Rose Royce - Car Wash (MCA Records 1976)

• published: 13 Feb 2015
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"Car Wash" is a hit disco song performed by Rose Royce and written and produced by Norman Whitfield, it was the group's debut single and one of the most notable successes of the disco era. Written and produced by the band's main producer Norman Whitfield, "Car Wash", the theme of the 1976 film Car Wash, was Rose Royce's most successful hit single and the lead single from their first album, the Car Wash soundtrack. Reaching number one in the United States on the Billboard pop and R&B; charts, "Car Wash" also peaked at number three on the disco charts and reached number nine in the UK singles chart in February 1977. The song was later covered in 2004 by Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott, who released their version as the single for the Shark Tale soundtrack. Former Motown Records producer Norman Whitfield had been commissioned to record the soundtrack album for Car Wash by director Michael Schultz. Although Whitfield did not want to assume the project, he decided to do so, both for financial incentives as well as the chance to give Rose Royce, a disco/funk backing band that Whitfield signed to his own label in 1975, the exposure they needed to become mainstream. Unable to develop a theme song for the film, inspiration finally struck Whitfield while playing a game of basketball, and he allegedly wrote his first draft of "Car Wash" on a paper bag from a fried chicken eatery. The resulting song set the mood and tone for the comedy film it was commissioned for. Rose Royce lead singer Rose Norwalt (Gwen Dickey), with brief assistance from guitarist Kenji Brown, describes a fun and easy-going car washing business, where everything is "always cool/and the boss don't mind sometimes if you act a fool." Car Wash's soundtrack, a double album, was Rose Royce's debut LP, and the title track was their debut single. "Car Wash" sold two million copies, and was a number one success on both the Billboard popular and R&B; charts in the United States and a top ten success in the United Kingdom. The song held the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week, from January 23 to January 29, 1977, replacing "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder and replaced by "Torn Between Two Lovers" by Mary MacGregor. The Car Wash soundtrack album, entirely recorded by Rose Royce and Whitfield, spawned two more successful singles: "I Wanna Get Next to You" and "I'm Going Down" (later covered in 1994 by Mary J. Blige). Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B; group. They are best known for several hit singles during the 1970s including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "I'm Going Down", "Wishing on a Star", and "Love Don't Live Here Anymore". ooooh... You might not ever get rich But let me tell you it's better than digging a ditch There ain't no telling who you might meet A moviestar or maybe even an Indian chief Working at the car wash Working at the car wash, yeah Come on and sing it with me, car wash Sing it with the feeling now, car wash yeah Come some of the work get's kind of hard This ain't no place to be if you planned on being a star Let me tell you it's always cool And the boss don't mind sometimes if you act a fool At the car wash, woooh Talking about the car wash, yeah Come on y'all and sing it for me Car wash, woh, car wash yeah Well those cars never seem to stop coming (Work and work) Keep those waxin' machines humming (Work and work) My fingers to the bone (Work and work) Keep up, I can't wait till it's time to go home Hey, get your car washed today Be in our band, you don't have to pay Come on and give us a play Car wash Talking about the car wash yeah Car wash yeah Come on y'all and sing it with me Car wash Sing it with feeling Car wash yeah [Repeat till fade] Wowowoh Those cars never seem to stop coming Keeps those rags and machines coming Let me tell you it's always cool, And the boss don't mind sometimes if you, act the fool