Early In The Morning – The Gap Band | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#24) & R&B (#1 for 3 weeks); 1982
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
The same team that wrote and produced The Gap Band’s first #1 R&B hit Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) – based on a true tale of a group roadie whose girlfriend bolted while he was out shopping – continued the story with Early In The Morning.
Hoping that fans would respond positively to part two of the real-life soap opera, the writers shrewdly thought the “early in the morning” hook would also grab the ears of deejays working the AM on-air shifts. Both Burn and Morning required endless days of mixing and editing in the studio before everyone was satisfied the record represented their best effort.
Early In The Morning produced the desired result, soaring to #1, and giving The Gap Band their highest charting pop single and album. The Tulsa trio then went on to rack up 18 more R&B chart hits in the 1980’s, for a decade total of 25. Even Robert Palmer got into the funk, taking his take on Early In The Morning to #19 in 1988.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Lonnie Simmons
- Rudy Taylor
Lyrics Written by:
- Charlie Wilson
- Lonnie Simmons
- Rudy Taylor
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).