"Le Freak" is a 1978 hit disco song by Chic. It was the
band's third single and first Billboard Hot 100 and soul
number-one song. A
New York Timescritic describes the song as a "haunting,
minimalist pop-funk built around the guitar and bass". Along
with the tracks, "I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer", "Le
Freak" stayed at number one on the disco charts for seven
weeks. The single bears the distinction of being the highest
selling record ever on Atlantic Records, and the
highest-selling single ever on WEA until it was displaced in
1990 (by Madonna's "Vogue").
The single achieved sales of over four million and also
reached number seven in the UK singles chart.
The song was ranked at number 19 on
BillboardMagazine's top 100 songs of the first 50 years
of the Hot 100 chart.
On the history of the song, guitarist Nile Rodgers later
commented:
"Le Freak" was the first song to be knocked out of (and
return to) the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100
three times. It first hit number one on the week ending
December 9, 1978. After one week, it fell to number two,
knocked out by the Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond duet "You
Don't Bring Me Flowers" (itself being a song "Le Freak" knocked
out of the number one spot the previous week), and returned to
the top position on December 23, 1978. After two additional
weeks at number one, it again fell to number two, this time
replaced by "Too Much Heaven" by the Bee Gees, and then
reclaimed number one on January 20, 1979, where it remained for
three additional weeks. This record remained in place till
2008, when
Bleeding Loveby Leona Lewis became the second track to
hit number one three times. Later that same year rap artist
T.I. tied this record twice with both "Whatever You Like" which
he recorded by himself and "Live Your Life" which he recorded
with Rihanna. On two of these occasions "Live Your Life"
dethroned "Whatever You Like" from the Number One Position.
The song is featured in the home edition of
Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova 2 (North America).
The song is featured in
Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail!during the fashion
show portion of the game.
"Le Freak" was performed on the television show
Gleeon the episode "Showmance", much to the characters'
chagrin.
Most recently, "Le Freak" was covered by the electronica
band Millionaires for the MTV movie
Turn The Beat Around.
The song can be heard in the 2010 film
Diary of a Wimpy Kidin the Mother/Son Dance scene.
