Get Down Tonight – KC & The Sunshine Band | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#1); 1975

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

In the early 1970’s, Harry Wayne Casey and Rick Finch held down jobs at Hialeah, Florida’s T.K. Records. Casey packed records, while Finch was an apprentice engineer and played bass in the house band.

Late at night, the two young men adjourned to the upstairs recording studio where they created tracks for their songs. In 1973 and 1974, KC and Rick landed two Top 30 R&B hits recorded with studio musicians billed as the Sunshine Band: Blow Your Whistle and Sound Your Funky Horn.

They next came up with one just a bit too high for “KC” to sing, so George McCrae handled the vocals. By July, KC and Rick’s tune, Rock Your Baby, stood at #1 on the R&B and pop charts.

The following month KC and his Sunshine Band’s Queen Of Clubs began its climb to #7 on the British list. A year later KC’s career began in earnest when Get Down Tonight soared to #1 and was one of three Casey/Finch compositions nominated for the Best R&B Song Grammy.

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:

  • Harry Wayne Casey
  • Richard Finch

Lyrics Written by:

  • Harry Wayne Casey
  • Richard Finch

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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).