"Play That Funky Music" is a song written byRob Parissi and recorded by Americanfunk rock bandWild Cherry. The single was the first released by theCleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed byEpic Records.[4] The performers on the recording included lead singer Parissi, electric guitaristBryan 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. The single hit No. 1 on the USBillboard Hot 100 on September 18, 1976; it was also No. 1 on theBillboardHot Soul Singles chart.[5] The single was certified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America for shipments of over 2 million records and eventually sold 2.5 million in the United States alone.[6]
The song was listed at No. 93 onBillboard magazine's "All-Time Top 100 Songs" in 2018.[7] It was also the group's only US Top 40 song.
Wild Cherry was ahard rockcover band, but with the advent and popularity of thedisco 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".[8]
While playing at the2001 Club on the north side ofPittsburgh, 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.[9]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
American rapperVanilla Ice later released a song featuring an interpretation of "Play That Funky Music". Based on this single, the independent record labelIchiban Records signed Vanilla Ice to a record deal, releasing the albumHooked in January 1989, containing "Play That Funky Music" and its B-side, "Ice Ice Baby".[34] Songwriter Robert Parissi was not credited. Parissi was later awarded $500,000 in a copyright infringement lawsuit.[citation needed] "Ice Ice Baby" wasalso found to contain copyright infringement.
Although it did not initially catch on, itsB-side, "Ice Ice Baby", gained more success when adisc jockey played that track instead of the single's A-side.[35]
Following the success of "Ice Ice Baby", "Play That Funky Music" was reissued as its own single (with new lyrics and remixed drums), and peaked at No. 4 on the USBillboard Hot 100 and No. 10 in the UK.[36] The song's accompanying music video receivedheavy rotation onMTV Europe in March 1991.[37]
The song appears on the opening showCes gars-là, a French-language Canadian show on V Télé featuring the stand-up comicSugar Sammy and Simon-Olivier Fecteau.[60]
In theseason 8 episode ofThe Big Bang Theory, "The Skywalker Intrusion",Sheldon Cooper says toLeonard Hofstadter "Play that funky music, white boy" when Leonard turns on the car radio, though Sheldon is unfamiliar with the cultural reference. When Leonard plays the song for him, Sheldon analyzes the song, concluding that the lyrics present a musical example ofRussell's paradox.[61][62][63][64]
^Breihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "Vanilla Ice - "Ice Ice Baby".The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York:Hachette Book Group. p. 209.
^Vanilla Ice (March 28, 1999).Behind the Music: Vanilla Ice.VH1. Event occurs at 10:45.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006).Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi.ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
