"Cool Joe": George Clinton's Funky Ode To a Mack

This swaggalicious tale of a pimp's downfall is one of George Clinton's most underrated tracks. The song's wicked funk groove fits the lyrics extremely well. Clinton and company crafted the perfect mack theme music for this cut. While listening to the groove, you can envision the song's protagonist rollin' down the strip in his tricked-out caddy, perm slicked back, and his super-fine ladies in the back ready to hit the track for him.

Multi-instrumentalist Steve Washington lays down the track's bodacious bottom, and horn legends Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker infuse the groove with a double dose of brass funk. Additionally, Maceo delivers a killer pimp-style sax solo.

"Cool Joe" is a track from Clinton's album R&B Skeleton's in the Closet (1986). While the album is not up there with  his best work, it's a pretty strong collection. In addition to "Cool Joe," some of the album's other stand-out tracks include "Do Fries Go With That Shake?" and "Hey Good Lookin'," which features vocals from award-winning actress/singer and former Miss America Vanessa L. Williams. Clinton assembled an impressive lineup of musicians for the album. In addition Maceo and Fred, some of the other P-Funkers who contributed to the album include Bootsy Collins, Garry Shider and DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight. "Cool Joe" was written by Clinton, Andre Jackson and Kevin Burke.


Download "Cool Joe" at Amazon