Let's All Chant
| "Let's All Chant" | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Single by the Michael Zager Band | |
| from the album Let's All Chant | |
| B-side | "Love Express" |
| Released | December 1977 |
| Format | |
| Recorded | Secret Sound Studios, Manhattan |
| Genre | Disco |
| Length |
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| Label | |
| Writer(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Michael Zager |
"Let's All Chant" is a song written by Michael Zager and Alvin Fields and performed by the Michael Zager Band. It was based on an idea originally suggested by former head of A&R Jerry Love after he visited clubs in New York and saw people endlessly chanting "Ooh-ah, Ooh-ah". Although Zager was first embarrassed when Love asked him to write a song using these chants, he accepted the proposal and later co-wrote "Let's All Chant" with Fields.
The opening track and lead single from the group's eponymous LP, "Let's All Chant" was released as a single in December 1977, with the track "Love Express" as a B-side. An unexpected smash hit, the single reached number one on the disco chart and crossed over to the Soul Singles chart, where it peaked at number 15, and to the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 36. In Europe, the single reached the top 10 in several countries, including the UK, Ireland and France. It eventually sold five million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Recognizable by both its vocal hooks and its classical section, which is featured in the middle of the song, "Let's All Chant" was well received by critics, who have praised its musical arrangement and its catchiness. Many reviewers regard the song as a classic of the disco era. It also became a turning point in Michael Zager's career. As well as being used in many TV advertisements and movies, it has become an influential dance song which has been extensively covered or remixed by numerous artists and has been interpolated or sampled in many other tracks.
When he was still at A&M Records, Michael Zager met Jerry Love, the former head of A&R for A&M Records. After Love subsequently left the record label, he and Zager formed the Michael Zager Moon's Band in 1976. Love was an habitué of Studio 54 and went to clubs every night. One evening, he went to Greenwich Village to visit several clubs and noted that people were continuously singing "Ooh-ah, Ooh-ah" to every tune which was played in order to increase their own participation and pleasure. The next day, he described the scene to Zager and suggested that Zager write a song incorporating the "Ooh-ah, Ooh-ah" vocals. Zager told Love: "You have to be kidding; that's embarrassing!" Love commented that everybody was doing it and that if Zager wrote a song using these chants, dancers would love it.
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