LadyCouch Loves You…and Tag Team “Whoomp! There It Is”

One Hit History

“Whoomp! There It Is!” is talking about their particular art scene as a whole, even though it’s more T&A based. — Keshia Bailey and Allen Thompson, co-founders of jam band LadyCouch on their favorite one hit wonder by Tag Team

The conversation bounces around so much between Sloane Spencer and the co-founders of LadyCouch (Keshia Bailey and Allen Thompson) that who knows where it is while they talk about their favorite one hit wonder from 1993. But the Nashville duo finally lands on “Whoomp There It Is” by Tag Team. But don’t confuse it with 95 South’s “Whoot There It Is”, though the trio chats about the differences and similarities between the two.

My philosophy is ‘hit’ is however you want to define it. It’s whatever it means for the conversation. — Sloane Spencer, host of One Hit History, on how loosely the podcast defines “hit”

Listen to see how the strip club scene in Atlanta in the 90s was essential to the music scene, the unlikely way the band got their party song on the streets, and how many musicians’ favorite one hit wonders come outside of the genre in which they perform and write.

That recent Geico commercial has taken me back to the spring of ‘93. — Allen Thompson (LadyCouch co-founder)

Links

• Blackbird Records label
• LadyCouch (6-12 members rotating, core is Keshia Bailey and Allen Thompson)
• One Hit History podcast playlist of show guests
• One Hit History playlist of one hit wonders
• Bonus episodes, outtakes, and sneak peeks

Music Mentions

• The Future Looks Fine
• LadyCouch
• “Whoomp There It Is”
• “Whoot, There It Is”
• “Who Let the Dogs Out”
• “Ring my Bell”
• Terence Trent D’Arby (who now goes by Sananda Maitreya)
• “Bittersweet Symphony”
• “Touch of Grey”

Don’t forget to give One Hit History a five star rating!

AI Transcript

Sloane Spencer Hey y’all Sloane Spencer here you found us. It’s one hit history, the new podcast where we talk with music people about what’s your favorite one hit wonder. We’re fixing to jump in talking with our friends Keshia Bailey and Allen Thompson of the band LadyCouch. They got the new record out called future looks fun. It’s on Blackbird records. You can find it in all your favorite places where music is available. We’ll talk with them a little bit throughout the conversation about their own music as well and the cool stuff they have coming up. But first, let’s just jump right in some y’all. What’s your favorite one hit wonder.

Keshia Bailey Oh my god. This is so hard.

Allen Thompson So we’ve got a lot of favorite one hit wonders. But that recent GEICO commercial with tag team has taken me back to the spring of 1993. And made me really think about Whoop, there it is, by tag team versus Whoop, there it is by 95. Sell. The course is almost identical. Minus the spelling of the whoop and or WOOT in the title, subject matter. Kind of similar. I feel like tag jeans, the writings a little stronger. Lyrically, it’s a little bit more poetic. Both of them are you know, pretty much worldwide sports Hanson’s at this point. Yes, absolutely.

AT Anybody that has been to a football game or owns any of the 385 editions have now That’s What I Call Music, you’ve definitely heard

SS both songs platinum at the minimum, in fact, the whoop version of it multi platinum and the WOOT version, platinum, both of them and not 100. And just absolutely successful in and of their own right. But it’s been that continuation through sports and advertising that has made these songs of the millennium in many ways.

AT I mean, they open the door for Who let the dogs out many other one hit wonder classics.

SS We’re gonna feature the song, who let the dogs out on another one hit history, because there’s actually quite a bit more behind the scenes about that particular song as well. So hold those thoughts on that particular song. But yeah, but styling.

AT I mean, I’m interested, I’m looking forward to that episode.

SS It is nothing at all what you think that’s all I’m gonna say. This particular type of sound was that was coming out in the early 90s. I of course, very much associated with the Atlanta sound that was coming with tag team, they developed as like house DJs out of the strip club scene of Atlanta, which has been a vibrant musical and performance scene for many decades. If you’re not from Atlanta, or you haven’t been to Atlanta, or you missed Atlanta in the 90s I mean, that’s just what it was. They came up out of the DJ scene there at a club called Magic City and the day they recorded this they took it into the club to play it and got immediate response from the folks there and they were like heck yeah, we got to hit here and then no major labels would touch it because it was a different kind of sound that sort of southern bass thing that ultimately we all reflect on are like Oh yeah, that was a scene but they were opening that door but the major labels weren’t ready for this sort of positive party you know, Southern bass thing so they borrowed money from family pressed 800 copies on their own sold them in parking lots right away. And ultimately Mercury Records was like I think maybe the sky like used to work for stacks we’ll figure out how to market this for you. So they put our bell in charge. And there you are, number one, hot r&b Number two hot 100 multi cloud I didn’t realize that our bell was there, a&r is that insane? Ausubel big deal here?

