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Wild Cherry

Wild Cherry was a funk rock/rock band that had a huge hit with the funk song "Play That Funky Music" in 1976.

Rob Parissi (lead vocals & guitar) was raised in the tough, diverse steel mill town of Mingo Junction, Ohio [1]. Parissi graduated from Mingo High School in 1968. Rob formed his band in 1970 in Steubenville, Ohio, one mile north of Mingo Jct. along the Ohio River. The band's name "Wild Cherry" was selected off a box of cough drops while Rob was recuperating from a brief hospital stay. The band played the Ohio Valley region, the West Virginia panhandle, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Wild Cherry eventually gained a record contract with Brown Bag Records. After an unproductive time with Brown Bag and no album to speak of, the band broke up and a disillusioned Parissi left the music scene to become the manager of a local steakhouse. Rob quickly realized that the steak house gig was not going to "cut it - too tough." As his enthusiasm for the music eventually returned, Rob decided to give the business one last shot.

Soon after, Parissi re-formed the band with new musicians. The new lineup had Mark Avsec (keyboards), Bryan Bassett (guitar), Allen Wentz (bass guitar) and Ronald Beitle (drums & percussion). As the quintet began to perform publicly in an era dominated by disco, they were repeatedly asked by listeners to "play that funky music." Parissi was inspired to write a song that captured the "funky music-white boy theme." When the band went into the studio to record it, a friend of the studio engineer heard the song, was blown away by the potential hit, and brought the band to the attention of Epic Records, which then immediately signed the group. Epic suggested recording the song as an A-side instead of as the B-side to a cover version of the Commodores' "I Feel Sanctified," as had originally been planned.

"Play That Funky Music" became a huge hit when released in 1976, peaking at number one on both the Billboard R&B and pop charts. Both the single and Wild Cherry's self-titled debut album went platinum. The band was named Best Pop Group of the Year by Billboard, and received an American Music Award for Top R&B Single of the Year, as well as a pair of Grammy nominations for Best New Vocal Group and Best R&B Performance by a Group or Duo that year, adding to their success.

Wild Cherry's luck ended with their 1977 album, Electrified Funk, which flopped without producing any hits. Their 1978 album I Love My Music, as well as their 1979 albums Only the Wild Survive and Don't Wait Too Long didn't do better, leading to the band's split. Parissi later became a disk jockey in Wheeling, West Virginia.

One musician who played with the band was guitarist/vocalist Donnie Iris (ex-The Jaggerz), who was with Wild Cherry from the mid-1970s through the band's demise in 1980. Donnie partnered up with keyboardist Mark Avsec to form The Cruisers before going solo.

Wild Cherry's lone hit was covered by The Real Roxanne in 1988, was sampled by Vanilla Ice in 1990 (for which Parissi was not credited; he later won $500,000 in a copyright infringement lawsuit), and it continues to be a hit in dance clubs to this day.

• Wild Cherry (1976)
• I Love My Music (1978)
• Play the Funk (2000)
• Super Hits (2002)

• Allmusic Entry