(Not Just) Knee Deep

(Not Just) Knee Deep

Funkadelic

This song was from the album Uncle Jam Wants You from 1979.

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 as a gift to Clinton’s son. 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 Hot 100, and topping the US R&B charts 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.
George Clinton said in an interview that he never intended to record the song because he thought that the ¾ time wouldn’t make the song good for dancing. But one day on the sessions for the album Walter “Junie” Morrison caught George Clinton singin' the melody for the part “Round and round, she’s the freak of my desire…” and suggested that the song, if arranged, would make a good dance track. The next day Junie Morrison came up with a demo tape he record himself at home and asked George to sing the part again while it was playing. After that, George Clinton changed his mind.

This is one of the most sampled songs in Hip-Hop history.

Above the Law – “Call it What You Want”
Above the Law – “Never Missin' a Beat”
Above the Law – “The G in Me”
Alkaholiks – “?”
Bobby Brown – “Get Away”
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. – “Knee Deep (All up in That P-Funk)”
College Boyz – “How Ta Act”
De la Soul – “Me, Myself and I”
Digital Underground – “Kiss You Back”
Dr. Dre – “Dre Day”
EPMD – “Gold Digger”
Everlast – “Never Missin' a Beat”
Fu-Schnickens – “Breakdown”
Fu-Schnickens – “Breakdown”
George Clinton – “Martial Law”
Geto Boys – “Homie Don’t Play Dat”
Ice Cube – “How to Survive in South Central”
Jon B – “Simple Melody”
Keith Murray – “Dip-Dip-Di”
LL Cool J – “Nitro”
Original Concept – “Running Yo Mouth”
Paris – “It’s Real”
Private Investigators – “That’s What it Is”
Public Enemy – “Get Off My Back”
Rappinstine – “Scream”
Rascalz – “Northern Touch”
Richie Rich – “Let’s Ride”
Snoop Dogg – “G-Funk Intro”
Snoop Dogg – “What’s My Name?”
Toddy Tee – “Do You Wanna Go to the Liquor Store”
Tone Loc – “Funky Cold Medina”
WC – “Fuckin' wit uh House Party”
X-Clan – “Funkin' Lesson”
Yo-Yo – “Ain’t Nobody”
Sicx – Mr. Policeman
C-Bo – Garden Blocc