«The Loco-Motion»: История одного хита

1962 song by Gerry Goffin and Carole King

"The Loco Motion" (or "Locomotion") is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down. The song is especially notable for making three appearances in the American Top 3, each in a different decade: in 1962 by Little Eva (U. S. No. 1); in 1974 by Grand Funk Railroad (also U. S. No. 1); and in 1988 by Kylie Minogue (U. S. No. 3). In March 1965, Little Eva sang the song on the ABC TV series Shindig!, and this is the only known video of her singing this song. A cover version of the song was recorded quickly by British girl group The Vernons Girls and scored the chart the same week as the Little Eva version. The Vernons Girls' version stalled at No. 47 in the UK, while the Little Eva version reached No. 2 on the UK charts. It re entered the chart some 10 years later and almost became a top 10 again, peaking at No. 11. The Little Eva version of the song was later featured in the David Lynch film Inland Empire (2006). "The Loco Motion" is ranked No. 359 on Rolling Stones list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2016, the 1962 Little Eva version of "The Loco Motion" on Dimension Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The widely believed story of how the song "The Loco Motion" came to be is that Carole King was playing music at home and Eva Boyd was doing some chores and started dancing to it, and that was The Loco Motion dance. However, this is not true. Eva Boyd was introduced to Goffin and King and they liked her singing voice, so they had her record "The Loco Motion". King stated this during an interview on National Public Radio (NPR) shortly after Little Eva died. As the song came before the dance, there was no dance when the song was originally written. When the song became a smash hit, Eva Boyd ended up creating a dance to go along with the song. King stated this in her "One to One" concert video. In live performances of the song, Little Eva can be seen doing her version of the dance. Another bit of the conventional lore is that Boyd received only $50 for "The Loco Motion". However, although she never owned the rights to her recordings, it seems $50 was actually her weekly salary during the years she was making records (an increase of $15 from what Goffin and King had been paying her as nanny). In 1971, she moved to North Carolina and lived in obscurity on menial jobs and welfare until being rediscovered in 1987. She died of cervical cancer in 2003. Top 40 DJ Dan Ingram has been quoted as saying that he believes the original "The Loco Motion" was recorded by King herself. Producer Pete Waterman has also stated he believes it is King singing on the recording.

In 1962, the French singer Sylvie Vartan recorded a cover of "The Loco Motion" in French, called "Le Loco motion". Vartan's version went to number 1 in France on October 13, 1962, and remained there for one week.

7 inch EP: "Le Loco motion" / "Aussi loin que j'irai" / "Oui c'est lui" / "Comme l'été dernier" RCA Victor 76.593, 86.593 (1962, France)
A1. "Le Loco motion" ("The Loco Motion")
A2. "Oui c'est lui" ("He Is the Boy")
B1. "Comme l'été dernier" ("Dancing Party")
B2. "Aussi loin que j'irai"

Carole King recorded a version of the song under the title "Locomotion" for her 1980 studio album Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King. The album peaked at No. 44 and spawned King's last top 40 hit to date, "One Fine Day", which would reach No. 12 on the charts. King also sings the song on her live album The Living Room Tour, released in 2005. The album peaked at No. 17 on the US album chart on July 30, 2005.

In May 1986, Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin released a cover version of the song as a single. The duo had scored a UK No. 1 hit back in 1981 with their cover of "It's My Party" but had achieved little success since. For this 1986 single, they embarked on a big promotional push in an attempt to gain a second significant hit. The single, however, stalled at No. 70 on the UK charts in June that year.

Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue released a cover version of the song in July 1987 as her debut single, under the title "Locomotion". After an impromptu performance of the song at an Australian rules football charity event with the cast of the Australian soap opera Neighbours, Minogue signed a record deal with Mushroom Records to release the song as a single. Initially recorded in a big band style, the project was radically reoriented by producer Mike Duffy, who was on loan to Mushroom from Pete Waterman's UK company PWL. Duffy recorded a whole new backing track, inspired by the hi NRG pop of Dead or Alive, but retained Minogue's original vocal. The producers decided to totally re record Minogue's version of the song, with Pete Waterman slating her original Australian recording, which he claimed was poorly produced. Original producer Mike Duffy instead blamed the decision to re record on Waterman's alleged wish to claim the prestige and royalties that looked set to roll in from the track's looming placement of the soundtrack of the 1988 film Arthur 2: On the Rocks, starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. The 1988 release of the song in the United Kingdom debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart — the highest entry on the UK charts by a female artist. It remained in the number two position for four weeks before falling to number three. With sales of 440,000 it was the eleventh best selling single of the year. The song became Minogue's third top five single in the UK and remains one of her most successful single releases to date. Throughout Europe and Asia the song also performed well on the music charts, reaching number one in Finland, Ireland, Israel and South Africa. During late 1988, Minogue traveled to the United States to promote "The Loco Motion", where she did many interviews and performances on American television. The song was used in the comedy film Arthur 2: On the Rocks. "The Loco Motion" debuted at number 80 on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 and later peaked at number three for two weeks. The song was Minogue's second single to chart in the U. S., but her first to reach the top ten. To this day, the song remains as her highest charting single in the United States; however, her second overall and most recent song to reach the top ten, 2002's "Can't Get You Out of My Head", ended up outselling "The Loco Motion". In Canada, the song also reached the top five in the pop sales chart. In 2023, Robert Moran of Australian daily tabloid newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald ranked the song as Minogue's 17th best song (out of 183), describing it "a surprisingly gritty sex track built on chugging synths and girl group harmonies". In 2012, during her K25 anniversary, the song re entered the Japanese singles chart, peaking at number 66.

German female disco group Ebony recorded a version that was released in 1979. It was released on Aladin 006 45 564 in 1979. It was a hit in Europe on the disco charts. The Yugoslav New Wave group Električni Orgazam recorded a version that was released in 1983 on their album Les Chansones Populaires. British progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Powell included a reworked instrumental cover of the song on their eponymous debut (and only) album in 1986. In 1991, Joanie Bartels covered the song from the album Dancin' Magic, which was released as a single. It also appeared in the video, The Extra Special Substitute Teacher. In 2000, Atomic Kitten sang a cover version at the end credits of Thomas and the Magic Railroad, included as the B side on the UK limed edition release of Whole Again and the compilation Access All Areas. Dutch popgroup Djumbo recorded a Dutch language cover for the 2008 album Magic.