TIGHTEN UP by Archie Bell and the Drells (Atlantic, 1968)

Tighten up isn’t really a song at all (even though it’s listed as #265 on Rolling Stone’s list of the Top 500 Songs of All Time). It’s a riff, a groove, a vibe - and it’s FUCKIN’ AWESOME. It also made it to number one on both the R&B and Pop Charts of 1968. Some people say it was the beginning of funk - maybe so, I don’t know, but, whatever it was, it activated my pleasure center intensely.

When Archie says: “Make it mellow,” time stops, and the band goes into slow motion. It’s my favorite part of the record. But, of course, you can’t have the mellow riff without the contrast of the funky, (like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup) and this is a secret weapon that captures my heart every time. 

There is some chanting, but no melody, no tune, just Archie’s spoken word introduction, telling you who the band is and where they hail from: Houston, Texas. Legend has it that after the Kennedy assassination, Archie Bell overheard someone say that “nothing ever good comes from Texas,” and this was his inspiration: to tell everybody that The Drells came from Texas, and “we were good.”

I’ve got to give you that, Archie. Tighten Up preceded the advent of the Walkman, but to this 15 year old — I didn’t need any electronic device to access that riff while I was bopping down the boulevard. It played in my head on a loop, and guided my street shuffle right in tempo.