Car Wash - Single Version

Norman Whitfield, who wrote many Motown classics, was commissioned to write songs for the soundtrack of the movie Car Wash. He was having a meal of Kentucky Fried Chicken (it wasn't called KFC back then) while watching a basketball game, when inspiration struck. He wrote the lyrics on the bag containing the chicken. The song fit very well in the movie, which was about a rather funky car wash.

The soundtrack album went gold and this song won the 1976 Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture.

The hand claps at the beginning have been sampled many times by a variety of hip-hop and R&B artists.