just heard this on one of those dj-less stations today When I got home I played it about 10 more times on youtube

I remember breaking this when it was (pre) new back in 87...I had an advance copy & spun it on my radio show at the time.

The 2 things that stand out to me are the memories of this blaring in the car with the windows down & how GOOD this track felt, hot off the rack. Some songs are just like that....loved it right away.

Really cool song... and here is ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham's (quite good) use of the sample and the title line:

Our local quiet storm station (KBLX in the Bay Area) just recently began playing this song alot brings back alot of good memories of the spring/summer of '87.Great song!

I put together a CD of some of my favorite songs from backinthaday and that is definitely on there!

I have always and will forever love this jam!!!!! I was no more than what, 5 or 6 years old when this came out but I do remember it very well. I loved the video too.

Great song, but I have a really disturbing memory that's tied to it. So it's hard for me to feel good about it, even though I think the song itself is very beautiful.

PDogz said:

Great song, but I have a really disturbing memory that's tied to it. So it's hard for me to feel good about it, even though I think the song itself is very beautiful.

Spill it!

SoulAlive said:

PDogz said:

Great song, but I have a really disturbing memory that's tied to it. So it's hard for me to feel good about it, even though I think the song itself is very beautiful.

Spill it!

Uh, ya know... I only considered someone might ask that AFTER I posted my response, lol. Actually, I don't mind sharing it, but it's REALLY disturbing, and it may spoil the song for the others that love it. Unless others want to hear it, perhaps I should just OrgNote you, lol. But be warned: it's rather upsetting.

I was 5 years old when this came out, and I loved it 2 death back then and I still love it. The song and the video brings back so many great memories from growing up. I can close my eyes and almost get sad listening 2 it,wishing 4 those days 2 come back

Mindbells9 said:

I was 5 years old when this came out, and I loved it 2 death back then and I still love it. The song and the video brings back so many great memories from growing up. I can close my eyes and almost get sad listening 2 it,wishing 4 those days 2 come back

Exactly, me too.

I have great memories of this song as it was in the midst of my days on pirate radio great times

I was in college. We wore it out.

Great track. Reminds me of my first time visiting New York City on a high school trip.

PDogz said:

SoulAlive said:

Spill it!

Uh, ya know... I only considered someone might ask that AFTER I posted my response, lol. Actually, I don't mind sharing it, but it's REALLY disturbing, and it may spoil the song for the others that love it. Unless others want to hear it, perhaps I should just OrgNote you, lol. But be warned: it's rather upsetting.

Yes we wanna hear it

PDogz said:

SoulAlive said:

Spill it!

Uh, ya know... I only considered someone might ask that AFTER I posted my response, lol. Actually, I don't mind sharing it, but it's REALLY disturbing, and it may spoil the song for the others that love it. Unless others want to hear it, perhaps I should just OrgNote you, lol. But be warned: it's rather upsetting.

Okay, this story is for grown-folks, okay? And I keep the telling of it very real. It’s the true story of why I have such a hard time enjoying “Don’t Disturb This Groove” by The System. Only the names have been changed to protect THE GUILTY.

In 1987, I was working as a House Parent at a Group Home in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles (Van Nuys), for emotionally disturbed youths. The boys were between the ages of 14 and 17, had been court mandated there as they awaited the outcomes of their respective court trials, and subsequently to determine where they would be placed (either back home with their parents, in foster care, or held indefinitely until they were emancipated). While in our care, they went to a special school in Encino where they also received intensive therapy and other treatments, as well as regular school lessons. And because they were in non-secure detention, they were constantly monitored. After school they’d be transported back to the Group Home where they were able to engage in various after school activities, watch TV, big dinners every night, sometimes we’d even go to the movies or any number of other things. These kids really had it good, despite the fact they were essentially locked up.

From the outside it looked just like any other home in the neighborhood, and aside from a fairly regular rotation of boys that came through the house, very few of the neighbors were even aware of the nature of business going on there. Inside the home was spacious and beautiful. Three bedrooms accommodated two boys each, as six was our capacity. The den was what we used as an office, big living room with a fireplace, dining room, huge kitchen, even a backyard where we often had Bar-B-Q's, played badminton, horseshoes and all the regular backyard type stuff.

