Wake Up Everybody

“Wake Up Everybody” is an R&B song written by John Whitehead, Gene McFadden and Victor Carstarphen. Originally recorded by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, with Teddy Pendergrass singing lead vocals, the song had a somewhat unconventional structure, starting subdued and building slowly to a climax. The title track from their 1975 album, the song spent two weeks at number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart in early 1976. It also enjoyed success on the pop charts, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 34 Easy Listening, number 33 in Canada, and number 23 in the UK Singles Chart. They performed the song on Soul Train on November 22, 1975.