AT Yeah, I mean, I didn’t realize that.

SS Yeah, nobody else would touch it. All the labels like couldn’t figure it out because they’re like, this is like a fun song. What do we do with that?

AT Well, that was a big issue and all over the East Coast. I mean, you know, what, Dre and DJ Quik and everybody else were doing in Los Angeles. Like that was pretty much the standard you had like the 2 Live Crew pockets in Miami and we’ll get to there we start talking about night five sound right because they’re Miami had all these things happening like in the Atlanta strip club scene and in New York, with Wu Tang and puffy and you know big and everybody like that but none of them had broke yet and everyone even the New York based labels like Def Jam was afraid to touch any of these

SS I definitely can’t speak to like the whole east coast West Coast thing that ultimately developed out of that I’m not an expert on it. The sound was different and it had a different thing behind it in a lot of ways that the industry was like we don’t know

Keshia Bailey (LadyCouch) 4:27 right? When we’re thinking of one hit wonders in our favorite one hit wonder speaking of bells and need award you can ring my bell and other hit Friday share the held it and that was the only one that was the top pin damn shame because she’s amazing you can amazing to one hit was ringing my bell. You mean my bed?

AT We should probably cover that.

KB Yeah, we probably should actually that’d be really good little test to do. Nice transition from our bell to bell I got Time to say why isn’t anyone that’s why you’re here.

AT I love you. So yeah. Back into one hit wonder

SS I adore one hit wonders so much so that it’s probably one of my favorite musical subjects. But what I really like about asking this question to music people is that almost everybody has mentioned something that is outside the genre of music that they write. And that aspect of it has been fascinating to me. You know, like, when you’re asking musicians about it, it’s kind of a different thing.

KB Like, just when we were like, we’re talking about Anita Ward, like ringing my bell. Yes, sorry. There’s so much of what she’s done that like, I love that I don’t like yes, that would not have been her one hit. But I don’t think about it. In those terms. It’s the same way. Like, I don’t think about the Grateful Dead as being a one hit wonder even though a touch of gray is the only hit

KB that you know, thinking of like the Verve, right? And doing bittersweet symphony. How many people covered that tune? That was the only song that they actually had?

SS My philosophy about this is hit is defined however you want to define it. So if it’s like the only song that your band is known for, so like, Aha, with Take on me would be a great example from the 80s. In the US, that’s the only song they’re known for. In Europe, they were a wildly popular band with dozens of popular songs. But they’re, that’s it, it is whatever it means for the conversation. But so this particular song that y’all chose the Whoop, there it is, which by the way has two different official titles of its own. You can have with one Oh, or so it’s either Whoop, there it is. Or it’s whoops, there it is. I think they’re getting credits under both. But then there’s also this one out of Miami by 95. South that is almost the same tagline, but the song itself is different. Woot. There it is, I don’t know this one at all. I had to go back and listen, and I was like, Yeah, that’s exactly the same. This is completely outside of my wheelhouse. The

AT subject matter is a little bit different like 95 shots like whoop, there it is definitely more female body appreciation.

KB Say in the sensory manner, by where I think, Whoop, there it is, is more talking about their particular art scene as a whole even though that particular art scene was also T&A based. They articulated it in a little bit more of a poetic way. For me growing up, my older brother had the Camaro with the bazookas and you know, we listened to so much to Live Crew and so much Miami bass wars and all that because you know, you got to shake that car. There it is, man before I was at work there it is, man. Oh my goodness, I wanted to become more of a lyricist. I appreciate the tag team a little bit more.

KB So you partied on party people now again, exactly. This is also very informative. This is good for me to know who has been doing the best to be really fun to you and I like it that’s why I didn’t want to do like any of the research or any of the talking together. This conversation to be exactly what this conversation

SS Keisha What is it you’re learning about your bandmate here through this conversation?

KB Lord have mercy! Yes When I think I can’t learn anything else. I think the one thing that I constantly pick up from Allen and I’m very lucky enough

AT our horn player is driving an Uber and he just pulled up

SS Welcome to Nashville, y’all.

AT Hey Kircher we love you. We are doing an interview talking about Santa.

SS What’s his favorite flavor?

AT Oh, this guy he loves

SS

so we’re referencing our other podcast called bubble bottles which this band LadyCouch has also been on if you haven’t heard that, check that out. It’s at bubble bottles.com But right now we’re talking one hit history.

