(Not Just) Knee Deep
| "(Not Just) Knee Deep" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Funkadelic | ||||
| from the album Uncle Jam Wants You | ||||
| A-side | "(Not Just) Knee Deep - Pt. 1" | |||
| B-side | "(Not Just) Knee Deep - Pt. 2" | |||
| Released | August 21, 1979 | |||
| Format | 7", 12" | |||
| Genre | P-Funk | |||
| Length |
15:21 (album version) 9:45 (7' edit) | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer(s) | George Clinton | |||
| Producer(s) | George Clinton | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Funkadelic singles chronology | ||||
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"(Not Just) Knee Deep" is a funk song running 15 minutes, 21 seconds on side 1 of Funkadelic's 1979 album Uncle Jam Wants You.
Song information
An edited version of the song, appearing as Side A on the single release, reached number one on the Billboard Black Singles chart. The song was written by George Clinton and Walter "Junie" Morrison but the songwriting credit is listed as "George Clinton, Jr." on the album pressing because George Clinton is actually George Clinton, Jr. . The songwriting credit on the single, however, is listed as George Clinton. The song also features vocals from Philippé Wynne, who was a former lead of the soul band, The Spinners- which he left a year earlier.
The song is about a girl who is the "freak of the week" and dances "never missing a beat". It is widely seen as a funk classic, peaking at number seventy-seven on the Billboard Hot 100, and topping the US R&B charts[1] in 1979 in heavily edited form. The lyrics deal with a man meeting a woman, presumably at a party; she dances for him. He is unimpressed by the Jerk, the Monkey, the Moose and the Chicken, but is blown away by the Freak.
Personnel
- Lead vocals: George Clinton, Garry Shider, Walter Morrison, Jessica Cleaves, Philippé Wynne
- Lead guitar: Michael Hampton, Garry Shider
- Keyboards: Walter "Junie" Morrison
- Drums: William "Bootsy" Collins
- Percussion: Larry Fratangelo
- Background vocals: Larry Heckstall, Sheila Horne, Ron Ford, Jeanette McGruder, Dawn Silva, Mike Payne, Greg Thomas, Ray Davis, Mallia Franklin, Lige Curry, James Wesley Jackson, Greg Boyer, Jerome Rogers, Linda Shider
Sampled in other music
The song has been heavily sampled by many artists. Hip hop group De La Soul sampled the intro to the song in their hit "Me Myself and I", which reached #34 on the Billboard Pop Charts and #1 on the R&B Charts.
Also LL Cool J ("Nitro"), Everlast ("Never Missin A Beat"), Tone Lōc ("Funky Cold Medina"), MC Hammer & Deion Sanders ("Straight to My Feet"), G-Funk Intro & his unreleased track "Do U Remember". Tha Dogg Pound used the sample in their unreleased track "Can't C Us". Geto Boys sampled the intro for "Homie Don't Play That". The Black Eyed Peas also used the beat behind it to remix their hit single "Shut Up". X Clan sampled the song in Funkin' Lesson. It was also interpolated in the song "Get Away" by Bobby Brown. In 2014, it was sampled in Jessie J's "Seal Me with a Kiss".
EPMD sampled it in their song "Gold Digger", and Digital Underground used it in two of their songs, "Kiss You Back" and "Bran Nu Swetta".
Rapper Tupac Shakur sampled the song for his "Intro/Bomb First (My Second Reply)" and his Dr. Dre produced track "Can't C Me".
In 1996, Vanessa Williams sampled "Knee Deep" for her song "Happiness".
Dr. Dre's song, "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", is based on "Knee Deep".
Appearances in other media
- Featured in the 1979 episode of Different Strokes "The Rivals" (Season 2; Episode 10)
- Featured in the 1997 movie Good Burger during the insane asylum scene (which featured George Clinton as one of the mental patients who complained about the music and asks Ed (Kel Mitchell) to change the song on the radio)
- Featured in the 2001 movie The Wash.
- Featured in the 2003 video game True Crime: Streets of LA.
- Performed by George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars on the FOX television series "New York Undercover in 1995.
- Performed by George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars on "Late Night with David Letterman" on June 25, 1991.
- Performed by an animated version of George Clinton (played by himself) in The Cleveland Show episode "When a Man (or a Freight Train) Loves His Cookie."
- Featured in the 2015 N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton.
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 450. ISBN 978-0-89820-160-4.
External links
| Preceded by "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" by Michael Jackson |
Billboard Hot Soul Singles number-one single October 13–27, 1979 |
Succeeded by "Ladies' Night" by Kool & the Gang |
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