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Cool Jerk
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Wikipedia article
"'Cool Jerk'" is a 1966 song written by Donald Storball and originally performed by the Capitols. It became a hit song in the United States and Canada. It was also used in the American Christmas comedy-film 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.
Original version
Released in 1966, it reached No. 2 on the American Rhythm & Blues Singles chart, No. 7 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Canadian Singles Chart. The session was arranged by Funk Brother Mike Terry, as the Funk Brothers, Motown's house band, played behind the Capitols on the track.
Per one of the Funk Brothers, the song was originally to be called "Pimp Jerk". This was taken from watching neighborhood pimps, who would dance in the clubs but were too "cool" to do the jerk like regular folks. The producer was afraid that a song with the word 'pimp' in the title would be banned or fail to receive much positive attention, and had the title changed to its current form.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
The Go-Go's version
The Go-Go's covered the song for their 1982 album 'Vacation' and later re-recorded it for their 1990 album 'Greatest'. A demo that pre-dates their 'Vacation' recording was released on their 1994 compilation 'Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's'.
{{Infobox song
| name = Cool Jerk
| type = single
| artist = The Go-Go's
| album = Vacation
| released = 1991
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre =
| length =
| label = I.R.S. 75021 7439 2
| writer = Donald Storball
| producer = David Z
| prev_title = Yes or No
| prev_year = 1984
| next_title = The Whole World Lost Its Head
| next_year = 1994
}}
See also
*List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
References
Category:1966 songs
Category:1966 singles
Category:1991 singles
Category:The Coasters songs
Category:The Go-Go's songs
Category:I.R.S. Records singles
Category:Todd Rundgren songs
Category:Songs about dancing
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