Le Freak
"Le Freak" is a 1978 funk / disco song by American R&B band Chic. It was the band's third single and first "Billboard" Hot 100 and R&B number-one hit song. Along with the tracks "I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer", "Le Freak" scored number one on the disco charts for seven weeks. The single achieved sales of 7 million and also scored number seven in the UK Singles Chart. "Billboard" magazine ranked it as the number 3 song for 1979. The song was ranked number 21 on "Billboard" magazine's top 100 songs of the first  55 years of the "Hot 100" chart. In 2018, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant." Lyrics. The lyrics mention "Stompin' at the Savoy", a 1933 song composed by Edgar Sampson. They also invite the listener to "Come on down to 54", that is, Studio 54, a popular nightclub in New York City at the time. This song is written in the key of A minor. History. This song commemorates Studio 54 in New York City for its notoriously long customer waiting lines, exclusive clientele , and discourteous doormen. According to guitarist Nile Rodgers, the song was devised during New Year's Eve 1977, as a result of him and bassist Bernard Edwards' being refused entrance to Studio 54, where they had been invited by Grace Jones, due to her failure to notify the nightclub's staff. He said the lyrics of the refrain were originally "Fuck off!" rather than "Freak out!"; for the documentary "How to Make It in the Music Business", he said that 'fuck off' was what the doorman had said to him when he slammed the door on them; first it was  changed to "freak off" after Rodgers mused that they wouldn't be able to say 'fuck off' on the radio, but that sounded "terrible", so he changed it to 'freak out'. MC Lyte sampled the song "Woo Woo (Freak Out)" featuring Nicci Gilbert of the group Brownstone, which first appeared on the soundtrack to the 1998 movie "Woo" and also included on her album "Seven & Seven", titled "Woo Woo (Party Time)", which released three months later. "Le Freak" was the first song to score the number one position on the "Billboard" Hot 100 three separate times. This record remained until  2008, when three different songs, "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, "Whatever You Like" by T.I., and his follow-up single "Live Your Life", featuring Rihanna all achieved this feat. Bruno Mars also managed this in 2011 with "Grenade", as did The Weeknd with his 2015 single "Can't Feel My Face". On July 14, 2018, Drake surpassed all of these singles when his hit "Nice For What" reached the pole position four separate times. In 1987, an acid house-styled re-mix was issued under the title "Jack Le Freak". It reached number 18 in the United Kingdom, becoming Chic 's last top 40 hit to date in that country. Reception. "Cash Box" said it is "a handclapping disco song bolstered by solid bass work and airy vocals." Track listing and formats. Atlantic 7" 3519, September 21, 1978 Atlantic promo 12" DSKO 131, 1978 / Atlantic 12" DK 4700, 1978 Atlantic 12" DK 4620, 1978 / Atlantic Oldies promo 12" DSKO 178, 1979 In popular culture. This song was used in a 2010 film Toy Story 3 scene in which Ken models his outfits for Barbie.