"Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records.[2] The performers on the recording included lead singer 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. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 18, 1976; it was also number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart.[3] The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over 2 million records and eventually sold 2.5 million in the United States alone.[4]
The song was listed at No. 93 on Billboard magazine's "All-Time Top 100 Songs" in 2018.[5] It was also the group's only US Top 40 song.
American rapper Vanilla Ice later released a song featuring an interpretation of "Play That Funky Music". Based on this single, the independent record label Ichiban Records signed Vanilla Ice to a record deal, releasing the album Hooked in January 1989, containing "Play That Funky Music" and its B-side, "Ice Ice Baby".[28]
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.[29]
Following the success of "Ice Ice Baby", "Play That Funky Music" was reissued as its own single (with new lyrics), and peaked at no. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and no. 10 in the UK.[30]
In 1988, the band Roxanne reached number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a cover version.[48]
Usage in other media
The song appears on the open show Ces Gars-Là, a French-Canadian show on V Télé featuring the stand-up comic Sugar Sammy and Simon-Olivier Fecteau.[49]
^Prato, Greg. "Wild Cherry – Artist Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 12, 2014. the group was accosted nightly between sets by fans who wanted them to "Play that funky music." It wasn't long before Parissi took heed and penned a song under the same title, an infectious ditty that merged funk and rock together.
^Scott, Jane (April 30, 1976). "Discotakes". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
