Cha Cha Slide

"Cha Cha Slide"
Single by DJ Casper
from the album Cha-Cha Slide: The Original Slide Album
Released	August 2, 1998
Format	CD
Recorded	June 19, 1998
Genre	Dance electronica house
Length	3:46
Writer(s)	Callum Wood and Alex Rowe
Producer(s)	Katy Perry & The Platinum Band/Frederick Johnson[1]

"Cha Cha Slide" is a song by American artist DJ Casper, often played at dance clubs, school dances/proms, parties, ice and roller skating rinks, bar mitzvahs and weddings in the United States and the United Kingdom, where the song reached number one in March 2004.^[2]

Origin and history

Willie Perry, Jr. wrote the lyrics for the original around January 1998 and recorded his performance of the original version of the "Casper Slide Part 1" in January 1998. It was titled the Casper Slide as opposed to its later title of Cha Cha Slide. The song was heavily inspired by the Chicago stepping movement. Around June 12, 1999, Perry recorded a second version of the song, entitled "Casper Slide Part 2," at the home studio of Fred Johnson with the help of Hollywood Scott, band leader for the Platinum Band. Perry recorded and released the song at his own expense and manufactured copies and distributed them with the help of Gardner Douglas ("Cisco"), owner of the Cisco's Music World record stores in Chicago, Illinois. The song was played at various night clubs and was used by Perry's nephew, a fitness trainer at Bally Total Fitness Health Club in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, as the music for a step aerobics class.

The Cha Cha Slide in North America

Willie Perry enlisted the help of M.O.B. Music Publishing (Men On Business) to produce, edit, and engineer the new version of the song "Cha Cha Slide". Men On Business also produced several other accompanying songs to produce the entire Slide Album. Willie Perry and Men On Business licensed the Slide Album to Universal Records and it was released September 19, 2000. Once it was Universal's project, "we made some instructional 'Cha-Cha Slide' dance videos and distributed them to clubs," said Senior VP of Urban Promotion Michael Horton. "We also promoted the song at various black functions, such as homecoming events at black colleges." The song then made its way to R&B/hip-hop station WGCI-FM in DJ Casper's hometown of Chicago. In 2001, the following year, the dance caught on around Canada and the U.S., where urban contemporary radio stations (and later mobile DJs) played the song continuously, particularly in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Arkansas, Memphis, and Detroit. It is also very big in move-a-thons across North America.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Cha-Cha Slide" (radio edit)		3:46
2.	"Cha-Cha Slide" (club edit)		7:44
3.	"Bus Stop/Electric Slide"	Charles Green Hudson Beaudy	4:45
4.	"Casper Slide Part 2"	With Live Platinum Band	6:27
5.	"Step To This"	Colta	5:29
6.	"Unworthy"	Colta	4:47
7.	"Unworthy"	Colta	4:25
8.	"Bus Stop/Electric Slide" (original)	Charles Green Hudson Beaudy	7:55
9.	"DJ Eric-B Slide"	DJ Eric-B	9:45
10.	"Step To This"	Colta	5:29
11.	"R-U-Here"	Colta

UK debut

In 2004, the "Cha Cha Slide" was released in the United Kingdom and went on to top the UK Singles Chart.^[2][3] Its success in the UK was helped by Scott Mills of BBC Radio 1 who pioneered the song on his weekday afternoon radio show.

Charts

In 2005, the "Cha Cha Slide" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[4]

Charts (2001–04)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5]	2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[6]	20
France (SNEP)[7]	14
Germany (Official German Charts)[8]	83
Ireland (IRMA)[9]	3
Italy (FIMI)[10]	17
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11]	12
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12]	86
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[13]	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[14]	83
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B[15]	24

Gold certification

Artist	Title	Release Date	Certification Date	Label	Award Description	Format
Mr. C The Slide Man	Cha-Cha Slide	Sept 19, 2000	Nov 4, 2005	Universal	Gold	Album

^[4]

Crazy Frog version

"Cha Cha Slide"
Single by Crazy Frog
from the album Everybody Dance Now
Released	25 August 2009
Format	CD single, digital download
Recorded	June 23, 2009
Genre	Dance
Length	3:03
Label	MOB Music Publishing
Writer(s)	William Perry Jr.[16]
Producer(s)	M. Thompson[16]
Crazy Frog singles chronology
"Daddy DJ" (2009) "Cha Cha Slide" (2009)

On August 25, 2009 Crazy Frog released "Cha Cha Slide" for his album Everybody Dance Now.

Charts

The song entered the French Singles Chart at number 19, and peaked to number 18.

Chart (2009)	Peak position
France (SNEP)[17]	18

References

1. "US Copyright Office". Recording Industry Association of America. RIAA. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 696. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
3. "DJ Casper tops UK singles chart". BBC News. March 14, 2004. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
4. "Recording Industry Association of America". Recording Industry Association of America. RIAA. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
5. "Ultratop.be – DJ Casper – Cha Cha Slide" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
6. "Ultratop.be – DJ Casper – Cha Cha Slide" (in French). Ultratop 50.
7. "Lescharts.com – DJ Casper – Cha Cha Slide" (in French). Les classement single.
8. "Musicline.de – DJ Casper Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
9. "Chart Track: Week 15, 2004". Irish Singles Chart.
10. "Italiancharts.com – DJ Casper – Cha Cha Slide". Top Digital Download.
11. "Dutchcharts.nl – DJ Casper – Cha Cha Slide" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
12. "Swisscharts.com – DJ Casper – Cha Cha Slide". Swiss Singles Chart.
13. "Archive Chart: 2004-03-07" UK Singles Chart.
14. "The Cha Cha Slide - Casper". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
15. "The Cha Cha Slide - Casper". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
16. "US Copyright Office". Recording Industry Association of America. RIAA. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
17. "Lescharts.com – Crazy Frog – Cha Cha Slide" (in French). Les classement single.

External links

• Mr. C The Slide Man - "Cha Cha Slide Part 2" on YouTube