Hi everybody, I'm Archie Bell and the Drells from Houston, Texas.

That this is live is incredible. I loved this song from the first time I heard it back in 1968. It has not lost one bit of its funk and soul. Amazing!

@lisaletto7337

10 ай бұрын

Yes. On a tiny transistor radio

@spacedaddy5517

9 ай бұрын

You need a tight bass.

One of the greatest bass lines.

@thomasmcdonald5758

Жыл бұрын

Where was the bass player?

@fredfox3851

Жыл бұрын

@@thomasmcdonald5758 Directly to the right of the drummer in the reddish Nehru jacket.

@thomasmcdonald5758

Жыл бұрын

@@fredfox3851 that’s not a Bass Fred

@fredfox3851

Жыл бұрын

@@thomasmcdonald5758 Freezing the screen in the first few seconds of the video shows me a guitar with four winding pegs. I see and hear a bass playing the intro with no other instruments playing and the camera focused on the bassist. It appears to be a Gibson or a Guild though they are not the only companies to make SG style basses. Now perhaps being a WORKING drummer for OVER fifty years doesn't make me an expert but... I'm sticking with that is a bass guitar. : )

@thomasmcdonald5758

Жыл бұрын

@@fredfox3851 Fred I’m a drummer too and I’ve watched 1000’s of bass players and watch the way he’s playing and he’s strumming with the rhythm

The brass section is completely on it. Great song. Dance music. Groups were showmen and sharp dressers. Class.

Archie Bell & the Drills, 1968, a song that everybody white or Black, listened to, danced to, and every body Tightened Up!!!! To your left and to your right!

@Handbasketification

5 ай бұрын

🤣

From Houston Texas, we not only sing, but we can dance just as good as we want.

@rosalindwhittaker2030

Жыл бұрын

I love hearing him say that line--I may not be from Houston, TX but the music just makes me want to dance!!

I'm 76yrs old now and this brings back so many memories of 60's Atlantic and Stax labels music and all nighters, greatest era for music

@stephaniejones4749

Жыл бұрын

I know what you mean. Wonderful memories

@kavitadeva

Жыл бұрын

You got that right Paul!!

@davidspendlove5900

Жыл бұрын

Amen to that.

@evelynap9728

Жыл бұрын

come on lets dance

@ritarichardson6635

Жыл бұрын

I'm right here with u at 62, even though I was just a kid then, I remember the transcended all racial and class barriers. It was just about love, peace and soul ❤️

What a treat to see this! Such a great radio song.

In 1968, Tighten Up was playing on the AM band radio. I had my first flight in an airplane... I was 9 years old. My father bought an hour of flight time with an instructor for my birthday. I was at the controls! I later became a pilot, joined the US Air Force and the rest is history.

Still sound good in 2023

I was 13 in 1968. I love the way Archie would say " from Houston, Texas" I was just beginning to understand how bands started out, and affiliations with the hometown. Such a great song and enthusiastic performance. And those tight blue suits!

@tomfields3682

Жыл бұрын

Down in Houston, they can dance just as good as they want!

@paulamiles9559

Жыл бұрын

@@tomfields3682 They CAN dance just as good as they want! ( Just ask Beyonce and Megan the Stallion)

@colinandpattyhowie2887

Жыл бұрын

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

@paulamiles9559

Жыл бұрын

@@colinandpattyhowie2887 💃🕺🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️

@graphicdesigner7650

Жыл бұрын

Thanks. I was just getting ready to ask what year this was. 🙂

Have heard this song forever and had never seen the band! Thanks!

Wow, I have loved this song for years! Never actually saw them however. So fun!

Archie wrote this while he was on R and R ( rest and recuperation) from his stint in Vietnam.

@TheTrollMastah

Жыл бұрын

I heard their original keyboardist died in Nam

@Daisnap

Жыл бұрын

My gosh, I did not know that.

@rosalindwhittaker2030

Жыл бұрын

God bless all the Vietnam Veterans for their service!

@theseeingeye454

Жыл бұрын

I heard Felix Hernandez ( DJ The Rhythm Review WBGO in NYC) Tell the story that Archie and Co. cut this as a demo for local record labels in Houston. He was drafted and local fans sent it around to local radio DJ's as a going away gesture . It became a national hit from this and was played on Armed Forces Network radio while Archie was lying wounded in an army hospital in VN . He was supposed to have exclaimed " Hey ! That's me and my band!" nobody would believe him at the time. True? Can anyone verify or elaborate.. Thanks. Remember the followup? "I Just Can't Stop Dancin' "

@ceeceetracey9839

Жыл бұрын

I read that he was in the army and it came in the radio and he was running around the barracks telling everyone it was him and they were all like "yeah right"

60s Soul Music was the zenith of Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues. Will never be repeated, which is very sad. Tighten Up is an immortal classic.

