Carter's earliest releases were as half of the duo Clarence And Calvin. Also known as the "C And C Boys", the blind duo made seven singles, the last of which was recorded at Fame's Muscle Shoals studio. When his partner, Calvin Thomas (aka Scott), suffered serious injuries in a car accident in 1966, Carter became a solo act (Calvin himself later reappeared as a solo act to record two Dave Crawford-produced Atco Records singles in 1969/70 and a Clarence Paul-produced 1971 album for Stax Records, I'm Not Blind ... I Just Can't See, from which two singles were also taken). "Tell Daddy", released in January 1967, began a fruitful spell of Fame-produced hits by Carter, released on the Atlantic Records label. Noteworthy were "Thread The Needle", "Looking For A Fox" and "Slip Away", where the singer combined his outstanding voice with his skill as an arranger and musician.
"Patches", first recorded by Chairmen Of The Board, was a UK number 2 and a US number 4 in 1970, but despite further strong offerings, Clarence was unable to sustain the momentum. He remained with Fame until 1973, where he also helped guide Candi Staton, who was now his wife, before moving to ABC Records the subsequent year.
Further recordings on Venture and Big C took Carter's career into the 1980s and later the artist found a sympathetic outlet with the Ichiban Records label. Despite being blinded as a child, he developed a distinctive guitar style that complemented his earthy delivery, and was just as comfortable on keyboards, writing songs or arranging sessions. The first two albums, This Is Clarence Carter and The Dynamic Clarence Carter show off his versatile talent to good effect.
Clarence returned in the late Eighties with the album Dr. CC, which spawned the bawdy, comedic single "Strokin'", which has evolved into a favorite at clubs and weddings. He later followed it up with a sequel, "Still Strokin'", in 1989.
Funky Fever
Clarence Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everybody's getting it, y'all
And it's getting them down
Oh, yes, it is
It's called funky (funky)
Funky (funky) funky fever
(Funky, funky fever)
It's funky this and funky funky that
If you ain't funky, y'all
You ain't where it's at
Oh, no, you ain't
Talking bout funky (funky)
Funky (funky) funky fever
(Funky, funky fever)
There's a little town
And it ain't L.A.
They got a funky little girl
In the funky cafe
She got some funky, funky food
That's way out of sight
A funky little band
That rocks all night
Wilson Pickett got it
Down on Funky Broadway
You can't get around it
Funky fever's here to stay
Yes, it is
Talking bout funky (funky)
Funky (funky) funky fever
(Funky, funky fever)
Y'all stand back
While I do the funkaloo
Doing all right
Can I hear it from the voices
(We got a funky beat)
Y'all sure funky tonight
(We got a funky beat)
Can I get it from the band
Serve some funk up, y'all
Started in New York
Moved to L.A.
Spread it to Chicago
And now it's headed this way
Yes, it is
Talking bout the funky (funky)
I mean funky (funky) funky fever
(Funky, funky fever)
Funky fever (funky, funky fever)
That's what's going around
(Funky, funky fever)
Funky, funky fever
(Funky, funky fever)
That's what everybody's putting out
(Funky, funky fever)
The funky, funky fever
(Funky, funky fever)
I like it, I like.....
The lyrics to Clarence Carter's "Funky Fever" describe a phenomenon that has taken over and is affecting everyone. The condition is called "funky fever," and it seems to be related to a cultural trend that is all about being funky. If you're not funky, you're out of luck, according to the song. The lyrics describe a funky café in a small town that's not in LA, but has a young woman who serves up funky food with a band playing all night long. Wilson Pickett (a soul singer) is mentioned as an example of someone who has the funky fever, and the song suggests that it's not something that's likely to go away anytime soon. The song ends with the singer exhorting the audience to groove to the funkaloo, which is a dance that is presumably as funky as the rest of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a thing that's going around
There's a popular trend among people
Everybody's getting it, y'all
Everyone is following this trend
And it's getting them down
It's negatively affecting them
It's called funky (funky)
It's associated with the term 'funky'
Funky (funky) funky fever
It's referred to as the 'funky fever'
(Funky, funky fever)
Reiterating that it's the 'funky fever'
It's funky this and funky funky that
It's everywhere and in various forms
If you ain't funky, y'all
If you're not following this trend
You ain't where it's at
You're not in the loop
Talking bout funky (funky)
Referring to the trend as 'funky'
Funky (funky) funky fever
Emphasizing that it's the 'funky fever'
(Funky, funky fever)
Reiterating that it's the 'funky fever'
There's a little town
A specific small town is being mentioned
And it ain't L.A.
It's not a big city like Los Angeles
They got a funky little girl
There's a girl in that town who's part of the trend
In the funky cafe
She hangs out at a place called the 'funky cafe'
She got some funky, funky food
The food she eats is also part of the trend
That's way out of sight
It's really good and cool
A funky little band
There's also a band that's part of the trend
That rocks all night
The band plays at night for a long time
Wilson Pickett got it
A famous musician named Wilson Pickett caught the trend
Down on Funky Broadway
He's associated with a street called 'Funky Broadway'
You can't get around it
You can't avoid this trend
Funky fever's here to stay
The 'funky fever' trend is here to stay
Yes, it is
Affirming that the trend is not going away anytime soon
Y'all stand back
Asking people to step back
While I do the funkaloo
Preparing to dance a specific type of dance called the 'funkaloo'
Doing all right
Feeling good
Can I hear it from the voices
Asking people to cheer or show support
(We got a funky beat)
Repeating that the music has a funky beat
Y'all sure funky tonight
People are really into the trend tonight
Can I get it from the band
Asking the band to continue playing funky music
Serve some funk up, y'all
Asking people to continue playing and/or dancing to funky music
Started in New York
Mentioning where the trend originated
Moved to L.A.
The trend spread to Los Angeles
Spread it to Chicago
The trend then spread to Chicago
And now it's headed this way
The trend is now in the singer's area
Talking bout the funky (funky)
Referring to the trend again
I mean funky (funky) funky fever
Clarifying that it's the 'funky fever' trend
(Funky, funky fever)
Reiterating that it's the 'funky fever' trend
Funky fever (funky, funky fever)
Another reference to the 'funky fever' trend
That's what's going around
Reminding listeners about the trend
Funky, funky fever
Saying the name of the trend again
(Funky, funky fever)
Repeating the name of the trend
That's what everybody's putting out
Everyone is participating in the trend
(Funky, funky fever)
Ending the song by repeating the name of the trend
The funky, funky fever
Repeating the name of the trend one last time
(Funky, funky fever)
Final repetition of the name of the trend
I like it, I like.....
Affirming that the singer likes the trend
Lyrics © BEAIK PUBLISHING CO.
Written by: CLARENCE GEORGE CARTER, JOE WILSON, MARCUS DANIELS, RICK HALL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gail Waterbury
on Strokin
I remember the first time hearing this from my friend 20 years ago. Me being me fell in love with not only this but many other nasty songs. He'll I raised my kids on this s*** . Alongwith David Allen coe Even played this for my Grandma who almost died of laughter