Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) – C&C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 2 weeks) & R&B (#1); 1991
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Robert Clivilles and David Cole, the “C’s” of C&C, created the Music Factory as a commercial outlet for their musical endeavors. Blending elements of dance and hip-hop, Clivilles and Cole built all the tracks for C&C’s first album, and hired the singer Freedom Williams, who also co-wrote Gonna Make You Sweat with Clivilles.
Since Liberian-born Zelma Davis appeared in the video for Sweat, she was assumed to be Williams’ female counterpart on vocals.
Assumed, that is, until Martha Walsh – of Two Tons Of Fun and The Weather Girls – publicly announced it was her voice on the record, and that Davis had merely lip-synched her part for the video.
Despite the controversy, Sweat reached #1 on the Pop and R&B charts, and ended up as the #5 single of 1991.
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:
- Robert Clivillés
- David Cole
Lyrics Written by:
- Robert Clivillés
- Fredrick B. Williams
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).