Loosen Up
by Nazz

Album: Nazz III (1971)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is a parody of the 1968 soul classic "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell & the Drells, remade in the image of the Nazz. In "Tighten Up," Archie Bell does this intro:

    Hi everybody, I'm Archie Bell of the Drells, from Houston, Texas
    We don't only sing
    But we dance just as good as we walk


    The Nazz make it:

    Hi everybody, we're the Nazz from Philadelphia
    Home of tuna fish hoagie


    From there, instead of "tightening up" each instrument, they "loosen up," resulting in a sloppy musical mess.
  • "Loosen Up" is an outtake from around 1968 that was released on the album Nazz III in 1971 after the band broke up. The group was led by Todd Rundgren, who released an album with his band Runt in 1970 and broke out as a solo artist in 1972 with the hits "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw The Light."
  • This goofy song is what the band's record company, SGC, was looking for when they signed the Nazz in 1967. SGC's parent label had The Monkees on their roster, and they were hoping the Nazz could be a similar group. Todd Rundgren had other ideas, which put them at odds with the label and led to their demise. Rundgren was more into blues rock like Cream and the Yardbirds (their name came from a Yardbirds song called "The Nazz Are Blue").

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