P-Funk Alumni And Deee-Lite Burn Up the Stage in Rio

Here's a cool video of the group Deee-Lite performing their hit "Groove Is in the Heart" live in Rio de Janeiro in 1991. Bootsy Collins is holdin' down the bottom; Bernie Worrell is handling the keys, and Gary "Mudbone" Cooper provides backing vocals. And another notable P-Funk alum is also in the mix. On guitar is none other than Kidd Funkadelic himself, Michael Hampton. And Deee-Lite lead singer Lady Miss Kier shows she knows how to move in this great live performance.

Deee-Lite was a house club/dance group that was formed in 1986 in New York City, NY. The group consisted of DJ, singer/songwriter Lady Miss Kier (born Kieren Kirby in Youngstown, OH); Super DJ Dmitry (a classically trained guitarist and Russian emigre born Dmitry Brill); and Jungle DJ Towa Towa (born Doug Wa-Chung in Tokyo, Japan). The group's sound was a mixture of house, techno, rap, ambient, and funk.  Deee-Lite had a light-hearted, zany  appeal about them that was irresistible, and Kier was known for her outrageous '70s outfits and over-the-top stage persona. The group maintained a solid following until they broke up in 1996.

"Groove Is in the Heart" is featured on Deee-Lite's debut album World Clique (1990) and is the group's biggest hit. The song topped the charts in Australia and made it to number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It  also charted in the top 20 in several other countries. The song features elements of funk, hip hop and disco. The hooky bass line was sampled from Herbie Hancock's track "Bring Down the Birds," which was featured on the soundtrack for the film Blow-Up (1966). The song also samples a drum part and whistle from R&B singer Vernon Burch's song "Get Up," as well as the horn riff from jazz vocalist Eddie Jefferson's track "Psychedelic Sally." Additionally, the track includes a rap from Q-Tip, who was a founding member of the critically acclaimed rap group A Tribe Called Quest. Unfortunately, Q-Tip is not present on this clip of their live performance in Rio.

The video for "Groove Is in the Heart" enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV and featured guest appearances from Bootsy and sax legend Maceo Parker.


Groove Is In The Heart at Amazon


Related blog entry: I'm Tired of Good, I'm Trying Bad - Bootsy Collins, featuring Lady Miss Kier