"(Not Just) Knee Deep" is a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

song, with a running time of 15 minutes, 21 seconds, on Side 1 of

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

album ''

Uncle Jam Wants You ''Uncle Jam Wants You'' is the eleventh studio album by American funk rock band Funkadelic. It was originally released by Warner Bros. Records on September 21, 1979, and was later reissued on CD by Charly Groove Records and Priority Records. It ...

''.

Song information

An edited version of the song, appearing as Side A on the single release, reached number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Black Singles chart. The song was written by George Clinton (credited on some releases as "George Clinton, Jr."); the recording was arranged by

Walter "Junie" Morrison Walter "Junie" Morrison (June 28, 1954 – January 21, 2017) was an American songwriter, record producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the Ohio Players in the early 1970s, and later became a member and musical direc ...

and produced by Clinton under the alias "Dr. Funkenstein". The Funkadelic version is sung by Clinton and several other group members, including

Philippé Wynne Philippé Wynne (''aka'' Philippe Escalante Wynn; ''né'' Walker; April 3, 1941 – July 14, 1984) was an American singer, best known for his role as a lead vocalist of The Spinners (a role he shared with fellow group members Bobby Smith and H ...

, who was a former lead singer of the rhythm and blues group, The Spinners, which he left two years earlier. The song is widely regarded as a

classic, peaking at No. 77 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topping the US R&B charts in 1979. The lyrics tell of a "girl" who "was a freak of the week" and the man who was dancing with her. He was unimpressed by the Jerk, the

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

, the Chicken, and the Moose, but was turned on by the Freak.

Personnel

*Lead vocals: George Clinton,

Garry Shider Garry Marshall Shider (July 24, 1953 – June 16, 2010) was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen ...

Walter Morrison Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

Jessica Cleaves Jessica Marguerite Cleaves (December 10, 1948 – May 2, 2014) was an American singer and songwriter. Cleaves was a lead singer of the Friends of Distinction, Earth, Wind & Fire, Parliament Funkadelic and Raw Silk. Early life Jessica Cleaves was ...

*Lead guitar:

Michael Hampton Michael Hampton (born November 15, 1956) is an American funk/rock guitarist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Career Hampton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, a ...

*Keyboards/Synth Bass :

*Drums:

William "Bootsy" Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading n ...

*Percussion: Larry Fratangelo *Background vocals: Larry Heckstall,

Sheila Horne Brides of Funkenstein member Sheila Horne was hired as a back-up singer for original Brides Lynn Mabry and Dawn Silva in 1978. She became a main singer with Silva and Jeanette McGruder in 1979 for the second Brides album ''Never Buy Texas from a C ...

, 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 De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

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 James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

("Nitro"),

Everlast Erik Francis Schrody (born August 18, 1969), known by his stage name Everlast, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter, who was the frontman for hip hop group House of Pain. He was also part of the hip hop supergroup La Coka ...

("Never Missin A Beat"),

Tone Lōc Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Lōc (), is an American rapper, actor, and producer. He is known for his raspy voice, his hit songs " Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina", for which he was nomina ...

Funky Cold Medina "Funky Cold Medina" is a hip hop song written by Young MC, Matt Dike and Michael Ross, and first performed by American rapper, actor and producer Tone Lōc. It was the second single from Lōc's debut album, ''Lōc-ed After Dark'' (1989). The si ...

"),

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...

Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons ...

("Straight to My Feet"), The rap group Mass 187 ("Swang Your Hips)", G-Funk Intro & his unreleased track "Do U Remember".

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip hop duo made up of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albums starting in ...

used the sample in their unreleased track "Can't C Us".

Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) was an American hip-hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. The Geto Boys enjoyed success in the 1990s with the group's classic lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D, earning ...

sampled the intro for "Homie Don't Play That".

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...

also used the beat behind it to remix their hit single "

Shut Up Shut may refer to: *Yana Shut (born 1997), Belarusian snooker and pool player. * ''Shut'' (1988 film), directed by Andrei Andreyevich Eshpai. * ''Shut'' (2009 film), starring Lee Baxter. * ''Shut'' or ''šwt'', "shadow", an Ancient Egyptian conce ...

X Clan X Clan (formerly stylized as XCLAN and often incorrectly spelled X-Clan) is a hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York, originally consisting of Grand Verbalizer Funkin' Lesson Brother J, Professor X the Overseer, Paradise the Architect, and Su ...

sampled the song in "Funkin' Lesson". It was also interpolated in the song " Get Away" by

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

. In 2014, it was sampled in

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

's "Seal Me with a Kiss".

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

sampled it in their song "Gold Digger", and

Digital Underground Digital Underground was an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Their personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour. Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs (also known as Humpty Hu ...

used it in two of their songs, "Kiss You Back" and "Bran Nu Swetta". Rapper

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

sampled the song for his "Intro/Bomb First (My Second Reply)" and his Dr. Dre produced track "Can't C Me". In 1997,

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

sampled "Knee Deep" for her song "

Happiness Happiness, in the context of Mental health, mental or emotional states, is positive or Pleasure, pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishin ...

". Dr. Dre's song, "

Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin') "Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", or as a single titled "Dre Day", is a song by American rapper and record producer Dr. Dre featuring fellow American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, released in May 1993 as the second single from Dre' ...

", is based on "Knee Deep". South Korean girl band

Mamamoo Mamamoo (, stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote ...

song "Um Oh Ah Yeh" from their third mini-album

Pink Funky ''Pink Funky'' is the third extended play by South Korean girl group Mamamoo. It was released by RBW on June 19, 2015 and distributed by CJ E&M Music. It contains six songs, including the singles "Ahh Oop!" (a collaboration with Esna) and "Um O ...

was influenced from it.

Appearances in other media

*Featured in the 1979 episode of Diff'rent Strokes "The Rivals" (Season 2; Episode 10) *Frequently played by

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both '' Late ...

and The World's Most Dangerous Band as bumper music on episodes of ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

'' (1982-1993). The song was the basis of an extended sketch, aired on 20 October 1983, in which Letterman, Shaffer and Larry "Bud" Melman argued about who played the guitar solo on the original recording. Melman proves that it was Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton—then robs Dave and Paul at gunpoint. *In the 1997

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

movie ''

Good Burger ''Good Burger'' is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Dan Schneider with Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert. Starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, it is based on the comedy sketch of the same name on the Nick ...

'' during the

insane asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

scene, George Clinton cameos as one of the mental patients who complains about the boring music on the radio, and asks Ed, played by

Kel Mitchell Kel Johari Rice Mitchell (born August 25, 1978) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He was an original cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' for its first five seasons (1994–1999), where he was often paired a ...

, to change the station. Ed finds a station playing this song, and the patients subsequently dance to it. *Featured in the 2001 movie ''

The Wash The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk, England, Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it i ...

''. *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 ''New York Undercover'' is an American Police procedural, police drama that aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and ...

'' in 1995. *Performed by George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars on "

" on June 25, 1991. *Performed by an animated version of George Clinton (played by himself) in

The Cleveland Show ''The Cleveland Show'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company. A spin-off of ''Family Guy'', the series centers on Cleveland Brown, his new wife Donna Tubbs, a ...

episode "When a Man (or a Freight Train) Loves His Cookie." *Featured in the 2015

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

biopic ''

Straight Outta Compton ''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced b ...

''.

References

External links

Song Review A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Not Just Knee Deep Funkadelic songs 1979 singles Songs written by George Clinton (funk musician) 1979 songs Songs about dancing