Wild Cherry released “You Can Be High (But Lay Low)” as their debut single in 1970. The song came six years before Wild Cherry released their eponymous debut album. “You Can Be High (But Lay Low)” is one of several singles that the rock band released, although they sadly didn’t have any success on the radio.
But magic happened in 1976, when the tenacious group released “Play That Funky Music”. The song, part of Wild Cherry, was written by band member Rob Parissi.
The uptempo song says, “Yeah they were dancin’ and singin’ / And movin’ to the groovin’ / And just when it hit me / Somebody turned around and shouted / ‘Play that funky music, white boy / Play that funky music right.”
“Play That Funky Music” is not only Wild Cherry’s first hit, but also a massive success. The song hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts. It also became a Top 15 single on Billboard’s National Disco Action chart. “Play That Funky Music” stayed at the top of the Hot 100 chart for three weeks and in the No. 1 spot on the Hot Soul chart for two weeks.
After the release of “Play That Funky Music”, Wild Cherry never had another Top 40 single. In 1990, rapper Vanilla Ice put his own spin on this song.
The Story Behind “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry
It’s not incredibly surprising that Wild Cherry didn’t have a ton of hits, since they originated as a cover band. Years later, Parissi recalled the moment he knew Wild Cherry needed to pivot.
“We were a rock band and disco music was coming in,” Parissi shares in a 2017 interview on Harry Connick’s TV show Harry. “Rock clubs were closing down, and discos were opening up. And we were a hard-working band playing four, five, six nights a week.”
In a separate interview, Wild Cherry’s Bryan Bassett says “Play That Funky Music” is both “autobiographical and quite literal.”
“Club work was getting scarce if you didn’t play dance music, so we decided to change,” Bassett explains. “Someone actually did say that to us, ‘Play that funky music white boy,’ insinuating that if we didn’t, we probably wouldn’t be working much longer. … Someone came up to our drummer Ron [Beitle] and said, ‘You better play that funky music, white boy.’ He told that to Rob in the dressing room, and I believe Rob started writing that song right then.”
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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