Groove Is in the Heart

Though the album version was not recorded until 1990, the song was originally written in the late 1980s; it was performed live as early as 1989.{{cite web|first= Richard |last= Metzger |title= Bringing the Funk from the East Village to the Global Village: Vintage Deee-Lite performances. |work= Dangerous Minds |date= April 4, 2013 |access-date= March 22, 2015 |url= https://dangerousminds.net/comments/vintage_deee-Lite}} The backing track was built around many samples, primarily the main riff from Herbie Hancock's track "Bring Down the Birds" from the Blowup soundtrack and Vernon Burch's "Get Up", which provided the drum track and also formed the basis for the breakdown featuring a slide whistle. Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Bootsy Collins provided guest vocals, and the rap is provided by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.{{cite book|editor-first1= Scott |editor-last1= Plagenhoef |editor2-first= Ryan |editor2-last= Schreiber |date= November 2008 |title= The Pitchfork 500 |publisher= Simon & Schuster |page= 96 |isbn= 978-1-4165-6202-3}} The repeated motif "I, I-I-I-I-I" is performed with the first word of a sample of Eva Gabor saying "I get allergic smelling hay" from the theme song of Green Acres.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g5_eQMSE9Ws |title=YouTube Demonstration |website=YouTube |accessdate=9 December 2024}} YouTube Short demonstrating use of Eva Gabor sample.

Upon the release, J.D. Considine from The Baltimore Sun found that "Groove Is in the Heart" "bounces happily from rap to funk to house without losing either momentum or its sense of humor."Considine, J.D. (1990). "Deee-Lite – World Clique". Baltimore Sun – via Milwaukee Journal. (September 9, 1990). Bill Coleman from Billboard wrote, "Sometimes you can believe the hype. Hot New York City underground dance trio more than lives up to prerelease push with this sizzling groove'n'sample funk jam, kicked into gear by the sultry and charismatic vocal presence of future diva Lady Miss Kier."{{cite magazine|first= Bill |last= Coleman |title= Single Reviews |magazine= Billboard |page= 79 |date= June 30, 1990 |access-date= October 28, 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/BB1990.pdf}} He also added, "'Groove' is, well, very groovy. A house-paced track with a hip-hop sensibility."{{cite magazine|first= Bill |last= Coleman |title= The Summer's Sizzling for Everybody Everybody |magazine= Billboard |volume= 102 |issue= 27 |page= 27 |date= July 7, 1990 |access-date= October 14, 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-07-07.pdf}} Bevan Hannan from The Canberra Times described the song as "good fun".{{cite news|first= Bevan |last= Hannan |title= A dee-lite look at the world clique |newspaper= The Canberra Times |page= 15 |date= July 30, 1992 |access-date= April 26, 2020 |url= https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/126939568}} David Giles from Music Week said it's a "fine single". He added, "Pure Seventies funk with a Nineties groove."{{cite magazine|first= David |last= Giles |title= Singles |magazine= Music Week |page= 19 |date= August 11, 1990 |access-date= October 31, 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1990/MW-1990-08-11.pdf}} Helen Mead from NME stated that it is "playfully funky".{{cite magazine|first= Helen |last= Mead |title= Deee Lite – World Clique |magazine= NME |access-date= November 24, 2020 |url= http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000150reviews.html |archive-date= August 17, 2000 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20000817212323/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000150reviews.html}} A reviewer from People Magazine noted it as "hopping".{{cite magazine|title= Picks and Pans Review: World Clique |magazine= People |volume= 34 |issue= 14 |date= October 8, 1990 |access-date= November 13, 2020 |url= https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-world-clique-vol-34-no-14/}} Ross Grady from The Rice Thresher said it is "one of the creamiest slabs of vinyl ever to come from the house music scene."{{cite news|first= Ross |last= Grady |title= Top ten picks not to overlook |newspaper= The Rice Thresher |page= 17 |date= March 8, 1991 |access-date= April 26, 2020 |url= https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245778/m1/17/}} Caroline Sullivan from Smash Hits wrote that the "ripping floor filler" has "got the samples and twiddly electronoises so necessary for dancefloor success nowadays, but there's also a hummable melody and sense of humour about it all."{{cite magazine|first= Caroline |last= Sullivan |title= Review: LPs |magazine= Smash Hits |via= Flickr |page= 54 |date= September 5, 1990 |access-date= October 19, 2020 |url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/smashhits90s/40623634005/in/album-72157695749775315/}} NME and The Village Voice{{'}}s Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll named "Groove Is in the Heart" the best single released in the year 1990.

