You Can't Sit Down
| "You Can't Sit Down" | |
|---|---|
| Single by the Dovells | |
| from the album You Can't Sit Down[1] | |
| Recorded | 1963 |
| Label | Parkway |
| Writer(s) | Dee Clark, Kal Mann, Cornell Muldrow[1] |
"You Can't Sit Down" is a song best known in two versions: the 1961 Philip Upchurch Combo original instrumental, and a vocal cover version by the Dovells that reached number three on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1963. It is based, at least in part, on the gospel song "Sit Down Servant".[citation needed]
The song was set to two Disney cartoons in D-TV, "The Hockey Champ" and "Hockey Homicide". The Philadelphia 76ers used a modified version of the song with team-specific lyrics for the franchise's marketing campaign during the 1991–92 season.
In 1962 it appeared as a cover on Booker T. and the MG's first album, Green Onions.[2] Also the Bar Kays and Hound Dog Taylor have recorded it (on albums Soul Finger and Natural Boogie). In 1964 the Kingsmen released a version on their LPThe Kingsmen In Person.
The song references "South Street", which is the same good-time area the Orlons sang about in their 1963 song South Street. The Orlons and the Dovells were both from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
