These customers wouldn't know the name of the song though because they just had a few lines of the chorus memorized. KC thought about this a lot, and decided that for any future songs he wrote, he didn't want anyone to be confused over the song title. With songs like "That's the Way (I Like It)," there's no mistaking what the name of the song is. This is a template that worked wonders for KC & the Sunshine Band.
The band released their single "Get Down Tonight," which obviously hit #1 earlier this year, and though that song kicks ass, the band was rather surprised it did so well. Richard Finch was KC's right-hand-man throughout most of the KC & the Sunshine Band popular era, and Finch would admit that the band was in a little independent label, and felt like they were totally getting away with something. Not only that, but their songs were so simple and the lyrics were so elementary, he wasn't sure how all of a sudden they were gaining so much steam. Well, I know why; it's the hooks that they came up with. KC and Finch used a lot of the same methods they used previously to make "Get Down Tonight," and they were able to bring back that magic into "That's the Way." Finch said in an interview with Songfacts (shoutout to Songfacts, for that's where I get a lot of my information from) that everybody in the studio was singing with a smile on their face. He says that that was because the band had found such an easy way to get famous and get radio airplay, but personally I also feel like it has to do with the song. I mean, how can anyone sing or listen to "That's the Way" without having a smile on their face?
Today, we all know this song as being a simple dance/love song about a girl who is clearly pleasing the narrator of the song, but in its original form, "That's the Way" was a lot more sexual. KC was inspired by a French song called "Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus" that had "uh huhs" in it that sounded more like moans of pleasure than anything else, and KC's first intention was to make the "uh huhs" in "That's the Way" the same way. But he thought better of that, because back then the radio was a lot more picky with the content they played, and sexual moaning of "uh huh" weren't going to fly in the '70s. So we're given the cries of jubilation by the narrator instead, and it's hard to hear the song any different. For years, we've been singing this song at parties, sporting events, or even when we're drunk at karaoke time, this song seems to still have a place in the world in 2022. That's not because of its lyrics, it's because of the song's obvious disco-infused, dance floor filling magic. Very similar to "Get Down Tonight."
The key difference between "Get Down Tonight" and "That's the Way" is that "That's the Way" is a lot more simple, with the chorus being the song's title repeated four times. "Get Down Tonight" was more like a true completed song, but still, who's gonna complain about "That's the Way?" The wooing background singers throughout the song give it some serious life, and that chorus is something that will lodge itself in your head, staying there for God knows how long. But that's how disco was supposed to work! It wasn't about fluffy lyrics or mind-blowing instrument solos. Nah, this was about filling dance floors and catchy rhythms, which KC & the Sunshine Band were awfully great at coming up with. "That's the Way" has those fun, exuberant vibes that made disco songs so great. No matter how elementary it may sound, you have to admit that "That's the Way" is filled with addicting hooks and happy-sounding vocals that can make anybody smile.
GRADE: 8/10
IN POP CULTURE:
Here's a scene from Starsky & Hutch where Starsky (Ben Stiller) gets into a dance battle while "That's the Way (I Like It)" is playing:
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