Released August 21, 1979 Genre P-Funk | Format 7", 12" | |
A-side "(Not Just) Knee Deep - Pt. 1" B-side "(Not Just) Knee Deep - Pt. 2" Length 15:21 (album version)
9:45 (7' edit) | ||
"(Not Just) Knee Deep" is a funk song, with a running time of 15 minutes, 21 seconds, on Side 1 of Funkadelic's 1979 album Uncle Jam Wants You.
Contents
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 singer of the rhythm and blues group, The Spinners, which he left two years earlier.
The song is widely regarded as a funk 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, the Chicken, and the Moose, but was turned on by the Freak.
Personnel
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 1997, 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".