Let's Hear It for the Boy

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Let's Hear It for the Boy

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(Redirected from Let's Hear It for the Boy (song))

"Let's Hear It for the Boy"

Single by Deniece Williams

from the album Footloose: Original Soundtrack of the Paramount Motion Picture and Let's Hear It for the Boy

B-side

"Let's Hear It for the Boy (Instrumental—Short Version)"

Released

1984

Recorded

1983

Genre

Length

4:20 (Album/Single Version)

6:03 (Extended Version)

Deniece Williams singles chronology

"Love Won't Let Me Wait"
(1984)

"Let's Hear It for the Boy"
(1984)

"Next Love"
(1984)

"Let's Hear It for the Boy" is a song by Deniece Williams that appeared on the soundtrack to the feature film Footloose. The song was released as a single from both the soundtrack and her album of the song's same name Columbia Records. It was written by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford and produced by George Duke. The song became Williams' second number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on May 26, 1984. It also topped Billboard's dance and R&B charts and on the Cash Box Top 100.^[3]^[4] ^[5] It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, behind "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 57th Academy Awards, and was certified platinum in the US and gold in Canada and the UK by the Recording Industry Association of America, Music Canada and the British Phonographic Industry, respectively. The music video was released in mid-April 1984.^[6] The song features background vocals from George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, who would go on to form the duo Boy Meets Girl.

In 2011, country singer Jana Kramer covered the song for the remake of Footloose and its accompanying soundtrack album. In 2017 the song was covered by UK hi-NRG dance artist Allan Jay in aid of the Retired Greyhound Trust and their Let's Hear It for the Boy campaign.

Music video

[edit]

The music video for the song features Deniece Williams along with several young men, one of them being the singer Aaron Lohr as the young boy who is the first person to appear in the video.^[7]

Credits and personnel

[edit]

Tom Snow – composition
Dean Pitchford – composition
Deniece Williams – lead vocals, backing vocals
George Merrill – backing vocals
Shannon Rubicam – backing vocals
George Duke – producer, Memorymoog (synth bass), Prophet-5, Roland Jupiter-8, LinnDrum programming
Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitars
Paulinho da Costa – percussion

Charts

[edit]

Weekly charts

[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "Let's Hear It for the Boy"
Chart (1984)	Peak position
Argentina (CAPIF)^[8]	10
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[9]	3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[10]	5
Canada Top Singles (The Record)^[11]	1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[12]	1
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)^[13]	9
Europe (European Top 100 Singles)^[14]	7
Ireland (IRMA)^[15]	2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[16]	4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[17]	5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[18]	2
Paraguay (UPI)^[19]	10
Peru (UPI)^[20]	8
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[21]	19
UK Singles (OCC)^[22]	2
US Billboard Hot 100^[23]	1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[24]	3
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)^[25]	1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)^[26]	1
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles^[27]	1
US Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles (Cash Box)^[28]	1
West Germany (GfK)^[29]	10

Year-end charts

[edit]

Year-end chart performance for "Let's Hear It for the Boy"
Chart (1984)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[30]	44
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[31]	57
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[32]	21
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[33]	48
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[34]	72
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[35]	43
UK Singles (Gallup)^[36]	47
US Billboard Hot 100^[37]	13
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[38]	24
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles^[39]	20
US Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles (Cash Box)^[40]	13

Certifications

[edit]

Certifications and sales for "Let's Hear It for the Boy"
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[41]	Gold	50,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[42]	Gold	400,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[43]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]

^ Breihan, Tom (August 19, 2020). "The Number Ones: Deniece Williams' "Let's Hear It For The Boy". Stereogum. Retrieved July 29, 2023. Putting a gospel singer like Williams on a giddy dance-pop track like this is a smart decision.
^ Abercrombie, Olivia; Mitchell, Matt (March 10, 2024). "The 50 Best Original Songs Written for Films". Paste. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 625.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 280.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits: 1952-1996. Record Research. p. 415.
^ "Rolling Stones plan to do video, concert in L.A. during Olympics". The Ledger. May 3, 1984. p. 2A. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
^ "Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It for the Boy". MTV. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
^ "Listas de éxitos". UPI. May 4, 1984. p. 42. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Deniece Williams – Let's Hear It for the Boy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ Lwin, Nanda (1999). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6728." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 6767." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
^ "European Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 1, no. 13. June 25, 1984. p. 10. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Let's Hear It for the Boy". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Deniece Williams" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ "Deniece Williams – Let's Hear It for the Boy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ "Deniece Williams – Let's Hear It for the Boy". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ "Listas de éxitos". UPI. May 4, 1984. p. 42. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
^ "Las canciones más escuchadas en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). June 24, 1984. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
^ "Deniece Williams – Let's Hear It for the Boy". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ "Deniece Williams: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ "Deniece Williams Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "Deniece Williams Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ "Deniece Williams Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ "Deniece Williams Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending June 2, 1984". Cash Box. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
^ "The Cash Box Top 100 Black Contemporary – Week ending June 9, 1984". Cash Box. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Deniece Williams – Let's Hear It for the Boy" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1984". Kent Music Report. No. 548. December 31, 1984 – via Imgur.
^ "Jaaroverzichten 1984 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
^ "Top 100 Singles of 1984". RPM. Vol. 41, no. 17. January 5, 1985. p. 7. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
^ "Top Selling Singles of 1984". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
^ "Top 100 Singles (January 3–December 29, 1984)" (PDF). Music Week. January 26, 1985. p. 37. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 1984". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
^ "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1984". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
^ "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1984 – Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 29, 1984. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
^ "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1984 – Top 50 Black Contemporary Singles". Cash Box. December 29, 1984. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
^ "Canadian single certifications – Deniece Williams – Let's Hear It for the Boy". Music Canada. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
^ "British single certifications – Deniece Williams – Let's Hear It for the Boy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
^ "American single certifications – Deniece Williams – Let's Hear It for the Boy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 3, 2023.

v t e Deniece Williams
Studio albums	This Is Niecy (1976) Song Bird (1977) When Love Comes Calling (1979) My Melody (1981) Niecy (1982) I'm So Proud (1983) Let's Hear It for the Boy (1984) So Glad I Know (1986) Water Under the Bridge (1987) Special Love (1989) This Is My Song (1998)
Duet albums	That's What Friends Are For (1978) (with Johnny Mathis)
Compilation albums	From the Beginning (1990)
Singles	"Free" (1976) "That's What Friends Are For" (1977) "Baby, Baby My Love's All for You" (1977) "I've Got the Next Dance" (1979) "What Two Can Do" (1981) "Silly" (1981) "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" (1982) "Waiting by the Hotline" (1982) "Do What You Feel" (1983) "I'm So Proud" (1983) "Let's Hear It for the Boy" (1984) "Next Love" (1984) "Black Butterfly" (1984) "Wiser and Weaker" (1986) "Never Say Never" (1987) "I Confess" (1987) "I Can't Wait" (1988) "This Is as Good as It Gets" (1988)
Duet singles	"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (1978) (with Johnny Mathis) "You're All I Need to Get By" (1978) (with Johnny Mathis) "Love Won't Let Me Wait" (1984) (with Johnny Mathis)
Related topics	Discography Family Ties

v t e Footloose
Adaptations	1998 musical 2011 film
Music	1984 soundtrack 2011 soundtrack "Footloose" "Let's Hear It for the Boy" "Almost Paradise" "Holding Out for a Hero" "Dancing in the Sheets" "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" "Somebody's Eyes" "Never"