Today’s classic dance song of the day is “Tighten Up” by Archie Bell & the Drells, a group that can dance just as good as they walk. It hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Rhythm and Blues charts in March of 1968. It ended up selling more than a million copies, classifying it as RIAA Gold.
“Tighten Up” had its genesis with a Houston-based instrumental group called the TSU Toronadoes. They’d been playing an instrumental variation of “Tighten Up” in their club act, to go along with a regional dance of the same name. Houston disc jockey Skipper Lee Frazier brought the tune to the Drells’ attention, and the Toronadoes provided the instrumental backing for the Drells’ recording. Archie Bell and fellow Drell Billy Butler added the lyrics, such as they are, and a #1 dance hit was born.
The groove on “Tighten Up” is infectious and 100% the doing of the Toronadoes. It starts with a tight drum beat, adds a funky bass line, then tops it off with a chunky syncopated guitar riff. They make it mellow with a silky smooth horn line between verses.
As the song tells you, Archie Bell & the Drells hail from Houston, Texas. They were a four-person vocal group (Archie Bell, Billy Butler, James Wise, and Willie Parnell) who first got together in 1966 to play clubs and dances in and around the Houston area. They signed with Houston-based label Ovide and their first single was “Tighten Up.” That’s a pretty good way to get started.
Archie Bell was drafted into the Army shortly after the August, 1967 “Tighten Up” recording session and served a tour in Vietnam. In the meantime, the Drells’ single “Tighten Up” became a big hit in the local Houston market and, in early 1968, was picked up for distribution by Atlantic Records. After recording for several years for Atlantic (and racking up further hits with “I Can’t Stop Dancing” and “There’s Gonna Be a Showdown”), the group moved in 1975 to Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International Records, where they continued to have some minor hits on the R&B chart.
The Drells split up in 1980. Archie Bell released one solo album but then the boys got back together shortly after to perform their hits on the oldies circuit. Archie Bell is still alive today, aged 79.
In case you’re wondering how to do the Tighten Up, take a gander at the Drells performing “Tighten Up” live, backed up by the Toronadoes. They really can dance just as good as they walk!
