Throwing back to the week of September 12, 1976, we find one hit wonder Wild Cherry atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Play That Funky Music.’ The song spent three weeks at #1, giving the funk rock band their only Top 40 hit.
Wild Cherry, founded by 20-year-old Rob Parissi, started as a rock band in the early 70s but didn’t find much success. Parissi split up the band in 1974 and reformed it with a new lineup a year later.
Playing gigs, they found an increasing demand for the era’s popular funk and disco sound. At one performance, Parissi recalls hearing an audience member shout “Are you white boys gonna play some funky music?,” which inspired him to borrow a pen from the bartender and get to work on the song that would become his legacy.
The song’s lyrics tell the tale of a rock band succumbing to disco fever, making it the rare track that basically documents its own creation.
The success was short-lived, however, as attempts to chase the popularity of ‘Play That Funky Music’ fell flat. The band split for good in 1979.
Old songs. Great memories.
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A-hey, do it now, huh
Yeah, hey
[Verse 1]
Hey-ah, once I was a boogie singer
Playing in a rock and roll band
I never had no problems, yeah
Burning down the one-night stands
Then everything around me, yeah
It got to start to feeling so low
And I decided quickly, yes, I did, heh
To disco down and check out the show
[Pre-Chorus]
Yeah, they were dancing and singing
And moving to the grooving
And just when it hit me
Somebody turned around and shouted
[Chorus]
“Play that funky music, white boy
Play that funky music right
Play that funky music, white boy
Lay down the boogie and play that funky music ’til you die”, heh heh
‘Til you die, yeah (What?)
Hear, hear, heh
[Verse 2]
A-heh, I tried to understand this (Yeah)
Heh, I thought that they were out of their minds
Heh, how could I be so foolish, how could I
To not see I was the one behind?
So still I kept on fighting
Well, losing every step of the way (Hey, what’d you do?)
I said, “I must go back there”, I got to go back
And check to see if things still the same
[Pre-Chorus]
Yeah, they were dancing and singing
And moving to the grooving
And just when it hit me
Somebody turned around and shouted
[Chorus]
“Play that funky music, white boy (Yeah)
Play that funky music right, oh
Play that funky music, white boy
Lay down the boogie and play that funky music ’til you die”, heh
‘Til you die (Yeah)
Woah, ’til you die
Gonna play some electrified funky music, yow!
[Verse 3]
Hey, wait a minute, now first it wasn’t easy
Changing rock and roll and minds
Yeah, things were getting shaky
(Yeah) I thought I’d have to leave it behind, uh
Ooh, but now it’s so much better, it’s so much better
I’m funking out in every way
But I’ll never lose that feeling, no, I won’t
Of how I learned my lesson that day
[Pre-Chorus]
When they were dancing and singing
And moving to the grooving
And just when it hit me
Somebody turned around and shouted
[Chorus]
“Play that funky music, white boy
Play that funky music right
Play that funky music, white boy
Lay down the boogie and play that funky music ’til you die”, heh heh
‘Til you die (Yeah)
Oh, ’til you die, yeah
Come on, let’s go!
[Outro]
(They shouted, “Play that funky music”) Play that funky music
(Play that funky music) You gotta keep on playing funky music
(Play that funky music) Play that funky music
(Play that funky music) Come on and take you higher
Play that funky music, white boy
Play that funky music right, yeah
Play that funky music, white boy
Play that funky music right, yeah
Play that funky music, white boy
Play that funky music right, yeah
Play that funky music, honky
Play that funky music right
Meet Me In Montauk 