Give the People What They Want (The O'Jays song)

"Give the People What They Want" is a song by R&B vocal group The O'Jays. Released from their album, Survival, it spent one week at number one on the R&B singles chart in the summer of 1975. It was also peaked at number forty-five on the Billboard Hot 100.^[1]

It was used as part of the regular playlist at campaign events for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential candidacy.^[2]

The O'Jays song is currently being used by NBC's WCAU-TV-10 to promote the station's news and other programing.^[3] The song's chorus plays with no other voice-over, along with clips of action in the streets, and station on-air staff with slogans promoting programming. The campaign debuted 12 February 2010, including one clip of "Jay Leno at 11:35", after The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien was off the air.

This song is heavily sampled in EPMD's song "Give the People" from their 1990 album Business as Usual.

The song is used as the intro theme music for former NBA player Jalen Rose's podcast, The Jalen Rose Report, for Grantland. The phrase has become Rose's unofficial catchphrase.

Chart positions

Charts	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	45
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles	1

Preceded by "Rockin' Chair" by Gwen McCrae	Billboard's Hot Soul Singles number-one single June 21, 1975	Succeeded by "Look at Me (I'm in Love)" by The Moments

References

↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 438.
↑ Hewitt, Gavin (2008-10-29). "The songs - and the candidate - remain the same". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
↑ "Got to Give the People...". WCAU. Retrieved 2020-05-10. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

External links

Song review on Allmusic
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

The O'Jays

Eddie Levert Walter Williams Eric Grant Bill Isles Bobby Massey William Powell Sammy Strain Nathaniel Best

Studio albums	Back on Top Back Stabbers Ship Ahoy Survival Family Reunion Message in the Music Travelin' at the Speed of Thought So Full of Love Identify Yourself Heartbreaker

Live & compilation albums	The Very Best of the O'Jays

Singles	"Lipstick Traces (on a Cigarette) "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow (Than I Was Today) "Back Stabbers" "Love Train" "For the Love of Money" "Give the People What They Want" "I Love Music (Part I)" "Livin' for the Weekend" "Message in Our Music" "Darlin' Darlin' Baby (Sweet, Tender, Love)" "Use ta Be My Girl" "Lovin' You" "Have You Had Your Love Today"

Related articles	Discography

Book

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