Our tour of the rock factory of Ohio continues today. Yesterday we focused on Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. Today, the performers of the original song and the act that performs the cover version are both proud Ohio residents.
Sometimes the guitar riff makes the song. Today’s feature is ‘Funk #49’ by The James Gang and in the world of definitive guitar sounds Joe Walsh is right up there among the finest. When ‘Funk 49’ was released in 1971 it made an impression, but it didn’t get the credit it deserved initially. As Joe Walsh’s legend grew this song travelled with him like a trusted companion. Forty-nine years later it is a classic rock standard that screams at the listener to turn it up and play air guitar.
Joe Walsh openly admits that the lyrics for ‘Funk #49’ were never going to get him tested for the Mensa high IQ society but that was not what it was all about. What was it about? Basically, it is about a girlfriend that the songwriter just can’t seem to tame. Some have described the song’s muse as the female equivalent of the semi auto-biographical ‘Life’s Been Good’ released by Walsh later in the ‘70s. It was a vehicle for The James Gang; a hard driving three piece band looking to establish a niche in their corner of the rock and roll landscape. ‘Funk #49’ was written by Walsh along with bandmates drummer, Jim Fox and bassist Dale Peters.
In an interview Joe Walsh describes ‘’Funk #49’s purpose as an exercise for the band.
“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.”
Why was it called ‘Funk 49’? Because ‘Funk 48’ appeared as a song on The James Gang’s debut album. That song title was a random moniker from The James Gang producer Bill Szymcyzk. When ‘Funk #49 had no obvious title he just moved the number up one more in the sequence. There is a ‘Funk #50. It was released by Joe Walsh on a 2012 solo album called Analog Man.
Today’s cover song is a tip of the hat to Patrick Carney, the drummer for The Black Keys. He turns 39 today. Carney and guitarist Dan Auerbach make up this powerful rock duo. They emerged out of Akron, Ohio and after fine tuning their craft through the early 2000s The Black Keys broke through big time in 2010 when their album Brothers won three Grammys. Since that time they have become mainstays of the arena rock circuit with their unique style which has a direct lineage to roots rock and blues, and clear influences from artists like their Akron brethren, Joe Walsh and The James Gang, who paved the way one generation before.
Here is their version of ‘Funk #49’.
No enjoy a visit to Daryl’s house.
This is Daryl Hall and his house band along with Joe Walsh in 2012.
What a way to start the day.
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Originally posted on April 15, 2019
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