"(Not Just) Knee Deep" is a song by the American funk band Funkadelic written by George Clinton. The song was released as a single for their album Uncle Jam Wants You (1979).
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.[1] An edited version of the song, appearing as Side A on the single release, reached number one on the Billboard Black Singles chart.
Composition
The song was written by George Clinton (credited on some releases as "George Clinton, Jr."); the recording was arranged by Walter "Junie" Morrison and produced by Clinton under the alias "Dr. Funkenstein".
The Funkadelic version is sung by Clinton and several other group members, including Philippé Wynne, who was a former lead singer of the rhythm and blues group, The Spinners, which he left two years earlier.
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.
Background vocals: Larry Heckstall, Sheila Horne, Ron Ford, Jeanette McGruder, Dawn Silva, Mike Payne, Greg Thomas, Ray Davis, Mallia Franklin, Lige Curry, James Wesley Jackson, Greg Boyer, Jerome Rogers, Linda Shider
South Korean girl band Mamamoo song "Um Oh Ah Yeh" from their third mini-album Pink Funky was influenced from it.
Appearances in other media
Featured in the 1979 episode of Diff'rent Strokes "The Rivals" (Season 2; Episode 10)
Frequently played by Paul Shaffer and The World's Most Dangerous Band as bumper music on episodes of Late Night with David Letterman (1982-1993). The song was the basis of an extended sketch, aired on 20 October 1983, in which Letterman, Shaffer and Larry "Bud" Melman argued about who played the guitar solo on the original recording. Melman proves that it was Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton—then robs Dave and Paul at gunpoint.
In the 1997 Paramount PicturesNickelodeon film Good Burger during the insane asylum scene, George Clinton cameos as one of the mental patients who complains about the boring music on the radio, and asks Ed, played by Kel Mitchell, to change the station. Ed finds a station playing this song, and the patients subsequently dance to it.
Performed by an animated version of George Clinton (played by himself) in The Cleveland Show episode "When a Man (or a Freight Train) Loves His Cookie."