An immediate smash in nightclubs, the song went to number-one on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart and also hit number four on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number-one for one week in Australia in November 1990, while it reached number two in New Zealand.

In the UK, the record was equally popular and was released as a double A-side with "What Is Love", and, with the UK single released with the subtitle "peanut butter mix" (because the single was heavily edited and completely omitted the contributions by Bootsy Collins and Q-Tip), it eventually reached number two during September 1990. Its placing second was due to a rule instituted in the UK Singles Chart in the 1980s, which settled any "ties" over chart positions due to equal sales: the single with sales that had increased most from the previous week would reside above the other, controversially giving "The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band the top place. Following complaints from Deee-Lite's record company, WEA, the rule, of which this song had been the only victim, was scrapped and joint positions were once again allowed. However, it turned out that the 2,595 panel sales that both records achieved for this week of September 15, 1990, had been rounded up, with chart compilers Gallup later releasing the data that showed that the Steve Miller Band hit was indeed a fraction ahead, Deee-Lite having been narrowly defeated by 44,118 to 44,110 copies.{{cite web|first= James |last= Masterton |title= Asking for Another (Sale) |website= Chart Watch UK |date= May 19, 2020 |access-date= January 3, 2021 |url= https://chart-watch.uk/james-blog/songs/asking-for-another-sale}} "The Joker" spent a second week at the number-one spot and thereafter convincingly outsold "Groove Is in the Heart". It did however hit number one on The Network Chart Show and ITV's Chart Show both of which monitored an earlier cut off period.

In Europe, the single entered the top 10 also in Finland (9), Greece (3), Ireland (8), Italy (7), the Netherlands (10) and Spain (8), as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, where it peaked at number five in September 1990. Additionally, it was a top 20 hit in Belgium (19), Germany (17) and Switzerland (13), while it peaked within the top 30 in Austria (25). "Groove Is in the Heart" earned a gold record in the US, after 500,000 singles were sold. In Australia and the UK, it earned a platinum record, when 70,000 and 600,000 units, respectively, were sold.

The accompanying music video for "Groove Is in the Heart" was directed by Japanese film director Hiroyuki Nakano and features lead singer Lady Miss Kier dancing (as well as other band members) against a 1960s psychedelic themed background.{{Citation |title=Deee-Lite: Groove Is in the Heart |type=Music |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6149638/ |access-date=2024-02-13}} It was nominated for a number of categories at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards without winning any.{{Cite web |title=Deee-Lite: Groove Is in the Heart (Music Video 1990) - Awards |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6149638/awards/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}

AllMusic editor Ned Raggett wrote in his review of World Clique, "Its reputation may rest on only one hit single – but what a hit. 'Groove Is in the Heart' defined the summer of 1990 on radio and MTV with its delicious combination of funk, modern dance sheen, and Lady Miss Kier's smart, sharp diva ways. Add in guest vocals and bass from Bootsy Collins (a pity his hilarious video cameo wasn't represented here), brass from the original Horny Horns duo of Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker, and a smooth mid-song rap from A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, and the results sounded good then and now."{{cite web|first= Ned |last= Raggett |title= Deee-Lite – World Clique |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= February 18, 2020 |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/world-clique-mw0000308726}} In 2017, Stopera and Galindo from BuzzFeed declared it as a "perfect little slice of the early '90s New York club scene."{{cite web|first1= Matt |last1= Stopera |first2= Brian |last2= Galindo |title= The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s |website= BuzzFeed |date= March 11, 2017 |access-date= March 31, 2020 |url= https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/jump-to-the-rhythm-jump-jump-to-the-rhythm-jump}} NME called it a "pretty faultless collage of G-Funk, Daisy Age hip-hop, salsa and dippy disco."{{cite magazine|title= 100 Best Songs of the 1990s |magazine= NME |date= May 8, 2012 |access-date= April 2, 2020 |url= https://www.nme.com/list/100-best-songs-of-the-1990s-1157}} In 2006, Slant Magazine ranked the song third in its 100 Greatest Dance Songs list, writing: "No song delivered the group's world-conscious Word as colorfully and open-heartedly as 'Groove Is in the Heart,' which flew up the Billboard charts while goosing stuffed shirts."{{cite web|title= 100 Greatest Dance Songs |work= Slant Magazine |url= http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/100-greatest-dance-songs/P20 |date= January 30, 2006 |access-date= April 16, 2011}}

