Stomp! by The Brothers Johnson

Album: Light Up The Night (1980)

Charted: 6 7

License This Song

Songfacts®:

This get-up-and-dance (in this case, dance by stomping) song came about when Brothers Johnson's producer, Quincy Jones, gave their guitarist, George Johnson, an assignment: Write a song called "Stomp!" This wasn't out of character; Jones also assigned him "Get The Funk Out Ma Face" on their first album in 1976.

Johnson went home and brainstormed. He wrote the word on a piece of paper; he drew a picture of a foot. After pulling an all-nighter trying to write the song, he finally came up with something that he brought to the studio for the afternoon session, and "Stomp!" was born. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Mike - Santa Barbara, CA
George Johnson worked on this song in the studio with his bandmate/brother Louis, Louis' wife Valerie, and the songwriter/producer Rod Temperton, whom Quincy Jones brought in - all four are credited as writers on the track. Temperton was a member of the group Heatwave and with Quincy Jones on some of Michael Jackson's material; Temperton wrote the songs "Rock With You" and "Thriller."
Stomp! was the last big hit for the Brothers Johnson, and Light Up The Night was the last of their four Platinum albums, all produced by Quincy Jones. They split up in 1982 but reunited from time to time. Their biggest hits were "Strawberry Letter 23" and "I'll Be Good To You."

Comments: 5

Old G Musik Lova from NycGit the funk otta mah face is a great tune. You can hear it in an old Bill Cosby comedy called Mother Jugs and Speed. Its the scene where the ambulance drives onto the golf course to the man laid out on the greens.
Ang Soon Kit, Ethan from From SingaporeMichael Jackson, Greg Phillinganes, Jerry Hey and Gary Grant all involved in this after Michael Jackson "Off The Wall" album on top of Quincy and Rod.
Ricardo from Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaBackground music at the bridal party in the movie Yes Man.
John from Nashville, TnOne of the co-writers of this song is Valerie Johnson, Louis' ex-wife.
John from Nashville, TnQuincy Jones used to come to the Brothers Johnson, and challenge the Brothers to write a song based on a word or phrase he'd give them. This song and 1976's top 40 hit "Get The Funk Out Ma Face" are two hits based on Jones' title ideas.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Hey Soul SisterTrain

Train's guitarist had to Google an instructional video to learn how to play the ukulele for "Hey Soul Sister."

A key line in "Africa" is "I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become," which is about drifting away from what you really want in life. Toto keyboard player David Paich, who wrote the song, felt his work was consuming him.

DarlinAvril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne's 2011 song "Darlin" was written much earlier; she says it's the second song she ever wrote, composed when she was an unsigned 15-year-old living in Napanee, Ontario. The song reflects those years when she was "trying to figure it all out."