Now anyone that’s worked with troubled youth before knows the name of the game is “TESTING LIMITS”, lol. And there were two boys in particular that made sure no day would go by without making sure we earned our paycheck, lol. The two main cohorts in crime I’ll call Jason and Tyrone. Incidentally, Jason was all into boxing, and actually hipped me to a new young 21 year old boxer on the scene that he idolized, who had a background similar to his, that he was certain was going to be a world champion one day by the name of Mike Tyson. But anyway, I digress. This particular story is actually about Tyrone.

Although he was still only 17, Tyrone looked like a grown man, he easily intimidated the other boys in the house, despite the fact he was never without his blue security blanket in his arms, and he sucked his thumb. “Don’t Disturb This Groove” was Tyrone’s song! Any time that song came on the radio, everybody had to shut up so he could get into it. Which seemed harmless enough, except Tyrone was very sexually provocative, liked to play around a lot, and was very sneaky. Tyrone was already very muscular for his age, though very quiet, but was basically the kind of young guy that would fuck anything that moved! He constantly tormented and molested the other boys in the house every chance he got, but he was very hard to actually catch. Nor would any of the other boys in the house rat him out, even though his advances were unwelcome. Working the overnight shift was the worst. Staff would rotate night shifts, so that overnight there would be one staff member in the house while the boys “slept”. We would usually set up in the office den, or sometimes out in the living room where we could watch TV with the volume turned down, anything to keep us awake.

But then it would never be long, before the wee-hours of the morning; you’d hear that familiar sound coming from Tyrone’s room of a headboard rhythmically banging against the wall. But even if you tiptoed down the hall, by the time you busted into the room, Tyrone would be back in his own bed pretending to be asleep, although you could see him breathing hard, and often times his blanket would be tented, and his roommate would be curled up under his covers in a fetal position. I don’t know how many times we even tried changing his room to one closer to the office, or even switching roommates with him, it was never long before Tyrone would be engaging in the same behavior with whomever you placed in the room with him. And we’re not talking lightweight horseplay; over the months, we were able to piece enough of his M.O. together to know that his activities ranged from everything between forced fellatio to flat out anal rape. But because his victims would never give him up, and because he was so damned sneaky and manipulative, for the most part you had to just learn to not let it bother you, particularly because none of the other boys would cooperate. It was a very, very disturbing situation to be witness to.

Then in the mornings, Tyrone would be getting ready for school, hogging the mirror, taking his time, just singing his song:

“Hang the sign upon the door,

say Don't disturb this groove…”

I loved this song but i was disappointed in the album.

phunkdaddy said:

I loved this song but i was disappointed in the album.

Oh man, PDogz...

PDogz said:

Okay, this story is for grown-folks, okay? And I keep the telling of it very real. It’s the true story of why I have such a hard time enjoying “Don’t Disturb This Groove” by The System. Only the names have been changed to protect THE GUILTY.

In 1987, I was working as a House Parent at a Group Home in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles (Van Nuys), for emotionally disturbed youths. The boys were between the ages of 14 and 17, had been court mandated there as they awaited the outcomes of their respective court trials, and subsequently to determine where they would be placed (either back home with their parents, in foster care, or held indefinitely until they were emancipated). While in our care, they went to a special school in Encino where they also received intensive therapy and other treatments, as well as regular school lessons. And because they were in non-secure detention, they were constantly monitored. After school they’d be transported back to the Group Home where they were able to engage in various after school activities, watch TV, big dinners every night, sometimes we’d even go to the movies or any number of other things. These kids really had it good, despite the fact they were essentially locked up.

From the outside it looked just like any other home in the neighborhood, and aside from a fairly regular rotation of boys that came through the house, very few of the neighbors were even aware of the nature of business going on there. Inside the home was spacious and beautiful. Three bedrooms accommodated two boys each, as six was our capacity. The den was what we used as an office, big living room with a fireplace, dining room, huge kitchen, even a backyard where we often had Bar-B-Q's, played badminton, horseshoes and all the regular backyard type stuff.

Now anyone that’s worked with troubled youth before knows the name of the game is “TESTING LIMITS”, lol. And there were two boys in particular that made sure no day would go by without making sure we earned our paycheck, lol. The two main cohorts in crime I’ll call Jason and Tyrone. Incidentally, Jason was all into boxing, and actually hipped me to a new young 21 year old boxer on the scene that he idolized, who had a background similar to his, that he was certain was going to be a world champion one day by the name of Mike Tyson. But anyway, I digress. This particular story is actually about Tyrone.