@jennymacallan9071

Жыл бұрын

You are so right. I was going into high school in 1968. Those were the golden years for music.

@neilcrowesongs9768

Жыл бұрын

Great soul bands currently on daptone and it's subsidiary, Penrose. Also, Eli paperboy reed, Darren Jones and the indications, Devon Lamar trio. Just not in popular mainstream as then

An Old School Classic by Talented Musicians !!!!

God, but they look like they were having fun performing this! Who remembers when music used to be fun?

@reemclaughlin4260

Жыл бұрын

I want to get us a time machine and take us back! We were so very blessed! 🙏🏼☮️♥️🙏🏾

@paulinechapman5669

Жыл бұрын

I never moved past it.. stayed in the groove with my peeps..🇨🇦

@ettajohnson8234

Жыл бұрын

I sure do!

@charlesbrazell2136

Жыл бұрын

I do; I was a kid then-and like one of the other repliers said, we were blessed then but didn't know how blessed we were until it was all taken away...1-21-23.

@rosalindwhittaker2030

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely so much fun!!

My sister, a musician....back in 1997 was giving birth to her daughter Grace, who has also become a fine musician. She's now in her 20's. But anyway Grace was born at home, with the help of a midwife, a cool sista named Sandy. While Val was doing the pushing and breathing, at one point she fell into a rhythm that was helping the baby arrive. So Sandy said to Val, 'Push, ok...now tighten up.." And Val started singing this drum riff riff from "Tighten up". Grace was born a half hour later, in a warm bath tub, no muss, minimal pain. So "Tighten Up" lives on in our family to this day - a song we giggle about and are thankful was around when we needed it..Tighten up, y'all!

Have this in my 45s collection, played it to death! Absolutely one of my favorite dance tunes!

@imbees2

Жыл бұрын

Yes, on the 45s!!! I have a collection too.!

I'm reminded of when I was a kid on the verge of being a teenager. We all loved this song!

Where has the time gone ? Wow ! MEMORIES !!!

@LoneLee2022

Жыл бұрын

Time waits for no one.

@cocophillips9251

Жыл бұрын

@@LoneLee2022 AMEN!!!

Back when the singer sounded the same live as on the record

@LoneLee2022

Жыл бұрын

Very rare nowadays.

@josephcerminaro2782

Жыл бұрын

Actually lip syncing was big back then. Might be the reason they sounded exactly like the record.

@68sgstandard

Жыл бұрын

This performance is LIVE. You can easily tell.

@designertjp-utube

Жыл бұрын

@@68sgstandard Haha! Which was Nilli Vanilli's desperate wish that fateful day onstage.

@cynthiaquinn590

Жыл бұрын

Back when music WAS music and the times was better !

Vietnam Archie Purple Heart.All Vet's thank you for the groove.

So Good . I'm 10 yrs old in 68 . I'll never forget this song .

@bigdawg7703

Ай бұрын

Me to. I was 10 and growing up in the city. I remember the summer when I first heard this. I was walking down the street with a friend and someone had their windows open playing this tune and we stopped to hear it. Now ever summer I have to hear it. That's what brought me to this video.

I was 12, I still have the 45 R.P.M. one of the best songs ever!

Those suits can't get any tighter, that's for sure, love the song, love the band, it was great to see them live again.

@ronthatus

Жыл бұрын

And today those tight suits are in style lol

@rosalindwhittaker2030

Жыл бұрын

Love those tight blue suits!! 💙 😍

@timper4326

Жыл бұрын

LOL.

When I was a kid learning Guitar, you had to learn both the Bass & Guitar riffs. Cool, and I had the pleasure of meeting Archie much later in life

Listening to this live performance , You know the actual studio recording was done in One take .. Perfection !!

This was my dad's favorite song or one of them outside of grazing in the grass. I love this song. Bring back so many memories All those basement parties my parents used to have. Oh boy, bring tears to my eyes. How those days are long gone now 🙂😔

I remember hearing this when it came out, but I never saw even a picture of Archie and the Drells till tonight. Grin, giggle, and even guffaw. Back in '68 we called those pants "high waters" because you could walk through high water without getting them wet. Yeah, kids are cruel. It was because some kids couldn't afford new clothes and had to wear last year's pants even though they had grown.

