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Eva Gabor's voice is sampled in this 1990 dance hit
Lisa Douglas can be heard on "Groove is In the Heart"
One of the biggest joys of observing pop culture over decades is seeing how things get recycled. What was once old is rediscovered and repurposed by new viewers. Sometimes a subtext that flew under the radar is understood by a later group hungry for representation. Or, sometimes, things that are too ahead of their time are better understood in the context of a later era.
Of course, there are always the perennial touchstones that never really go out of fashion. The Beatles never get unearthed because they're never really buried in the first place. Series like The Andy Griffith Show and All in the Family were hailed in their day and are now passed down to new viewers through re-runs. While each new generation of audience members might apply their own lens, these shows are never too far from primetime in the first place.
One show that wasn't necessarily acclaimed in its time was Green Acres, a sometimes-ratings-success that was nonetheless shrugged at by critics. While it may not have been a favorite of the press (or of its network, either) Green Acres had a considerable pop culture footprint. There weren't a ton of shows on TV, so the ones that were on were hard to ignore. However, Green Acres, like its Hooterville cousin Petticoat Junction, wasn't ever really embraced in subsequent eras.
Except on the dance floor.
In 1990, Deee-Lite released what would go on to be their signature track, "Groove Is in the Heart." It was the dance act's debut and the lead single for their first album, World Clique. The psychedelic, '60s-themed music video propelled "Groove Is in the Heart" up the MTV charts while the song had clubs bumping all over the world.
The track featured lead vocals from band member Kierin Kirby, while Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Bootsy Collins and A Tribe Called Quest rapper Q-Tip joined in.
One voice listeners might not expect is that of Lisa Douglas, Eva Gabor's character on Green Acres. Specifically, a split-second intonation of hers from the show's opening credits is sampled by Deee-Lite to create a few memorable moments in the track.
Fans will recall when Lisa sings "I get allergic smelling hay" in the series' theme song. This "I" was then sampled, chopped up, and repeated, creating a distinctive vocal rhythm that's played throughout the song.
For a more detailed breakdown of how the track came to be, we recommend taking a look at producer @LUXXURY's YouTube channel, where he dedicates a short to the song's production and its interesting sample source.
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