Although he was still only 17, Tyrone looked like a grown man, he easily intimidated the other boys in the house, despite the fact he was never without his blue security blanket in his arms, and he sucked his thumb. “Don’t Disturb This Groove” was Tyrone’s song! Any time that song came on the radio, everybody had to shut up so he could get into it. Which seemed harmless enough, except Tyrone was very sexually provocative, liked to play around a lot, and was very sneaky. Tyrone was already very muscular for his age, though very quiet, but was basically the kind of young guy that would fuck anything that moved! He constantly tormented and molested the other boys in the house every chance he got, but he was very hard to actually catch. Nor would any of the other boys in the house rat him out, even though his advances were unwelcome. Working the overnight shift was the worst. Staff would rotate night shifts, so that overnight there would be one staff member in the house while the boys “slept”. We would usually set up in the office den, or sometimes out in the living room where we could watch TV with the volume turned down, anything to keep us awake.

But then it would never be long, before the wee-hours of the morning; you’d hear that familiar sound coming from Tyrone’s room of a headboard rhythmically banging against the wall. But even if you tiptoed down the hall, by the time you busted into the room, Tyrone would be back in his own bed pretending to be asleep, although you could see him breathing hard, and often times his blanket would be tented, and his roommate would be curled up under his covers in a fetal position. I don’t know how many times we even tried changing his room to one closer to the office, or even switching roommates with him, it was never long before Tyrone would be engaging in the same behavior with whomever you placed in the room with him. And we’re not talking lightweight horseplay; over the months, we were able to piece enough of his M.O. together to know that his activities ranged from everything between forced fellatio to flat out anal rape. But because his victims would never give him up, and because he was so damned sneaky and manipulative, for the most part you had to just learn to not let it bother you, particularly because none of the other boys would cooperate. It was a very, very disturbing situation to be witness to.

Then in the mornings, Tyrone would be getting ready for school, hogging the mirror, taking his time, just singing his song:

“Hang the sign upon the door,

say Don't disturb this groove…”

Great Story, I wonder what has happened with Tyrone now.

Out of interest I noticed the song replaced Sign o the Times at #1 R and B in May 1987, but only lasted one week, and it turned out to a black guy singing and a Jewish guy doing the synths (David Frank). They didn't seem to have any other real hits beside this one.

Huggiebear said:

Great Story, I wonder what has happened with Tyrone now.

Out of interest I noticed the song replaced Sign o the Times at #1 R and B in May 1987, but only lasted one week, and it turned out to a black guy singing and a Jewish guy doing the synths (David Frank). They didn't seem to have any other real hits beside this one.

They had at least one other song that I loved...

Chuckii Booker posted once on youtube that he seriously digs ^this^ mellowjam

noimageatall said:

Huggiebear said:

Great Story, I wonder what has happened with Tyrone now.

Out of interest I noticed the song replaced Sign o the Times at #1 R and B in May 1987, but only lasted one week, and it turned out to a black guy singing and a Jewish guy doing the synths (David Frank). They didn't seem to have any other real hits beside this one.

They had at least one other song that I loved...

Never gets old indeed. What a jam. The "Sweat"-album with "You're In My System" did as well as the "Don't Disturb This Groove"-album :

1983 - Sweat - R&B Albums - #14

1983 - Sweat - The Billboard 200 - #94

1984 - X-Periment - The Billboard 200 - #182

1985 - Pleasure Seekers - R&B Albums - #40

1987 - Don't Disturb This Groove - R&B Albums - #13

1987 - Don't Disturb This Groove - The Billboard 200 - #62

1989 - Rhythm & Romance - R&B Albums - #85

Chart information courtesy of Billboard.com © 2006 VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

allmusic ((( The System &...Albums )))

Huggiebear said:

Out of interest I noticed the song replaced Sign o the Times at #1 R and B in May 1987, but only lasted one week, and it turned out to a black guy singing and a Jewish guy doing the synths (David Frank). They didn't seem to have any other real hits beside this one.

Maybe i'm misinterpreting here, but what does their heritage have to do with their succes ?

I'd forgotten about this one...

Shango said:

Huggiebear said:

Out of interest I noticed the song replaced Sign o the Times at #1 R and B in May 1987, but only lasted one week, and it turned out to a black guy singing and a Jewish guy doing the synths (David Frank). They didn't seem to have any other real hits beside this one.

Maybe i'm misinterpreting here, but what does their heritage have to do with their succes ?