In 2003, Q Magazine ranked "Groove Is in the Heart" number 323 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".{{cite web|title= Q – 1001 best songs ever (2003) |website= Muzieklijstjes.nl |access-date= April 17, 2020 |url= http://www.muzieklijstjes.nl/Q1001bestsongsever.htm}} VH1 ranked it number 67 in their list of "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s" in 2007.{{cite web|title= 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s: Full List |work= VH1 |url= http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/127759/episode_featured_copy.jhtml |archive-date= December 16, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071216020506/http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/127759/episode_featured_copy.jhtml}} Pitchfork named it the 59th best track of the 1990s. They wrote: "With their sass-tastic frontwoman and kitsched-to-death fashion sense, Deee-Lite probably seemed like a good bet at a time when pop's future was still up for grabs. If you were a kid in the 'burbs, they almost resembled a Daisy Age hip-hop group (the day-glo/flower-power look, the Q-Tip guest rap) as much as a house act (a strange urban subculture we had little access to in junior high)."{{cite web|title= The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s |website= Pitchfork |date= September 1, 2010 |access-date= July 11, 2018 |url= https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/7851-the-top-200-tracks-of-the-1990s-100-51/?page=5}}

In 2011, The Guardian featured the song on their "A history of modern music: Dance".{{cite news|title= A history of modern music: Dance |newspaper= The Guardian |access-date= March 12, 2017 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/jun/15/dance-music-playlist-download}} In April 2017 the single was re-released on pink vinyl, as part of Record Store Day with remixes of "What Is Love?" on the B-Side.{{cite web|first= Mark |last= Savage |title= Record Store Day: Our pick of the 10 Best Releases |website= BBC News Online |date= March 21, 2017 |access-date= March 4, 2018 |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39325897}} BuzzFeed ranked the song number three in their "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s" list in 2017.{{cite web|first1= Matt |last1= Stopera |first2= Brian |last2= Galindo |title= The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s |website= BuzzFeed |date= March 11, 2017 |access-date= October 4, 2018 |url= https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/jump-to-the-rhythm-jump-jump-to-the-rhythm-jump |author-link= Matt Stopera}} In 2018, Time Out ranked it number 23 in their list of "The 100 best party songs", adding, "In this tale of New York's anything-is-possible East Village of the late '80s, a trio of candy-coloured club kids – Super DJ Dmitri, Lady Miss Kier and Towa Tei – decide to form a band. The threesome (with a little help from ringers Q-Tip, Maceo Parker and Bootsy Collins) come up with 'Groove Is in the Heart', a sweetly innocent percolator of a tune that, against all odds, becomes the worldwide club smash of 1990. True story!"{{cite magazine|title= The 100 best party songs |magazine= Time Out |date= March 8, 2018 |access-date= October 4, 2018 |url= https://www.timeout.com/london/music/best-party-songs}}

In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "Groove Is in the Heart" number 233 in its updated list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, calling it "a collage across different generations of funkateers."{{cite magazine|title= The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |magazine= Rolling Stone |date= September 15, 2021 |access-date= November 4, 2021 |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/deee-lite-groove-is-in-the-heart-1225105/}} In 2022, The Guardian ranked it number 18 in their list of "The 70 Greatest No 2 Singles – Ranked!". Alexis Petridis wrote, "If they’d had another song remotely as good as "Groove Is in the Heart"’s stew of samples, effortless pop melodies and interjections from Bootsy Collins and Q-Tip, Deee-Lite would have been huge. They didn’t, but this joyous pop-disco classic will be played at parties for eternity."Petridis, Alexis (November 17, 2022). "The 70 Greatest No 2 Singles – Ranked!". The Guardian. In 2023, Billboard ranked it number 68 in their "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time",{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-pop-songs-all-time-hits/68-deee-lite-groove-is-in-the-heart-2/|title=The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List|magazine=Billboard|date=October 19, 2023|access-date=October 20, 2023}} while in March 2025, the magazine ranked it number two in their list of "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time".{{cite web|first1=Andrea|last1=Domanick|first2=Andrew|last2=Unterberger|first3=Elias|last3=Leight|first4=Eric|last4=Renner Brown|first5=Jason|last5=Lipshutz|first6=Joe|last6=Lynch|first7=Kat|last7=Bein|first8=Katie|last8=Bein|first9=Krystal|last9=Rodriguez|first10=Lily|last10=Moayeri|first11=Melinda|last11=Newman|first12=Thomas|last12=Smith|first13=Zei|last13=McCarthy|url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-dance-songs-all-time/|title=The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time: Staff List|work=Billboard|date=March 28, 2025|access-date=April 6, 2025}}

(*) indicates the list is unordered.