KB Oh with Allen and one hit history’s The thing is, is that I was really good about explaining a 10 There have been so many times that I will think that a song that I think I’ve known my whole life. I said one thing and then Alan’s like quiche, what are you saying right? You think that’s not what they’re saying? Like think about it in this aspect. And I have to sit back and go How the hell did I not know this? And how did you know this without me? It’s the same with everyone. Just wonder why I didn’t pick wishing well or this love because I knew that you and I would just have the same things to say about Anita Baker Terence Trent D’Arby

KB also I have my brain. And I would pick wishing well He knows me on another level. I would have been super pissed if we hadn’t been talking about 10 shirt. Sorry, we were not doing that today. He was braids is not talking about Trent.

KB I will say that if you want to have us back to talk about Terrence Trent D’Arby. I’m so down.

AT Sweet love not this love. Sorry.

KB Yeah, you’re welcome.

AT That’s fine. I don’t want to talk about them really that much at all?

SS No, I have a bunch of one hit until they finally have a whole hit record for in years. One hit for 10 years. He’s gonna let me show I like him. Like,

KB I don’t even know if he’s there anymore. Anyway. So basically what I’ve learned a lot about Allen through all of this, and in our one hit wonder drum, if you will, that a word? Sure. I know that I can call Allen and say, Have you heard this? Tell him I’ve been sleeping on what is this? Or Whoa, send me thing. And they’ll think I’ve heard this before. But I realized that this is the only song from said artists that has ever happened. And then I immediately started thinking, damn, I listen to this whole record. And then I listen to the record. And I go, No, yeah, listen to the whole record, you’re listening to this one song is great. I find my tune and I pick it. I mean, there’s certain albums that I like, he’ll devil or my albums, but I’ll listen to people long enough until that one song that really speaks to me. And then that song just becomes my song.

KB I know. And I enjoy that you chose Whoot. There it is,

AT versus whoop there. I think it’s important thing to talk about because like, I would be interested to know like, how these two apps feel about one another because you know, they’ve got to have been on a ton of bills together, especially like in the early 2000s and stuff.

KB So basically one’s a dance mix and one’s a studio mix.

AT Well. They’re different. They’re Atlanta versus Miami. Dance.

AT But they’re right down the road. They just changed it right. A P to a tee. Well, yeah, maybe they cheated off of one another. This would be like okay, Patti LaBelle and Dionne Warwick, same song and they refused. They didn’t know about each

SS other. Yeah, the songs like a month apart, but there’s no evidence that they knew each other ahead of time. They both were writing a song based on a commonly used phrase in their community. And just kind of riffing on the phrase. Yeah.

AT And like neither of them had any idea that it’s like Garth Brooks and Todd Snider would be right, you know,

KB like Okay, wait. Okay. Now my question is though, is the they both know what whoops, there it is. Was venue a very well was there it is. When it was there it is. Was it an object? What was there for it to be is? You think Lady cops could do a cover of boots? There it is.

AT I think we should do like we should merge the bus since we’re a jam band. We should do the segue you know with the arrow and setlist do woot. There it is in the Whoop, there it is into the other one. Absolutely. You should

KB know we do. We got to do salt and pepper after that, then. Yeah. I also want to back right into what a man I want to take a minute to get as much effective. That’ll go right into some

AT Oh, yeah, then no, I also would like to combine week by SWV with twice as hard by the Black Crowes because you know that all for the same the same person because they all all their voices, some say? Yeah, so like, I be really intrigued to like, show all of this weird neighborhood connections.

SS This did not go where I expected.

KB Me either. And I’m so sorry.

AT I could probably write a dissertation on how like I think Chris Robinson should have been a member of SWV. Like you saying, it’s just like the other three goes left bam.

KB Oh, we definitely think better than the Alto.

AT My big theory with Athens is that there’s one teacher at UGA. That was a big Ethel Merman fan, which is why Fred Schneider and John Bell and Michael SIPE all kind of sing about the same thing. Todd Snider barefoot, walking out on stage. Time after time after time on Jan to hide his. I would love to see him walk out barefoot is all of a sudden, we’re getting in on an SWV song

SS all over the place with Keshia Bailey and Alan Thompson of Lady couch and they’re one hit wonder mirror twins of whoop there it is. And whoops, there it is by tag team and 95 South respectively. Future looks fine. Their brand new album is out now. They all got a cool video on the way real soon as well.

AT For our song do what you got to do. One of our very favorite artists we get to collaborate this guy name August Brisson. He’s from Estonia is one of our favorite anime And he has a second video that he’s worked on with us and we’re super pleased with it.

SS Very, very cool. So on the road and hanging out with us here at one hit history, Keisha Bailey and Alan Thompson of Lady couch. I’m Sloane Spencer, you can find us at one hit history comm you can support us at patreon.com/one Hit history, we also chatted with Keisha Bailey and Alan Thompson of Lady couch on our other podcast, bubble bottles. You can find it there and find out all their favorite flavors. Thanks for listening to other music. We appreciate you.

DISCLAIMER One Hit History is a comedy podcast. All comments are made in fun and not necessarily factual.