I love interracial music and I stated it as a fact that us Jewish people have always treated African Americans as equal human beings unlike certain other groups of religions. Ie Islam and Christianity

Huggiebear said:

PDogz said:

Okay, this story is for grown-folks, okay? And I keep the telling of it very real. It’s the true story of why I have such a hard time enjoying “Don’t Disturb This Groove” by The System. Only the names have been changed to protect THE GUILTY.

In 1987, I was working as a House Parent at a Group Home in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles (Van Nuys), for emotionally disturbed youths. The boys were between the ages of 14 and 17, had been court mandated there as they awaited the outcomes of their respective court trials, and subsequently to determine where they would be placed (either back home with their parents, in foster care, or held indefinitely until they were emancipated). While in our care, they went to a special school in Encino where they also received intensive therapy and other treatments, as well as regular school lessons. And because they were in non-secure detention, they were constantly monitored. After school they’d be transported back to the Group Home where they were able to engage in various after school activities, watch TV, big dinners every night, sometimes we’d even go to the movies or any number of other things. These kids really had it good, despite the fact they were essentially locked up.

From the outside it looked just like any other home in the neighborhood, and aside from a fairly regular rotation of boys that came through the house, very few of the neighbors were even aware of the nature of business going on there. Inside the home was spacious and beautiful. Three bedrooms accommodated two boys each, as six was our capacity. The den was what we used as an office, big living room with a fireplace, dining room, huge kitchen, even a backyard where we often had Bar-B-Q's, played badminton, horseshoes and all the regular backyard type stuff.

Now anyone that’s worked with troubled youth before knows the name of the game is “TESTING LIMITS”, lol. And there were two boys in particular that made sure no day would go by without making sure we earned our paycheck, lol. The two main cohorts in crime I’ll call Jason and Tyrone. Incidentally, Jason was all into boxing, and actually hipped me to a new young 21 year old boxer on the scene that he idolized, who had a background similar to his, that he was certain was going to be a world champion one day by the name of Mike Tyson. But anyway, I digress. This particular story is actually about Tyrone.

Although he was still only 17, Tyrone looked like a grown man, he easily intimidated the other boys in the house, despite the fact he was never without his blue security blanket in his arms, and he sucked his thumb. “Don’t Disturb This Groove” was Tyrone’s song! Any time that song came on the radio, everybody had to shut up so he could get into it. Which seemed harmless enough, except Tyrone was very sexually provocative, liked to play around a lot, and was very sneaky. Tyrone was already very muscular for his age, though very quiet, but was basically the kind of young guy that would fuck anything that moved! He constantly tormented and molested the other boys in the house every chance he got, but he was very hard to actually catch. Nor would any of the other boys in the house rat him out, even though his advances were unwelcome. Working the overnight shift was the worst. Staff would rotate night shifts, so that overnight there would be one staff member in the house while the boys “slept”. We would usually set up in the office den, or sometimes out in the living room where we could watch TV with the volume turned down, anything to keep us awake.

But then it would never be long, before the wee-hours of the morning; you’d hear that familiar sound coming from Tyrone’s room of a headboard rhythmically banging against the wall. But even if you tiptoed down the hall, by the time you busted into the room, Tyrone would be back in his own bed pretending to be asleep, although you could see him breathing hard, and often times his blanket would be tented, and his roommate would be curled up under his covers in a fetal position. I don’t know how many times we even tried changing his room to one closer to the office, or even switching roommates with him, it was never long before Tyrone would be engaging in the same behavior with whomever you placed in the room with him. And we’re not talking lightweight horseplay; over the months, we were able to piece enough of his M.O. together to know that his activities ranged from everything between forced fellatio to flat out anal rape. But because his victims would never give him up, and because he was so damned sneaky and manipulative, for the most part you had to just learn to not let it bother you, particularly because none of the other boys would cooperate. It was a very, very disturbing situation to be witness to.

Then in the mornings, Tyrone would be getting ready for school, hogging the mirror, taking his time, just singing his song:

“Hang the sign upon the door,

say Don't disturb this groove…”

Great Story, I wonder what has happened with Tyrone now.

I wondered the same thing and Googled him several months ago. Currently, he's a Staff Sergeant with the US ARMY. Perfect for him I'd suppose: "Don't Ask Don't Tell".

PDogz said:

Huggiebear said:

Great Story, I wonder what has happened with Tyrone now.

I wondered the same thing and Googled him several months ago. Currently, he's a Staff Sergeant with the US ARMY. Perfect for him I'd suppose: "Don't Ask Don't Tell".

Oh wow.