“Play That Funky Music” turns 50!

Lay down that boogie…

This funky classic was released as a single in April 1976.

This is an image of the cover art for the self-titled album by Wild Cherry. Copyright Epic. This song is the opening track.

“Play That Funky Music” was written by the lead singer of Wild Cherry, Rob Parissi. The performers on the recording included Parissi, electric guitarist Bryan Bassett, bassist Allen Wentz, and drummer Ron Beitle, with session players Chuck Berginc, Jack Brndiar (trumpets), and Joe Eckert and Rick Singer (saxes) on the horn riff that runs throughout the song's verses. Wild Cherry was a Hard Rock cover band, but with the advent and popularity of the Disco era, the group found it increasingly difficult to book shows. Most promoters had little interest in Rock bands when Dance acts were far more lucrative. Parissi attempted to persuade his bandmates to incorporate Dance tunes into their sets, but they resisted as they did not want to be tagged with the stigma of being "disco". While playing at the 2001 Club on the north side of Pittsburgh, to a predominantly black audience, a patron said to band member Beitle during a break, "Are you going to play some funky music, white boys?" Parissi grabbed a pen and order pad and wrote the song in about five minutes. The lyrics describe the predicament of a Hard Rock band adjusting to the disco era. The single hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on September 18, 1976; it was also No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. The single was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over 2 million records and eventually sold 2.5 million in the United States alone.

Source: Wikipedia.org

This Dance classic is a crowd favorite and has been in our setlists since the beginning!

We’re funking out in every way!

Video courtesy of Marcus Hicks