Parliament, Give Up The Funk | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 53^rd edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)” by Parliament.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 53rd edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2023), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)”, performed by 🎙 Parliament. 

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“Tear the roof off, we’re gonna tear the roof off the mothersucker /  Tear the roof off the sucker.” Woo! 🎙 George Clinton and 🎙 Parliament delivered one of the funkiest tunes ever with 🎵 “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)”. “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)” appears on the collective’s 1975, platinum certified album,  💿 Mothership Connection.  The single marks is the highest charting by the band, cracking the top 20 (peaked at no. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100) and being certified gold.  “You’ve got a real type of thing going down, gettin’ down / There’s a whole lot of rhythm going round.” Indeed, indeed!

While Mothership Connection and “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)” has a conceptual element, most folks enjoy and judge this song as a crowning achievement of funk music.  The psychedelic sounds within the production, coupled with the groove and active bass line are ear-catching to the n^th degree. Furthermore, the lyrics are infectious – simple but memorable upon a first listen.  “Ow, we want the funk / Give up the funk / Ow, we need the funk / We gotta have the funk” marks one of the crème de la crème lyrical moments.  Another top-rate moment: “We’re gonna turn this mother out.” Abso-freaking-lutely, Parliament!  Dig into the conceptual aspects if you will, but ultimately, 🎵 “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)” is best enjoyed without extensive analysis.  It’s funky AF!

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🎙 Parliament • 💿 Mothership Connection • 🏷 The Island Def Jam Music Group • 🗓 1975

Parliament, “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 53 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; The Island Def Jam Music Group; John Alan Sperry, PIRO via  Pixabay]