# Cameo’s Biggest Hit Still Revs up the Party Four Decades After Its Release

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/cameos-biggest-hit-still-revs-up-the-party-four-decades-after-its-release/
- Published: 2026-10-26T20:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-26T21:28:04+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/cameos-biggest-hit-still-revs-up-the-party-four-decades-after-its-release/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- “Word Up!” peaked at No. 6 in 1986.
- Cameo had no later Top 40 pop hits.
- Mariah Carey sampled it in “Loverboy”.

## Summary

Cameo’s 1986 hit “Word Up!” became the band’s first major pop breakthrough, reaching No. 6 in the US. Its synth-led funk sound and enduring appeal have kept it a party favourite around four decades after its release.

The band had been active since 1974, first performing as the New York City Players, and had a large lineup before narrowing to three members by 1986. Larry Blackmon Jr. and Tomi Jenkins wrote “Word Up!”, which followed the group’s near-miss with “She’s Strange”; their next single, “Candy”, reached No. 21, but Cameo had no further Top 40 pop hits. The song later gained fresh exposure through a sample in Mariah Carey’s 2001 hit “Loverboy”.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.