Those opening notes are enough to create a run to the dance floor! I remember my friend and co worker Gary S, who had a powder blue 1975 Mustang Grande convertible with a killer Alpine sound system. He offered me a ride to the McD's with the top down and said "Listen to this" and "Play That Funky Music" came blasting out of the speakers..what an experience! WOO HOO! I knew that it was going to be BIG! The story goes that band leader Rob Parissi was sick in the hospital and had not yet chosen a name for his first band. As a joke, he suggested the name "Wild Cherry" after seeing the name on a box of cough drops. There is a double entendre that fit perfectly innocently. When that incarnation did not work out, he managed a steakhouse and decided to try again with new band members but the same name. Rock was their specialty, but in the disco era they were not too popular until drummer Ron Beitle advised Ron to "Play That Funky Music". They were working on a cover of the Commodores "I Feel Sanctified" as the A side and "Funky" was the B side. They added rock elements to R&B and came up with a smash! Signed to Epic Records, the single went to #1 and stayed there for three weeks. The band was never able to issue another single that placed that high, although Vanilla Ice did reach #4 with his take on it in early 1990.