Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

"Things That Make You Go Hmmmm..."
Single by C+C Music Factory
from the album Gonna Make You Sweat
Released	June 23, 1991
Format	7", 12", CD single
Recorded	1990
Length	5:23
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Robert Clivillés, Freedom Williams
Producer(s)	Robert Clivillés, David Cole
C+C Music Factory singles chronology
"Here We Go (Let's Rock & Roll)" (1991) "Things That Make You Go Hmmmm..." (1991) "Just a Touch of Love" (1991)

"Things That Make You Go Hmmmm..." is a song by American dance group C+C Music Factory. It was released in June 1991 as the third single from the album Gonna Make You Sweat. The single features Freedom Williams and he is also seen in the song's music video. The song was inspired by a running gag on The Arsenio Hall Show, where Arsenio, while allegedly on a long drive, pondered certain thoughts and referred to them as "things that make you go hmmm...."

The C+C song was a success in the US, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #31 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. It also reached #4 on the UK Singles Chart. The song contains samples from the songs "I'm Shook" by James Brown and "Apache" by the Incredible Bongo Band.^[1] The song was certified gold by the RIAA on August 13, 1991 for sales of over 500,000 copies.

Music video

The style of the music video was a major trendsetter in the early 1990s. It featured silhouetted animation of dancers jumping and dancing in front of a white background, with a stage visible, but also in silhouette. The story of the song was also interpreted with black and gold cut-out animation that was a departure from the in-vogue 3D CGI animation of the time; however, these 2-D cut-outs ended up being even more progressive.

In popular culture

In American advertising, Coca-Cola was one of the first to advertise special promotions featuring the group in a special, brief cut of their music video. A version of the song was also used in a series of ads for McDonalds.

The ABC television network was one of the earliest media outlets to jump on the C+C bandwagon, advertising their spring 1992 prime-time programming under the takeoff banner, "Shows that make you go...", using a custom version of the song and running ads with a woman posing in front of a white background. Then, for their 1992-93 network campaign, ABC brought out many of their stars to do a complete take-off of the song and video for the It Must Be ABC banner.

In 1992, the song featured in highlights of the Philippine Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association by being used during the PBA First Conference when highlights of footage of the Vintage Sports coverage of the PBA were being shown on PTV-4 before the news program Pangunahing Balita.^[2]

The song was heard in the short-lived U.S. TV show Surviving Jack in episode six, "She Drives Me Crazy", as well as in the British television series Brainiac: Science Abuse.

The British girl group Stooshe covered the song and released it in 2013 as a B-side to their single "Black Heart", under the title "Things That Make You Go Mmm". The single reached #3 in the UK and #4 in Scotland.

Charts and certifications

Peak positions Chart (1991) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[3] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[4] 14 Canada Dance (RPM)[5] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[6] 10 Germany (Media Control Charts)[7] 27 Ireland (IRMA)[8] 9 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 19 New Zealand (RIANZ)[3] 2 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[3] 14 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[3] 15 United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company)[10] 4 US Billboard Hot 100 4 US Billboard Hot R&B Singles 31 US Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play 1

Year-end charts Chart (1991) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] 51 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified U.S.[12] Gold 1991 500,000

References

1. http://www.whosampled.com/artist/C+C%20Music%20Factory/
2. "Things that make you go HMMMM".
3. "Things That Make You Go Hmmm...", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
4. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".
5. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".
6. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
7. German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
8. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
9. "Single top 100 over 1991" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
10. UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
11. "Billboard Top 100 - 1991". Retrieved 2009-09-15.
12. U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved August 5, 2008)