Play That Funky Music

"Play That Funky Music"
Single by Wild Cherry
from the album Wild Cherry
B-side	"The Lady Wants Your Money"
Released	1976
Format	7"
Recorded	1975
Genre	Funk rock
Length	5:00 (Album Version) 3:12 (Single Version)
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Robert Parissi
Certification	2× Platinum (RIAA)
Wild Cherry singles chronology
"Voodoo Doll/Because Your Love Is Mine" (1975) "Play That Funky Music" (1976) "I Feel Sanctified" (1976)

"Play That Funky Music"
Single by Vanilla Ice
from the album To the Extreme
B-side	Ice Ice Baby
Released	April 25, 1990
Genre	Hip Hop
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Vanilla Ice singles chronology
"Satisfaction" (1989) "Play That Funky Music" (1990) "Ice Ice Baby" (1990)

"Play That Funky Music" is a funk rock song written by Robert Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The performers on the classic recording included the members of the band at the time: lead singer Parissi, guitarist Bryan Bassett, bassist Allen Wentz, and drummer Ron Beitle, with session horn players Chuck Berginc, Jack Brndiar, Joe Eckert, and Rick Singer hired to play the horn riff that runs throughout the track's verses. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 18, 1976 and was also number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over two million records, eventually selling 2.5 million in the United States alone.

History and description

The autobiographical song was inspired by the times. The song's title (and chorus) came from drummer Ron Beitle's observation during a break between sets at the 2001 Club in Pittsburgh. The group performed mostly hard rock, but disco was popular, and some of the group's loyal followers were asking for more dance songs. While taking a break between sets, Beitle uttered, "play some funky music, white boy". Parissi decided they should, and he wrote down the phrase on a bar order pad. They later recorded it in Cleveland with a funk sound.

Originally, it was planned that the song should be released on the B-side of Wild Cherry's cover of the Commodores' "I Feel Sanctified"; however, when the owners of Sweet City Records heard the song, they suggested that the B-side become the A-side. (Epic Records picked up the record for worldwide distribution.) The song sold over two and a half million copies in the US alone; it was Wild Cherry's only hit.

The song listed at #73 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time.

Parissi said he often wrote songs in a similar style as a song he'd pick out from each new week of the Top 40. After writing songs in this manner for some time, one of the songs he wrote was Funky Music. The song that served as inspiration for the hit was Fire by Ohio Players, which features a similar bass line and rhythm guitar part.^{[citation needed]}

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)	Gold	75,000^
United States (RIAA)	Platinum	2,500,000
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Vanilla Ice version

Vanilla Ice later released a song featuring an interpretation of "Play That Funky Music". Songwriter Robert Parissi was not credited. Parissi was later awarded $500,000 in a copyright infringement lawsuit.^{[citation needed]}

Although it did not initially catch on, its B-side, "Ice Ice Baby", gained more success when a disc jockey played that track instead of the single's A-side.

Following the success of "Ice Ice Baby", "Play That Funky Music" was reissued as its own single (with new lyrics), and peaked at #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #10 in the UK.^{[citation needed]}

Chart performance

Chart (1990)	Peak Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	4
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles	22
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks	7

End of year chart (1991)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	57

Other cover versions

"Play That Funky Music"
Single by B*Witched
from the album Across America 2000
Released	2000
Format	CD, Cassette
Genre	Pop
Label	Epic / Glow Worm
B*Witched singles chronology
Mickey (2000) Play That Funky Music (2000)

• George Michael sang the song on several dates of his FAITH tour.
• Prince did the song several times on tour 2011.
• A tribute version of the song was arranged and recorded by Gordon Goodwin and his Big Phat Band on their 2006 record The Phat Pack.
• A spoken word version of the song, deliberately done in an unflattering manner, was used in the early 1990s in a Pioneer Electronics commercial for their automobile audio products.
• A cover version in 1988 by the pop-rock group Roxanne peaked at #63 on the American pop charts.
• Bubonique, a musical comedy side project of the Fatima Mansions and Sean Hughes, included a parody entitled "Play That Funky Music Irish Guy" on their 1993 album 20 Golden Showers.
• UK punk-pop band Cranial Screwtop recorded a cover of the song for the 2006 album "Too Fast for Technology".
• Alexei Sayle included a parody, "Play That Funky Music Jewish Boy", on his 1986 album Panic.
• The Leningrad Cowboys issued a cover version on their 2006 album Zombies Paradise.
• Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their album Club Chipmunk: The Dance Mixes.
• Adam Lambert covered the song on March 31, 2009 on the TV show American Idol.
• B*Witched covered the song in 2001 as a US-only release, but it failed to chart. It was their tenth and final single.
• Thunder's cover version appears on their 1999 album Giving The Game Away.
• Paul Di'Anno covered this song on several albums, including Beyond The Maiden.
• Canadian Saxophonist Warren Hill covered the song on his 2005 album PopJazz.
• Extreme performed it live.

There is an edited version of "Play That Funky Music" without "white boy" that was released for radio airplay around the Boston area, as the original version was briefly banned in that area upon its original release. Instead of "white boy," the words, "yeah, funky music" were substituted. That version is now a collector's item.

Taylor Hicks sang "Play That Funky Music" on American Idol a week before he won. On March 31, 2009, Adam Lambert sang this song on American Idol. It is the 73rd biggest song of all time on Billboard's list of top 100 songs.^{[citation needed]}

Usage in other media

This song has been used in the films Evolution (2001), The New Guy (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004). A rap version is played in the film Malibu's Most Wanted (2003), while an instrumental version of the song is played on bagpipes by Matt Stifler in the direct-to-video movie, American Pie: Band Camp (2005).

The song appears in the video games Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero (as a playable track), Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 (a cover version), Don King Presents: Prizefighter and Shaun White Snowboarding.

In the sitcom Friends, Phoebe, who wants Ross to play his own compositions on his keyboard, encourages him by saying, "Play that funky music, white boy!". The song appeared in "Patch Boomhauer", an episode of the animated TV series King of the Hill. The song is also heard in a Season 3 episode of the US TV sitcom The Office.

Robin Williams has used the song title, delivered in a Lawrence Welk impression, as a one-liner.

Intel used the song as part of a 1997 television advertising campaign for their Pentium MMX line of processors.

Duracell used the song during a 1999 television commercial for their batteries. The character's car has a mechanical breakdown and is stranded on the side of the road. Installing batteries into his cell phone, he calls a tow truck company for assistance. The music on hold is Play That Funky Music and the character dances to the music in the middle of the road. As the caller on the phone returns, the character asks to be put back on hold (to listen to more of the song).

On an episode of The Oblongs, Bob Oblong sings the tune " Play that funky music, white boy. 'Till you die!"

In the last episode of Home Improvement (Backstage Pass), there is a montage of the Taylor family dancing to "Play That Funky Music."

On the third season of NBC's show The Voice, Coach Cee Lo Green sang Play That Funky Music along with contestant Nicholas David Mrozinski.

References

Preceded by "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" by KC & the Sunshine Band	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single September 18 – October 2, 1976	Succeeded by "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band
	Billboard Hot Soul Singles number-one single September 4–11, 1976	Succeeded by "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" by KC & the Sunshine Band