Shake You Down

"Shake You Down"
Single by Gregory Abbott
from the album Shake You Down
Released	September 29, 1986
Format	Vinyl record (7")
Recorded	CBS (1986)
Genre	R&B
Length	4:04
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Gregory Abbott
Producer(s)	Gregory Abbott
Gregory Abbott singles chronology
"Shake You Down" (1986) "I Got the Feelin' (It's Over)" (1987)

"Shake You Down" is a song by American R&B artist, writer and producer Gregory Abbott. It was released in September 1986 as the lead single from his debut album. It became Abbott's biggest hit and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Abbott went on the chart with several other songs as well.^[1] The track is also featured in the 2007 film Are We Done Yet?

Origin

Gregory Abbott wrote the song along with over thirty others before striking a record deal with CBS. He recorded a demo tape and chose the best three.

Composition

According to Billboard, the song is about sex.^[2]

Music video

Dominic Sena of Propaganda Films came up with the idea of the scrolling effect on the music video. It is recorded as a single image on a photographic film.^[3]

There is also another music video recorded in Rio de Janeiro, especially for the Brazilian TV show Fantástico.

Chart performance

"Shake You Down" was released as the first single from Gregory Abbott. It went to number one on the black singles chart in October 1986, and on January 17, 1987, it reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1987.^[4] It was a hit across the Atlantic Ocean, as well, peaking at number six in the UK Singles Chart (spending a total of 13 weeks on that chart from 22 November 1986).^[5] It was not intended as the original single to promote the album, as "I Got the Feeling" was scheduled to be the first single. It was postponed as the follow-up, peaking at #56.

Charts

Chart (1986–1987)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6]	18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7]	7
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8]	2
Germany (Official German Charts)[9]	13
Ireland (IRMA)[10]	5
Italy (FIMI)[11]	55
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12]	3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13]	3
Spain (AFYVE)[14]	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15]	15
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	2
U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	13
US Cashbox Top 100 Singles[16]	1

References

1. RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Gregory Abbott, accessed 2009-07-10
2. M. Tye Comer, Mariel Concepcion, Monica Herrera, Jessica Letkemann, Evie Nagy and David J. Prince (February 11, 2010). "The 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
3. music video in MyVideo.de
4. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1987
5. Guinness British Hit Singles (13th ed.), London, UK: Guinness World Records Ltd, 2000, p. 69, ISBN 0-85112-111-X
6. "Austriancharts.at – Gregory Abbott – Shake You Down" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
7. "Ultratop.be – Gregory Abbott – Shake You Down" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
8. Canadian peak
9. "Musicline.de – Gregory Abbott Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
10. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Retrieved 14 February 2008.
11. "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: A". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Gregory Abbott search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
13. "Charts.org.nz – Gregory Abbott – Shake You Down". Top 40 Singles.
14. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Gregory Abbott – Shake You Down". Swiss Singles Chart.
16. Downey, Pat; Albert, George; Hoffmann, Frank W (1994). Cash Box pop singles charts, 1950–1993. Libraries Unlimited. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-56308-316-7.

External links

• Gregory Abbott at Allmusic