C+C Music Factory’s Gonna Make you Sweat is still one of those songs that seem to be representative of the 1990s in the same way that Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind could be said to be emblematic of the 1960s. The “group” was not really a group at all, but a collaborative project of two producers, Robert Clivillés and David Cole , the Cs in “C+C”. They recruited vocalists Martha Wash and Zelma Davis along with rapper Freedom Williams.

C+C Music Factory had several hits, starting with “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” in 1990 which was the title track of the album, followed by “Here We Go (Let’s Rock & Roll)” and “Things that Make You Go Hmmmm”. That said, their most popular, songs were “Gonna Make You Sweat” and “Things that Make You Go Hmmmm”, with the former being the most enduring nostalgic favorite of the era with those who were around at the time. It is still played in sports arenas to get the home crowd excited. They had another hit in 1992 with “Keep it Comin’ (Dance Till You Can’t Dance No More)”, which was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

They also released a pair of albums in the mid 1990s, including “Anything Goes!” which was released before the 1995 death of Cole and “C+C Music Factory” which was released after his death.

While the success of their debut album appears to have been the peak of their career, C+C Music Factory is far from dead and has returned in recent years, riding on a tidal wave of Generation X nostalgia. They returned in 2010 with the single “Live Your Life”.