"Up for the Down Stroke" 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 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 repetitio ...

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, the title track to their

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

album of the same name. Released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the album, it reached number ten on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart (the band's first top ten on the chart since Testify in 1967), and number 63 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. The song was one of the first compositions to feature the songwriting team of George Clinton,

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 ...

and Bernie Worrell (along with Fuzzy Haskins).

Overview

"Up for the Down Stroke" was covered by

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

The Horny Horns The Horny Horns were a horn section associated with Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy's Rubber Band led by trombonist Fred Wesley. The group also featured saxophonist Maceo Parker and Rick Gardner and Richard "Kush" Griffith on trumpets. While the ...

featuring Maceo Parker on the album ''

A Blow for Me, a Toot for You ''A Blow for Me, a Toot to You'' is a 1977 album by funk musician Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns featuring Maceo Parker. Reception The album contains heavy participation by the P-Funk musical collective, including Garry Shider, Michael Hampt ...

''.

Use in other music and media

* In the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

song, "

Musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

", the phrase "get down for the up stroke", an inversion of the title, is used in the last section. * The song appears in the 2000 film '' The Ladies Man'', starring

Tim Meadows Timothy Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for ten seasons and for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy ...

.The Ladies Man: Music from the Motion Picture (2000 Film) - Soundtrack Album
Amazon.com

References

Parliament (band) songs 1974 singles Songs written by George Clinton (funk musician) Songs written by Bootsy Collins Songs written by Bernie Worrell Casablanca Records singles 1974 songs {{1970s-single-stub