Come On Do the Jerk

"Come On Do the Jerk" (Tamla 54109) was a 1964 song recorded by R&B group the Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label subsidiary. The song was co-written by Miracles members Pete Moore, Bobby Rogers, Smokey Robinson, and Ronnie White. A single-only release, it did not appear on any original Miracles studio album, and was the group's last single release of 1964.[1] Robinson and fellow Miracle Bobby Rogers were the song's producers. The song's flip side, "Baby Don't You Go",[2] was also a popular regional hit but was not released on CD until The 35th Anniversary Collection in 1994. Both sides of this single received new stereo mixes for the 2002 compilation Ooo Baby Baby: The Anthology.

"Come On Do the Jerk"
Single by the Miracles
from the album Greatest Hits Vol.2
B-side"Baby, Don't You Go"
ReleasedNovember 20, 1964
Recorded1964
StudioHitsville U.S.A. (Studio A)
GenreSoul
Length2:53
LabelTamla
T 54109
Songwriter(s)Smokey Robinson, Warren Moore, Robert Rogers, Ronald White
Producer(s)Smokey Robinson
Robert Rogers
The Miracles singles chronology
"That's What Love Is Made Of"
(1964)		 "Come On Do the Jerk"
(1964)		 "Ooo Baby Baby"
(1965)

"Come On Do the Jerk" charted at #50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at # 22 on the Cash Box R&B chart.(Billboard had temporarily suspended its R&B chart at this time).

Background

An instructional dance number, this song was one of several songs based on the jerk, a very popular 1960s "dance craze".[3] Described by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson as the intended follow-up song to the group's 1963 million-selling smash "Mickey's Monkey" the previous year, "Come On Do the Jerk" was actually recorded in a similar tempo. As the song begins, longtime Miracles drummer Donald "Spike" Whited and Miracles member, guitarist Marv Tarplin begin the song, while Smokey, as the song's narrator, offers the invitation:

  • Come on everybody, gather 'round
  • get hip to the new sensation
  • There's a brand new dance coming to your town
  • and it's sweepin' across the nation
  • Come on do the jerk

The other Miracles, Ronnie White, Claudette Robinson, Pete Moore, and Bobby Rogers, echo Smokey's lead, with chants of the song's title, in classic call and response style. Then, midway through the song, Smokey's role changes... from narrator to dance instructor, as he instructs the listener on the Jerk's simple dance steps:

  • Now, snap your back...
  • like a bullwhip crack...
  • now jerk your hip....
  • let your backbone slip...

Credits and personnel

The Miracles

Additional personnel

Chart performance
Chart (1964–65) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 50
US Top 50 in R&B Locations (Cash Box)[5] 22

Television performances

Cover versions
  • Recording group The T-Bones also recorded an instrumental cover version of The Miracles' "Come On Do the Jerk" on their 1965 LP entitled "Doin' the Jerk".[8]

References
  2. Video on YouTube
  3. "511. The Miracles: "Come on do the Jerk"". 3 August 2012.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 579.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 404.
  6. Video on YouTube
  7. Video on YouTube
  8. "THE T-BONES - COME ON DO THE JERK (1965)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05.
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