Funk 49
"Funk #49" is a song written by Joe Walsh, Jim Fox, and Dale Peters, and recorded by American hard rock band The James Gang. The song featured as the first single off the group's second studio album James Gang Rides Again (1970). The song was a moderate success upon release, peaking at #59 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3]
| "Funk #49" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by James Gang | ||||
| from the album James Gang Rides Again | ||||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:54 | |||
| Label | ABC | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Joe Walsh, Jim Fox, Dale Peters | |||
| Producer(s) | James Gang, Bill Szymczyk | |||
| James Gang singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Composition
"Funk #49" is 3:54 in length, though it only has two verses. Much of the song is instrumental, drawing from Joe Walsh's guitar, Dale Peters's bass work, and Jim Fox's drumming. The lyrics focus on a wild girlfriend the singer cannot tame. Most of the song is a vehicle for Walsh's guitar performance. The song got its title as a sequel to "Funk #48", a song from the previous album.[4]
Walsh explained the writing of the song, "I came up with the basic guitar lick, and the words never really impressed me intellectually, but they seemed to fit somehow. It was a real good example of how we put things together, bearing in mind that it was a three piece group, and I don't think that there was any overdubbing. The only thing we really added was the percussion middle part, which the three of us actually played, putting some parts on top of the drums, but that's the three piece James Gang, and that's the energy and kind of the symmetry we were all about."[4]
In popular culture
"Funk #49" has been used in many films, television series, and video games since the 1970s.
The opening riff is played on the NOFX jazz-themed cover of "Straight Edge".
The song was used in the film Rounders (1998), and was featured in the classic rock-themed comedy film Detroit Rock City in 1999.
It was featured during the end-credits of the film Joe Dirt (2001).
It appeared in the 2002 documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, as well as the 2005 film Lords of Dogtown.
It appeared in the season 1 finale of Entourage and in an episode of The Sopranos titled "Soprano Home Movies", as well as the film Artie Lange's Beer League (2006).
The song was featured in the video games Rock Band, Rocksmith, Test Drive Unlimited, and Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned; as downloadable content.
It was featured in a commercial for Fox Sports 1.
The song was featured in two episodes of the television series Caught in 2018.
It also appeared in the films Can't Hardly Wait (1998), Out Cold (2001), The Girl Next Door (2004), The House of D (2004), The Devil's Rejects (2005), The Dukes of Hazzard (2005), Invincible (2006), Sleepwalking (2008), Straw Dogs (2011), and War Dogs (2016).
It also appeared in Hawaii Five-0, Supernatural, and Cold Case, as well as the Telltale video game Guardians of the Galaxy (2015).
It also appeared in trailers for the films Grown Ups (2010) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017).
There is a diegetic appearance in the 2nd episode of the Apple+ series For All Mankind (2019). It can be heard being played in Deke Slayton's car during the fall of 1969 making this appearance an anachronism.
Joe Walsh would record a "Funk #50" that was included on his 2012 solo album Analog Man. A track called "Funk #48" precedes this one.
References
- Tucker, Dan (February 28, 2014). "13 Classic Hard Rock Songs That Will Make You Scream "More Cowbell!"". VH1. Viacom International. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "Ten Great Blues-Rock Songs by Guitar Rockers". Guitar Player. NewBay Media. December 16, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- James Gang Funk # 49 Chart History | Billboard
- "Funk #49 by James Gang". Songfacts. Retrieved June 19, 2018.