What Cha' Gonna Do for Me (song)

"What Cha' Gonna Do for Me"
Side A of the US single
Single by Chaka Khan
from the album What Cha' Gonna Do for Me
B-side	"Lover's Touch"
Released	May 1981
Recorded	1980–81
Genre	Synth-funk[1]
Length	3:54
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Ned Doheny Hamish Stuart
Chaka Khan singles chronology
"Get Ready, Get Set" (1980) "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" (1981) "We Can Work It Out" (1981)

"What Cha' Gonna Do For Me" is the title track of Chaka Khan's third solo album from 1981.^[2] The song was written by Ned Doheny, and Hamish Stuart of the Average White Band. They had recorded the song a year earlier and released it on their LP Shine.

The song was the second of four number-one singles on the R&B chart for Khan and was at the top spot for two weeks. The single was also her second entry on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 53.^[3] On the Cash Box Top 100, "What Cha' Gonna Do For Me" reached number 49.^[4]

In New Zealand, the song peaked at #21.^[5]

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1981) Peak position New Zealand [5] 21 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 53 U.S. Billboard R&B[3] 1 U.S. Billboard Dance 22 U.S. Cash Box Top 100[6] 49

Year-end charts Chart (1981) Rank U.S. Billboard R&B 14

Unreleased demo version

"What Cha' Gonna Do for Me"
Demo by Ned Doheny and Average White Band
A-side	"Get It Up For Love"
Released	April 19, 2014 (2014-04-19)[7]
Recorded	1980
Genre	Soul, funk, soft rock[8]
Length	4:04
Label	The Numero Group
Songwriter(s)	Ned Doheny Hamish Stuart
Ned Doheny and Average White Band singles chronology
"Perish The Thought" (1991) "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" (2014) "Labor Of Love (Kenny Dickenson Remix)" (2017)

A demo version of the song by Doheny was released by The Numero Group on April 19, 2014 alongside a reissue of "Get It Up For Love," due to Doheny's popularity in Japan. The demo was recorded in 1980 and was previously unreleased, with the Average White Band as the backing band.^[9][10][11]

References

1. Molanphy, Chris (March 25, 2022). "Killing Me Softly Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
2. White, Adam; Bronson, Fred (1993). The Billboard Book of Number One Rhythm & Blues Hits. Billboard Books:Watson-Guptill Publications, New York. p. 286.
3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 321.
4. "Top 100 1981-06-20". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
5. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1981-08-02. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
6. "Top 100 1980-03-29". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
7. "Ned Doheny". 45cat.
8. "Ned Doheny – Get It Up For Love". Discogs.
9. "GET IT UP FOR LOVE B/W WHAT CHA' GONNA DO FOR ME". The Numero Group.
10. Mickey (June 10, 2014). "NED DOHENY". Ameblo (in Japanese).
11. "【新譜7インチ情報!!】再入荷!! 在庫確保!!NED DOHENY GET IT UP FOR LOVE 限定7インチ入荷!". Disk Union. September 2, 2014.

External links

• Average White Band - What Cha' Gonna Do for Me on YouTube
• Chaka Khan - What Cha' Gonna Do for Me on YouTube