As someone who was a teenager when this song was popular, I have to say that people weren’t as touchy about this kind of stuff back then. We just had a good time with it, took it as being self-deprecating (and even as 13 year old I got that), and kept on keeping on. Nobody cared. It wasn’t considered some indictment against white men, and I don’t recall anyone, white or black, taking issue with this song. If anything we just laughed about it, but we were kids and the 70s were mostly all yellow smilely faces and “Have a Nice Day” for us.
I voted No.
Music back then wasn’t all a political statement. There was a dude in Parliament Funkadelic that wore a diaper for crying out loud. Talk about not taking yourself seriously!
Now I am not trying to say it was all sunshine and rainbows all the time, because as a one of a handful of white kids in a mostly black public school with mostly young black afrocentric teachers, I could tell you some stories of being bullied by black kids (especially black girls) that most of you wouldn’t believe. But it didn’t have much at all to do with the music we listened to. If anything the music actually helped us get along. What I learned in my grade school years is that whoever is in the majority tends to treat whoever is in the minority badly, even if said minority is merely a microcosm of the greater world. I know, I lived it.
I’m from Pittsburgh, and they’re more or less a local band, as stated above. I’m incapable of viewing it objectively. It’s a fun song, and the vocalist has a fairly unique sound that I like. The song has kind of an infections groove, like many of the better songs of the era.
I don’t care what ANYONE says, that 1976 Midnight Special performance was kick-ass. The great LIVE vocals and instrumental performance, the choreographed 2-man horn section, everything about it was top-notch. Yeah, the whole thing REEKS of the 70’s, but not EVERYTHING about that era was bad.
I had a work friend back in 2004 that was uncomfortable with Foreigner’s “Dirty White Boy”, but was OK with “Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta.”
Then I guess you didn’t pay attention to the lyrics? The song is about a rock and roll singer who goes and listens to a funk band, and then the audience turns around and tells him to “play that funky music, white boy.” So clearly the speaker is white.
And, yes, I watched the video, and heard him sing. He’s singing in the style to fit the music, including the accent. So what?
I do agree that assuming a white person can’t play funk would be racist, but I don’t really hear that in the song. They turn around and tell the white guy that he should play funky music–which implies they think he can. The singer is the one reluctant to do so, thinking they’re crazy. But he comes around, and while it’s hard changing his tune at first, he eventually not only does it, but convinces other rockers to come along.
I mean, he’s so funky that people apparently miss the lyrics and assume the singer must be black. He can clearly do it.
No, and I’m with WordMan: It’ll be a matter of awkwardness for our grandchildren. Well, let them feel awkward, we’ll lay down the boogie at the nursing facility.
A friend of a friend of mine interviewed Rob Parissi twice and wrote articles for his webpage about the contents of the interview. The writer has interviewed quite a few semi-famous and formerly famous music personalities over the years, but the Parissi interviews are some of my favorites (informative, realistic view of himself, and genuinely funny). Here are links to the interviews, hearing what he has to say about the song it is hard to imagine there was ever any racist intent:
Seems like he says something along the lines of: you might call the song somewhat autobiographical; I am white, I am a boy, I play in a band that plays funk music…. seems self explanatory to me. At least it isn’t about leaving a cake out in the rain; that is some psycho stuff there.
Concerning Vanilla Ice and his use of the song, Parissi was very open about his appreciation for Van Winkle’s extending the longevity of the song and his scrupulous payment of royalties. Also all the movies and TV shows that use it and keep it going. When I mentioned to him I heard a snippet of the song at a Diamondbacks home game he replied: “If they played more than a few bars you guys owe me nine cents—when you send it to me, would you please wrap it in a sponge or something so the IRS can’t identify it and I won’t have to declare it on my taxes.” When I told him the Brewers won the game and he should collect from them he replied: “Forget that! In 197? I played a show in Milwaukee with two other bands (I have forgotten which bands—but they were big time touring bands with several hits). Three bands and a 5,000 seat venue, any one of us should have filled the seats but they keep asking for advertising investment. So we go with heavy radio spots on all the stations for weeks in advance. Then we show up and there are less than 300 people there. The hall was so empty we had to tweak the sound system to keep from having an echo.”
If it helps, the riff overlays with **Stevie Wonder’s Superstition **pretty well. Put that song on and swap earworms if you’d prefer it.
My Rx,
Dr. Feelgood
And again, this song isn’t racist, just fun.
If you want to discuss inappropriate 1970’s music, go back to Foreigner as mentioned above. Such Man-Stupid lyrics. On the album Head Games alone there’s:
Dirty White Boy - Oy
I’ll Get Even With You - stalker revenge bitterness
Women - a tone-deaf skeevy objectification if there ever was one
Seventeen - what a creepy perv stalker song. Dude singing to teen he groomed who’s moving past him and he’s telling her she owes him. I loved this song as a rockin’ tune back in the day. Now it makes me shudder.
Head Games, Love on The Telephone - less specifically misogynistic than just bitter about the need to play head games. Silly high school drama.
I still love a few of their songs, but I don’t walk past them like I do for Play That Funky Music. Mick Jones, the guitarist and mastermind behind Foreigner, was a pig.