@almirdossantos5102

Жыл бұрын

Aqui fala vamos calça pescando siri,rsr

@Grynslvr2

Жыл бұрын

@@almirdossantos5102 Sorry, the online translation doesn't make much sense. "here we talk of trying to go fishing" ????

@msgfrmdaactionman3000

Жыл бұрын

The high water pants were a thing to avoid at all costs!

@timper4326

Жыл бұрын

They should have named the band Noah and the arks.

@mel8517

Жыл бұрын

In '68 that was the style,the original era of Skinny Shark suits, when ones pants were so thin it showed the whole Oo7 Bond looking shoe!

One of my favorite songs.

Luv this.. one of my favs of the late 60's

Rapping and dancing and rhythm I just love it. Go Archie! The dancers had so much soul and were so entertaining. The band did a great job keeping up with Archie.

@queenbee3647

Жыл бұрын

The dancers showed you how to tighten up. I showed alot of people at school in Cleveland Ohio how to do it!

I love their completely honky band! Who even knew?! So many great musicians from that era, black, white, brown…oh, wait! Musicians! Color doesn’t matter!❤️

@Baribrotzer

Жыл бұрын

Not completely - the drummer's a black guy who looks like he's about 14, and delivers a hipper intro than the original record.

@BlueBeeThemeMusic

Жыл бұрын

Nonsense. Nobody sings like African American.

@Baribrotzer

Жыл бұрын

@@BlueBeeThemeMusic I don't know about that: How about Michael McDonald, or Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield (the Righteous Brothers), or Donnie Weaver of the O'Kaysions? There ARE white people who can pull it off, although they're rare - they need to both have a truly big voice, and to have completely internalized black peoples' musical phrasing, speech rhythms, and pronunciation. But they do exist.

@Boertje247

Жыл бұрын

@@BlueBeeThemeMusic the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section aka the Swampers. Not a bro in the mix, but they delivered the goods for everyone from the Beatles, to Aretha to the Stones. Also Booker T’s band, to name another legendary soulful group with a bunch of pale dudes! My point was that great musicians aren’t great because of their skin tone. They’re great because of their basic talent, hard work, years of practice!

@chasbodaniels1744

Жыл бұрын

Frank Locklear I 💯 get your point about just enjoying good music. I would only add one thought - Folks who are STILL working on acceptance of everybody need to get old habits out of their systems. I say let’s give ‘em some slack but call them on it exactly as you did here. Boogie on man.

Not enough time to "Tighten Up". More! More! Encore! Encore!

Love this! Really funky and an interting contrast with their musical output when they went to Philly.

Loved Archie Bell and the Drells! I danced many dances to this song and of course, the dance was much different, but you had to be able to make those moves and I did! This song brings back so many memories of my twenties. First time seeing them anywhere and they were fantastic!

Classic Soul!!! 👏👏

The first concert I ever saw when I was 7 or 8 yrs old in New Jersey. Thank you AB & D's!!!

Got my funk on to this song. Apples peaches pumpkin pie come to mind as well. Great memories for me!

@cochiseapache7153

Жыл бұрын

Jay and the Techniques.

The original band who played on this was the T. S. U. Toronadoes (yes, that's the spelling, named after the car): • Clarence "Creeper" Harper (trumpet), • Nelson Mills (trumpet), • Darryll Busby (saxophone), • Cal Thomas (guitar/vocals), • Will Thomas (guitar/vocals), • Robert Sanders (organ), • Jerry Jenkins (bass guitar/vocals), • Dwight Burns (drums).

@babakazi5818

Жыл бұрын

Right on

Loved this song back in the day but never seen who performed it. Thank you for posting this, now I know.😁

Love the unassuming drummer laying down slick beats

In the early '70's ('72-'73) Archie was a regular at JB's Lounge in West Palm Beach-a funky lil' club that booked some fantastic artists-from another time

Only a few years into an era when an integrated band was possible

@Kirke182

Жыл бұрын

Integrated bands and orchestras have been around since 1928.

@gregbors8364

Жыл бұрын

Booker T & the MG’s era

@franklinloll2229

Жыл бұрын

Bullshyte. Read more

I was their sound tech summer of 78. Great bunch of guys.

Musicians these days would be incapable of such good, fun music. I do miss the 60s and 70s.

Thumbs up for Vietnam Veteran Archie Bell! RIP.

I just can't stop dancin'

My mother's theme song. I'll always cherish the moments of her getting down to this tune whenever it comes on. This song is really groovy and defined an era! 💃🕺

The best. This sounds like the original recording. Never saw them on video. Love it!

