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 April 1976
Format 7-inch single
Genre Funk rock[1]
Length
  • 5:00 (album version)
  • 3:12 (single version)
Label Epic
Songwriter(s) Rob Parissi
Producer(s) Rob Parissi
Wild Cherry singles chronology
"Get Down"
(1973)		 "Play That Funky Music"
(1976)		 "Baby Don't You Know"
(1977)

"Get Down"
(1973)		 "Play That Funky Music"
(1976)		 "Baby Don't You Know"
(1977)

"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 U.S. Top 40 song.

Chart performance

Vanilla Ice version

"Play That Funky Music"
Single by Vanilla Ice
from the album To the Extreme
B-side "Ice Ice Baby"
Released 1989 (album track)[27]
1990 (single)[28]
Format CD single
Genre Hip hop
Length 4:45
Label SBK
Songwriter(s) Rob Parissi
Producer(s) Vanilla Ice
Vanilla Ice singles chronology
"Play That Funky Music"
(1989)		 "Ice Ice Baby"
(1989)

"Play That Funky Music"
(1989)		 "Ice Ice Baby"
(1989)

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".[27]

Songwriter Robert Parissi was not credited. Parissi was later awarded $500,000 in a copyright infringement lawsuit.

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]

Weekly charts

Chart (1990–1991) Peak
Position
Australia (ARIA)[31] 13
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[32] 19
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[28] 16
Canada (RPM 10 Dance)[33] 4
Canada (RPM 100 Hit Tracks)[34] 13
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[35] 3
Germany (Official German Charts)[36] 19
Ireland (IRMA)[37] 4
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[38] 14
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[39] 12
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[40] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[41] 14
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 10
US Billboard Hot 100[42] 4
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[42] 42
US Billboard Hot R&B Singles[42] 22
US Billboard Hot Rap Singles[42] 7
US Cash Box[43] 4

Year-end charts

Chart (1991) Position
Canada (RPM Dance Tracks)[44] 44
US Billboard Hot 100[45] 57

Other cover versions

  • An edited version of "Play That Funky Music", without "white boy", was released for radio airplay around the Boston area, as the original version was briefly banned in that area upon its original release. In place of "white boy," the words, "hey, funky music", were substituted (Epic cat# AE7 1107). That version is now a collector's item.[46]
  • In 1988, the band Roxanne reached number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a cover version.[47]
  • Canadian saxophonist Warren Hill covered the song on his 2005 album PopJazz.[48]

Usage in other media

The song appears on the soundtrack of the film Evolution (2001) and 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]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ Scott, Jane (April 30, 1976). "Discotakes". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio.
  3. 1 2 3 "National Disco Action Top 30 / Billboard Hot Soul Singles" (PDF). Billboard. September 4, 1976. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Platinum Singles Top '76–'77 Years". Billboard. Vol. 90 no. 34. August 26, 1978. p. 114. ISSN 0006-2510.
  5. ↑ "Greatest of All Time – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Chart Positions Pre 1989 Part 4". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4356a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Charts.nz – Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  14. ↑ "The Hot 100". Billboard. September 18, 1976. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  15. ↑ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 11, 1976". Cash Box. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012.
  16. ↑ "The Singles Chart" (PDF). Record World. September 11, 1976. p. 29. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1976" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Top 200 Singles of '76". RPM. Vol. 26 no. 14 & 15. Library and Archives Canada. January 8, 1977. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1976" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 19" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1976". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  22. ↑ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1976". Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. . Cash Box.
  23. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music". Music Canada.
  25. ↑ "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  26. 1 2 "RIAA – Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – Play That Funky Music". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  27. 1 2 Behind The Music: Vanilla Ice. Moment occurs at 10:45
  28. 1 2 "Ultratop.be – Vanilla Ice – Play That Funky Music" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  29. ↑ Westfahl, Gary (2000). "Legends of the Fall: Behind the Music". Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 100. ISBN 0-313-30847-0.
  30. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  31. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Vanilla Ice – Play That Funky Music". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  32. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Vanilla Ice – Play That Funky Music" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  33. ↑ "Dance/Urban – Volume 53, No. 13, March 02 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  34. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 53, No. 13, March 02 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  35. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  36. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Vanilla Ice – Play That Funky Music". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  37. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Play That Funky Music". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  38. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Vanilla Ice – Play That Funky Music" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Vanilla Ice – Play That Funky Music" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  40. ↑ "Charts.nz – Vanilla Ice – Play That Funky Music". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  41. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Vanilla Ice – Play That Funky Music". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  42. 1 2 3 4 "To the Extreme – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  43. ↑ "CASH BOX Top 100 Pop Singles – Week ending FEBRUARY 9, 1991". Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. . Cash Box.
  44. ↑ "Dance/Urban – Volume 55, No. 3, December 21 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  45. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1991". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  46. ↑ Allen, Craig (October 13, 2012). "Meet Wild Cherry [PHOTOS, VIDEOS]". New Jersey 101.5. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  47. ↑ "The Hot 100". Billboard. April 9, 1988. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  48. ↑ "Warren Hill's – Popjazz". Smooth-jazz.de. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  49. ↑ Roy, Marie-Josée (April 18, 2014). "«Ces gars-là» : Simon-Olivier Fecteau et Sugar Sammy, nouveau duo terrible de V (VIDÉO)". Le Huffington Post. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
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