This Is It (Melba Moore song)


"This Is It" is a 1976 disco song written by Van McCoy and performed by Melba Moore for her fifth album of the same name.

Background

Melba Moore would give credit to her husband/manager Charles Huggins, whom she married in September 1974, with getting her signed to Buddah Records in 1975 - ending a four-year recording studio absence -, and with arranging for veteran soul music songwriter/producer Van McCoy to helm Moore's second Buddah album release, which she began recording in January 1976. The recruitment of McCoy to helm Moore's album was essentially due to McCoy's success as a producer of disco records, it being hoped that a disco hit would consolidate the somewhat nebulous success Moore had to that point experienced as a recording artist: "I just couldn't ignore the that disco was having on music".
The album's disco-oriented title track was released in March 1976 and became a discothèque favorite: while the "This Is It" single did afford Moore her first major R&B hit, reaching #18 on the Billboard ranking of R&B singles the track failed to provide her with the desired Pop music breakout, rising no higher than #91 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Charts

Dannii Minogue version

The song was later covered by Australian singer Dannii Minogue on her second album Get into You. The song was produced by Tim Lever and Mike Percy and received a mixed reception from music critics.

About the song

It was released as the album's third single in the third quarter of 1993 and reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, becoming Minogue's third top ten single and is regarded as one of her most popular singles. In Australia it reached the top twenty and became an airplay hit earning a gold certification. Despite missing the top ten, the single spent twenty weeks in the ARIA top fifty and was the forty-third highest selling single of the year, the third highest for an Australian artist. Along with the single "Get into You", the song was chosen to be released in Canada and the USA. The single was also featured in the second volume of the Dance Mix USA series, which used the "Dannii Got Murked" remix. This version of the song was used by Network Ten in their idents.

Critical reception

wrote about the song: "Vivacious and charming Minogue takes another stab at transferring her European success to the States with an earnest reading of a disco nugget made famous by Melba Moore. She skips and spins atop a throbbing boat foundation, swerving around a flurry of chirping background vocals, grand piano lines, and fluttering strings."
Music & Media wrote: "Little sister is wearing big sister's clothes, and they are tight fit for the first time with this cheerful pop/dance song, a cover of Melba Moore's disco hit in the spring of 1976."

Music video

The music video for the song was filmed in Los Angeles, California and featured Minogue and her then-boyfriend actor Julian McMahon on a beach. The dance routine in the video was choreographed by Minogue. The video also featured an appearance from American actress Elise Neal, who later starred in the horror movie Scream 2 alongside Neve Campbell and the Lifetime made-for-television movie in the role of Gladys Knight. It was listed in NME's "50 Worst Music Videos". The Late Show made a parody of "This Is It" called "Holy Shit".

Track listings and formats

Australian CD single
  1. "This Is It"
  2. "This Is It"
  3. "This Is It"
  4. "This Is It"
  5. "This Is It"
  6. "This Is It"
  7. "This Is It"
Australian Cassingle
  1. "This Is It"
  2. "It's Time to Move On"
CD single
  1. "This Is It"
  2. "This Is It"
  3. "This Is It"
  4. "This Is It"
  5. "This Is It" This Is It
  6. "This Is It"
UK vinyl single
  1. "This Is It"
  2. "This Is It"
  3. "This Is It" This Is It
  4. "This Is It"
North American CD single
  1. "This Is It"
  2. "This Is It"
  3. "This Is It"
  4. "This Is It"
  5. "This Is It"
  6. "This Is It"
Cassette single/7"
  1. "This Is It"
  2. "It's Time to Move On"
Notes: "It's Time to Move On", was a B-side released for the Get into You album and is only found on the cassette single/7". For the North American CD, the tracks received a remaster.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Belgian version

A Flemish-language rendering entitled "Jij En Ik" was recorded by Petra for her 1997 album Petra.