Word Up – Cameo | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#6) & R&B (#1 for 3 weeks); 1986
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
The musical collective known as Cameo broke nationally in 1977, logged its first #1 R&B album in 1980, and dominated the U.S. R&B charts through the last half of the 1980’s.
Formed by Larry Blackmon (as the New York City Players), he set up a solid foundation of multi-talented players, changing and rearranging them as the need arose. Blackmon guided the band’s music through changes as well, so Cameo was always on the leading edge of the latest groove.
As Cameo hit its stride in 1980, Blackmon began incorporating the new electronic sounds into the tracks. A few years later he stripped the lineup and stage show to the bare bones, and moved Cameo into the hottest streak of its career.
Word Up – the disc that broke Cameo mainstream stateside and internationally – was built around a phrase Blackmon first heard at parties. It became Cameo’s signature track and launched a new phrase into the pop culture lexicon.
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:
- Larry Blackmon
Lyrics Written by:
- Larry Blackmon
- Tomi Jenkins
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).