Workin' On a Groovy Thing

The history of Neil Sedaka's unassuming little song

By the mid-sixties, Neil Sedaka was in a career slump as a recording artist, though he continued to write hit songs for other performers and reap the benefits of his publishing royalties. He remained a popular performer in Great Britain and other parts of Europe, and in Australia. It was while touring down under that Sedaka recorded the album titled Working on a Groovy Thing for the Sydney-based label Festival Records. In the UK the album was titled Sounds of Sedaka.

The Australian version's title track had already been a hit for R&B singer Patti Drew in 1968. Drew grew up in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb just north of Chicago. Her father worked for the city of Wilmette; her mother worked as a domestic. Patti and her two sisters grew up singing in the church, and they were gifted singers.  As they grew, they were often asked to perform at the Bethel A.M.E. church that they attended as well as entertaining their parents and guests at home.

The girls' mother mentioned to one of her employers, a Capitol records distributor named Maury Lathauwear, that she had three daughters who could sing. He asked her to bring him a recording. She did even better, bringing the girls round to his home to hear them live as well as giving him a tape which he took to producer Peter Wright. Wright liked the recording, a song called "Tell Him," and the girls were signed to Capitol. "Tell Him" was released as a single under the name The Drew-vels, and Patti's career was born. The song was written by Carlton Black, a fellow Evanstonian who was in another local singing group. He was fond of Patti's sister Erma (who he later married), so he gave his song and his low voice to The Drew-vels.

After three excellent singles that went largely unnoticed, Capitol dropped the group. They ended up signing Patti Drew as a solo act in 1967, and between then and 1970 she released over a dozen singles and four albums. Her first album fetaured a redo of "Tell Him" that was a mild hit. Her second album featured Sedaka's "Working on a Groovy Thing" and was also the title of the album. The song's arrangement was done by Peter Wright, who by now was also functioning as Drew's manager. Like the other arrangements on the album they support Drew's warm voice. His string arrangement is sharper and more contemporary than that on Sedaka's recording, creating a setting for Patti that emphasizes the song's soulfulness.

The soul influence on the song is clear enough from Sedaka's arrangement, though it's more mannered and removed from the source (Chicago) than Drew's recording. It's not just her voice that makes it more soulful, though that does have to be taken into consideration. It's the dreamy vibe that rides over the record, not unlike the vibe of Aretha Franklin's "Daydreamin'" or Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic." One difference is the rhythm section that manages to drive the song forward at all times while remaining beneath the radar.

Patti was the first artist to record the song, and it was a mild hit for her, reaching 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 34 on U.S. R&B singles charts. Drew and Wright were unable to capitalize on its success as her highest charting record to push her career forward.

Sedaka recorded his version in Australia, as noted earlier, and it featured a number of well known Australian studio musicians, including drummer Alan Turnbull, guitarist Jimmy Doyle, multi-instrumentalist John Sangster, and flautist Mal Cunningham. Because he lacked a recording contract in the U.S., the record wasn't released there, and "Working on a Groovy Thing" wasn't released as a single anywhere.

But the song wasn't done. In 1969 pop vocal group The Fifth Dimension recorded a version of "Working On a Groovy Thing" for their fourth album, The Age of Aquarius. The album was the group's most successful release, rising to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and ending up at No. 21 on the 1969  Billboard year-end chart. "Working on a Groovy Thing" was the second of four singles released from the album (the others were "Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In," "Wedding Bell Blues," and "Blowing Away"), and it charted at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 23 on Cash Box Top 100, and No. 9 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

The record was produced by Bones Howe, and the arrangements were done by Bill Holman and Bob Alcivar. This team worked with The Fifth Dimension on their most classic albums, with the trusted Howe always in the producer's chair for the vocal quintet. The arrangement takes advantage of the group's harmonies, of course, as well as the different solo vocal tones of the female vocalists on the bridge leading to the chorus. The arrangement is a bright, Sunshine pop affair played to perfection by (mostly) members of the Wrecking Crew.

The pop sound was always as close as The Fifth Dimension's latest record, but it was supported by a true soul vibe underneath the pop panache. The group was popular with a (mostly white) pop audience, less so with a black audience in the era of James Brown, afros, and the arrival of funk. Yet it was poignant to see Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. watching footage of the group's performance at the Harlem Cultural Festival in Questlove's Summer of Soul documentary. Their performance was very solid and well received by the audience in attendance that day, and it clearly meant a lot to both of them to see that.

"Working on a Groovy Thing" stalled out on the chart just as it had for Patti Drew. Maybe the song lacked the killer instinct to get to the top of the charts, with its relaxed groove. I was seven when the Fifth Dimension record hit, and I can remember the song as a kind of presence for the next several years, popping up on the radio or in commercials. It was recorded by vocaists Lana Cantrell, New Zealand singer Allison Durbin, Barbara Lewis, and the Friends of Distinction, and a number of instrumental versions popped up, including those by soul jazz organist Richard ‘Groove’ Holmes, Bola Sete, and Johnny Hammond. Even The Partridge Family got in on the act, performing the song on a 1973 episode of their television series.

In a 2011 interview co-writer Roger Atkins said: "I'd say that, 'Workin' On A Groovy Thing' that I wrote with Neil is pretty well known... and is probably my most recorded song, even if it is my least favorite title."

As for Neil Sedaka, he spent a few more years in the wilderness, playing concert dates in Australia and the UK. After moving to London he recorded two albums, backed by a group of musicians who became 10cc, that started to put his career back on track. Soon after, in 1973, he signed with Elton John's Rocket Records label and relaunched his recording career in the U.S. with Sedaka's Back, a selection of songs from his last few British records that sold well.

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