@2009framat

Жыл бұрын

There is another live version of the song from a show called THE BEAT but I am not sure. The dancers almost kicked the mic stand in THE BEAT if I remember correctly.

@jkfan2005

Жыл бұрын

"Sounds" like yes... but the arrangement is different (certain parts go longer)

Fabulous back then, even better now! Thanks.

Love this. I had the 45 when it first came out.

Never get tired hearing that!

My Grandma used to play this song all the time while she was babysitting us in the summers when my parents worked. Good memories. Thank you for posting.

Love those Drells!

I was a junior high student in Japan when this song was released. Thank you for the video.

This just may be the greatest video that I have ever seen!

He went into the army and nobody believed that he was THAT ARCHIE BELL

I was 9 years old in 1968 when I first heard that song. We ran to the record store to to buy it. It only cost $1.00 and we played all day. I grew up in Houston such a beautiful city

I remember when this jam came out in 1968

My first exposure to this song was actually a Simpsons gag. I'm so glad to find the original.

@southerndiy1

Жыл бұрын

I never knew it was a real song until KZread recommended this video

@kathymackler3367

Жыл бұрын

Me too!

Probably the best video I've seen in years.

Classic, they were smooth.

I started playing the bass.when I first heard this line!!

Went to see them live back in the 70’s, they were brilliant. 😁

Fabulosos!

*Archie Bell is still alive at 78 years old🥰*

@imbees2

5 ай бұрын

Thank the lord,

Archie Bell and the Drells, playin now, with a great band!!! Git Archie Bell and the Drills. Git down with the git down!!

Once saw them tighten up at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, SC. Circa 1970! 😏

Were any of you, folks back in those days? I was there, and the music was beautiful unlike now, which the mess now cannot come even close back then. Seeing those guys and hearing that song, takes me all the way back to 1968, absolutely.

Thank you!

Brass is on the money. Congas is on the money. They all on the money in the band!

Loved to tighten up! And we did. 💖

Archie Bell is my cousin. His mother is Ruthie Tatum

@mel8517

Жыл бұрын

Timeless tracks like that are super dope!

@rentslave

6 ай бұрын

If you see Archie,ask him if he remembers being on the NJ Turnpike on a Sunday in 1976 and stopping on a safety island near Newark,not knowing where to go on this confusing road.I first noticed them near Philly and followed them all the way up.

@imbees2

2 ай бұрын

yasssss

@kennakashima3316

2 ай бұрын

This was the first record that I bought. I still love it. FYI for those who don't know, Ricky Bell the great football player was Archie's brother.

@averagevideogameplayer9802

2 ай бұрын

@kennakashima3316 he died of cancer I believe in the mid 80s

Dance just as good as we want.

Thank you very much. I never saw a video about this famous group in the past, just its recordings.🎹🎹🎵🎵

I grew up near Houston and my sister wore this song out!! Them days you could go outside on the porch and have a little record player spinning the tunes. Or you could hear Skipper Lee on KCOH radio talking about: “ ladies it’s 5 o’clock, and where is your husband?” 🤣. Those who know will know!

Bailaban divinamente

Yup nice to see this very first great band's

I was 8yrs old when this song was playing on the radio.

Loved the name and band! B-Pop made K-Pop possible.

2023, I remember dancing to this song back in 70s!!!!! Great memories!

Classic

Proto-funk at its "mellowness". Great stuff!

One of my favorites!!!!

I defy anyone to stand still while this song is playing!

I Told my Daughter to Tighten up.. So Happy You was Here.. Thank You U Tube.. 😘

This Band was from Houston, Texas wrigjt on!! good song ❤

I’m tearing it up right now!!! “Oooooooooh yeah!! Do the tighten up!”🕺🏻

@ceeceetracey9839

Жыл бұрын

😂

Everyone, please give the young drummer some! He looks about 14 years old!

Git it white boys on the guitar and bass!!! Great song. This is how we do, back in the day. Everybody sings, plays, dances, no matter color.

You really get to hear how awesome these brothers are when they sing their slow jams.

Back when music was real and artists talented!!❤

I was 3yrs old living in Hollis, Queens with my family. I remember hearing my parents play this.

Eran extraordinarios.

This was my dance contest song. And I won 1969💯💯 😎

Archie’s brother was Ricky Bell, star running back for Southern Cal and later the NFL Buccaneers and the Chargers.

DAMN! That band was smoking!!!!!

Tighten up now!!! Come on tighten up! to your left and to your right. don't you get too tight!