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Adeline Hennessy

Prof Tyler

ENG 1201

21 February 2021

Loco-Motion by Little Eva and Grand Funk Railroad

Little Eva, a maid turned one-hit-wonder, created the “Loco-Motion.” Later, the “Loco-

Motion” was adapted by many different artists, one of the most notable, Grand Funk Railroad.

These two songs have the same lyrics and tempo, but they are very different. Neither artist

created their own music video for this song, rather performing it on tour or on television. Little

Eva performed with dancers and background singers while Grand Funk Railroad relied on

playing instruments and jumping around the stage to bring entertainment. Even though these two

songs are the same, these two musical icons have made the song appeal to their own audience.

Little Eva's original “Loco-Motion” appealed to radio listeners in the 60’s with touches of

saxophones and the easy-to-follow dance while Grand Funk Railroad’s revised version was more

autotuned and electronic sounding.

One of the most notable differences between the two versions was how each song was

performed. Little Eva nor Grand Funk Railroad created actual music videos for the song but

instead performed it live. Little Eva only performed her song once. When she performed it

though, she stood stationary at a microphone stand with a single spotlight. Barely moving from

one spot, she was very easy to be overlooked. To make up for her lack of performing, she had

women dancing the “Loco-Motion,” she also had male and female backup singers dancing at

their microphones. The set for her performance was also very simplistic. The dancers were on a
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platform while everyone else was on the ground in front of them. This live performance differs

greatly from Grand Funk Railroad's performance. Mark Farner, the lead singer, makes it so that

he's the center of attention. While jumping and screaming around the stage wearing nothing but

sparkly red and white bell bottoms, making it hard to not do anything but dance with him. The

other two members are clad in a lime green jumpsuit and a denim jumpsuit. Each member is

playing their own instrument whether that be a guitar or rocking out at the drums. This made

their set much more entertaining than Little Eva’s. They had strobe lights and lots of instruments

on the stage making it hard not to pay attention to them, whereas in Little Eva's performance you

could easily overlook her stiff movements.

The performances weren’t the only difference. Little Eva’s “Loco-Motion” appealed to

the club audience. With catchy lyrics explaining how to do the “Loco-Motion,” “You gotta

swing your hips now, come on baby, jump up, jump back,” it was quickly labeled as a dancing

tune and was played at clubs and parties, spending a week at number one on the charts. Grand

Funk Railroad took the 1962 hit and made it to appeal to their audience. Adding bass, drums, and

ad-libs, they put a fresh coat of paint on this outdated song. The new version of the song received

an immense amount of love. Grand Funk Railroad spent five weeks at number one.

A similarity, though, between the two performances is the rhetorical appeals used. Both

artists use ethos in their performances to engage their audience. Even though Little Eva stood

stationary at her microphone, she had an undoubtable amount of confidence in her voice which

helped to prove her credibility to her audience. Also, Little Eva's backup dancers use their, at the

time, hip dances to engage the audience and make them want to dance along with them. This can

also be said in Grand Funk Railroads performance. Jumping around on stage, wailing on their
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guitars, and screaming into their microphones shows their confidence on stage which engages

their audience to dance around, scream, and sing with them.

While both artists used the same song, their version and performance of the song was

very different. Little Eva's performance was more focused on the background dancers while

Grand Funk Railroad's sparkly guitars and jumpsuits made it hard to not focus on them and their

performance. While their performances were very different, they both used ethos in their

performances with their confidence in delivery of the song. Little Eva and Grand Funk Railroad's

performance of the songs received an immense amount of love and success during their

respective time period.

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Works Cited

Breihan, Tom. “The Number Ones: Grand Funk’s ‘The Loco-Motion.’”

Stereogum, 8 Nov. 2020, www.stereogum.com/2044049/the-number-ones-grand-

funks-the-loco-motion/columns/the-number-ones.

Luther, Adrienne. “The Sad Backstory of the Loco-Motion - Adrienne

Luther.” Medium, 25 Feb. 2018, medium.com/@adrienneluther/the-sad-

backstory-of-the-loco-motion-77bb0b4ece0f.

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “Little Eva

and ‘The Locomotion.’” North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural

Resources, 25 Aug. 2013, www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2013/08/25/little-eva-and-the-

locomotion.

ri7422736. “Grand Funk Railroad Locomotion Live 1974.” YouTube,

uploaded by ri7422736, 27 Oct. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?

v=wBVgVABsf-4.

Sexton, Paul. “Grand Funk’s ‘The Loco-Motion’: Chugging Like A

Railroad Train To No. 1.” UDiscover Music, 19 May 2020,

www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/grand-funk-the-loco-motion-song.

Sironaca. “Little Eva - Loco-Motion(1962).” YouTube, uploaded by

Sironaca, 25 Dec. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKpVQm41f8Y.

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