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• CD maxi – Europe

1. "Groove Is in the Heart" (meeting of the minds mix) – 5:14
2. "Groove Is in the Heart" (peanut butter mix) – 3:31
3. "What Is Love?" (holographic goatee mix) – 4:10
4. "What Is Love?" (rainbow beard mix) – 4:04

• CD maxi – US

1. "Groove Is in the Heart" (LP version) – 3:55
2. "Groove Is in the Heart" (peanut butter radio mix) – 3:32
3. "Groove Is in the Heart" (meeting of the minds mix) – 5:14
4. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Jelly Jam beats) – 2:12
5. "What Is Love?" (holographic goatee mix) – 4:13
6. "What Is Love?" (frenchapella) – 0:57
7. "What Is Love?" (rainbow beard mix) – 4:03

• 2017 Record Store Day Re-Release

:A1. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Meeting of the Minds mix)

:A2. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Peanut Butter mix)

:A3. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Jelly Jam Beats)

:B1. "What Is Love?" (Holographic Goatee mix)

:B2. "What Is Love?" (Frenchapella)

:B3. "What Is Love?" (Rainbow Beard mix)

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• 7-inch single

1. "Groove Is in the Heart" (peanut butter mix) – 3:29
2. "What Is Love?" (holographic goatee mix) – 4:10

• 12-inch maxi

1. "Groove Is in the Heart" (meeting of the minds mix) – 5:10
2. "Groove Is in the Heart" (peanut butter mix) – 3:29
3. "What Is Love?" (holographic goatee mix) – 4:10
4. "What Is Love?" (rainbow beard mix) – 4:02

• Digital single{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/gb/album/groove-is-in-the-heart-ep/818269215 |title=Groove Is In the Heart!!! - EP by Deee-Lite on Apple Music |publisher=Apple Music |access-date=May 30, 2022}}

1. "Groove Is in the Heart" – 3:54
2. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Bootsified to the Nth Degree) – 5:04
3. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Meeting the Minds Mix) – 5:10
4. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Peanut Butter Mix) – 3:29
5. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Jelly Jam Beats) – 2:12
6. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Instrumental) – 3:45
7. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Acapella) – 3:38
8. "Groove Is in the Heart" (Extended Version) – 4:59

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Credits adapted from the album liner notes for World Clique.{{cite AV media notes|title= World Clique |others= Deee-Lite |year= 1990 |type= liner notes |publisher= Elektra |access-date= October 4, 2017 |url= https://www.discogs.com/release/8448027-World-Clique/images}}

• Lady Miss Kier – lead{{cite web|title= Deee-Lite – World Clique – Credits |website= AllMusic |access-date= October 4, 2017 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/world-clique-mw0000308726/credits}} and background vocals
• Q-Tip – rap
• Bootsy Collins – background vocals
• Maceo Parker – saxophone
• Fred Wesley – trombone

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|artist=Deee-Lite|title=Groove Is in the Heart|award=Platinum|relyear=1993|certyear=1993|certref={{cite web|title= Australian Fun Countdowns – Accreditation Awards |publisher= Australian Fun Countdowns |date= April 7, 2011 |access-date= July 30, 2014 |url= http://australianfuncountdowns.blogspot.fr/2010/01/accreditation-awards.html}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|relyear=2004|certyear=2022|title=Groove Is in the Heart|artist=Deee-Lite|type=single|award=Platinum|id=14340-2209-1|access-date=June 13, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Deee-Lite|title=Groove Is in the Heart|award=Gold|relyear=1990|certyear=1990}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

American retail chain Target Corporation used the song, as performed by Charli XCX with Questlove and Black Thought from the Roots, in a series of 2015 television advertisements.{{cite web|title= Questlove, Black Thought, and Charli XCX cover "Groove is in the Heart" — listen |work= Consequence of Sound |access-date= February 24, 2015 |url= http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/02/questlove-black-thought-and-charli-xcx-cover-groove-is-in-the-heart-listen/}}

• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1990s
• List of RPM number-one dance singles of 1990
• List of number-one dance singles of 1990 (U.S.)

{{Reflist}}

{{Deee-Lite}}

{{Q-Tip}}

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Category:1990 debut singles

Category:1990 songs

Category:Deee-Lite songs

Category:Elektra Records singles

Category:Number-one singles in Australia

Category:Songs written by Herbie Hancock

Category:Songs written by Q-Tip (musician)

Category:Songs written by Towa Tei

Category:Songs about music