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Too Funky

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"Too Funky"
Song
B-side"Crazyman Dance"

"Too Funky" is a song written and performed by English singer George Michael and released by Columbia Records in the United States and Epic Records elsewhere in 1992.

History

"Too Funky" was Michael's final single for his recording contract with Sony Music before he started legal action to extricate himself from his contract. "Too Funky" had been initially earmarked for a follow-up to the album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 but Michael shelved the idea, instead donating it, along with two other songs, to the project Red Hot + Dance, which raised money for AIDS awareness. Michael subsequently donated the royalties to the same cause. The song didn't appear on any of Michael's studio albums, although later it was included on his solo collection Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael.

Song

Lyrically, the song is a basic, animalistic plea for sexual activity.

It features a clip from The Graduate; Anne Bancroft's line of "I am not trying to seduce you... Would you like me to seduce you? Is that what you're trying to tell me?". As an intro of the song and it is repeated during the final crescendo. The song then ends with a sample ("Would you stop playing with that radio of yours? I'm trying to get to sleep") from an episode of the Tony Hancock Show called 'The Radio Ham'. The line was spoken by actress Annie Leake. It also appeared in the song "Let Mom Sleep" from the video game Jet Set Radio.

The song's hook also samples Jocelyn Brown's 1984 hit "Somebody Else's Guy"[1]

Music video

In addition to the music video, fashion designer Thierry Mugler also designed and created the costumes for the models.[2] The video features Michael (but only in short two to three second sections) as a director filming a number of supermodels walking on the catwalk at a fictitious runway show, similarly using the concept he first employed in the video for his 1990 single "Freedom! '90".

The models featured in this video were Eva Herzigova, Linda Evangelista, Nadja Auermann, Emma Sjöberg, Estelle Hallyday, Shana Zadrick, Tyra Banks, Beverly Peele, and Emma Balfour. Actresses Julie Newmar and Rossy de Palma, and the performance artists Joey Arias and Lypsinka are also featured. A "making of" video was also created.

The video's concept was written by Jeff Beasley after attending a benefit fashion show held by Mugler several months before in Los Angeles. Beasley worked at Propaganda Films, the production company where David Fincher directed "Freedom! '90"—the supermodel video on which "Too Funky" is based. Originally the same models from Fincher's video were going to be used, namely Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, and Tatjana Patitz. Mugler decided, however, that he wanted new models and only kept Evangelista for the project. The video was produced by Beasley and filmed by Mike Southon.

A rare "alternate edit" of the video includes several male models, including eventual Grey's Anatomy star Justin Chambers and Oscar-nominated actor Djimon Hounsou, who was discovered by Mugler in Paris, and sometimes can be found online.

Commercial performance

"Too Funky" reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in 1992 and became that year's most played record in Europe.

In the U.S., the single debuted at number 84 on Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 10—its peak position—by its fourth week. It sold over 500,000 copies, being certified Gold by the RIAA.

In Australia, it became the biggest gainer song ever in the top 50 of the Australian ARIA Singles Chart when it jumped from number 50 to number 8 (42 places), before reaching its peak position at number 3. "Too Funky" held this record until 2009, when "3" by Britney Spears rose from number 50 to number 7 (43 places).

In Canada, "Too Funky" peaked at number 6 on the RPM singles chart.[3]

"Too Funky" reached number 3 on the Dutch Top 40.[4]

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Year-end charts

End-of-year chart (1992) Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[22] 58

References

  1. ^ Fulton, Rick (November 1, 2013) "Soul singer Jocelyn Brown," The Daily Record. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  2. ^ Borrelli-Persson, Laird (20 April 2016). ""Moulin Rouge Meets Vegas!" An Oral History of George Michael's 1992 "Too Funky" Video". Vogue. New York. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Top Singles- Volume 56, No.5 August 01, 1992". www.collectionscanada.com.
  4. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 46, 1987". Retrieved 16 March 2008.
  5. ^ "George Michael – Too Funky". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  6. ^ "George Michael – Too Funky" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  7. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1953." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  8. ^ "George Michael – Too Funky" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  9. ^ Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Too Funky". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  11. ^ George Michael singles sales ranking. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  12. ^ "George Michael – Too Funky" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  13. ^ "George Michael – Too Funky". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  14. ^ "George Michael – Too Funky". VG-lista. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  15. ^ "George Michael – Too Funky". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  16. ^ "George Michael – Too Funky". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  17. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  18. ^ "George Michael Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  19. ^ "George Michael Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  20. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  21. ^ "American single certifications – George Michael – Too Funky". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  22. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1992". Retrieved 30 July 2010.
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