"Get Off Your Ass and Jam" is a song by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

, track number 6 to their 1975 album ''

Let's Take It to the Stage ''Let's Take It to the Stage'' is the seventh album by American funk rock band Funkadelic. It was released on April 21, 1975 on Westbound Records. The album charted at number 102 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 14 on the R&B Albums. Mus ...

''. It was written by George Clinton, although the lyrics are made up entirely of repetitions of the phrase, " Shit! Goddamn! Get off your ass and jam!", interspersed with lengthy guitar solos. Critic Ned Raggett reviewed the song as one that "kicks in with one bad-ass drum roll and then scorches the damn place down".

Guitar solo

The guitar solo on "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" is uncredited, a practice that was typical of Funkadelic records of the 1970s. In several interviews and in his 2014 autobiography, ''Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard on You?'', Clinton has said that the guitarist is unknown:

We finished one take, took a smoke break or something, and noticed that a white kid had wandered into the studio, a smack addict. We didn't know him at all, but he said he played a little guitar, and he wanted to know if he could play with us and pick up a little cash in the process. We set him up, started the track, and he just started to play like he was possessed. He did all the rock 'n' roll that hadn't been heard for a few years, and he did it for the entirety of the track. Even when the song ended, he didn't stop. All of us were up there goggle-eyed, saying, "Damn." We had agreed on 25 bucks, but I gave him 50 because I loved it.

According to Clinton, he tried to find the guitarist without success. "I tried to find the guy and put him on another song, but he was gone. He never resurfaced. We never heard from him. He's not credited on the record because we have no idea who he was." In a July 2009 interview with '' Vintage Guitar'', guitarist Paul Warren, who grew up in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

area and had been a

session guitarist A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

for

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

, is quoted as saying that he played the solo on "Get Off Your Ass and Jam". Warren makes the same assertion on his website, The Paul Warren Project.

Sampling

The song has been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

extensively by

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artists. It was one of the two songs at the heart of ''

Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films '' Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films'', 410 F.3d 792 (6th Cir. 2005), is a 2005 court case that was important in defining American copyright law for recorded music. The case centered on the 1990 N.W.A. track " 100 Miles and Runnin'", whi ...

'', in which the

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

in the song was held to be infringed when

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

sampled a two-second guitar chord from the beginning of the Funkadelic tune, lowered the pitch and looped it five times in their song, "

100 Miles and Runnin' ''100 Miles and Runnin'' is the only extended play by American hip-hop group N.W.A. Released on August 14, 1990, this EP of five tracks reflects an evolution of N.W.A's sound and centers on the single " 100 Miles and Runnin'.Jason Birchmeier"N. ...

". Other artists who have sampled the song include: *

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

, in "

Bring the Noise "Bring the Noise" is a song by the American hip hop group Public Enemy. It was included on the soundtrack of the 1987 film '' Less than Zero;'' the song was also released as a single that year. It later became the first song on the group's 198 ...

", from the 1987 album, ''

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'' is the second studio album by American Hip hop music, hip hop group Public Enemy, released on June 28, 1988, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. It was recorded from 1987 to 1988 in sessio ...

''. *

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...

, in "

Eazy-Duz-It ''Eazy-Duz-It'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 22, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite ve ...

", from his 1988 album ''

'' * Tone Lōc, in " Funky Cold Medina" (written by

Young MC Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is an American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit " Bust a Move". His debut album '' Stone Cold Rhymin found international acclaim. Young h ...

) from 1989 Lōc's debut album, ''

Lōc-ed After Dark ''Lōc-ed After Dark'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Tone Lōc. It was released on January 23, 1989, via Delicious Vinyl. The album was produced by Matt Dike, Michael Ross, and the Dust Brothers. It reached the number-one spot on ...

''. *

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

, in "Rhythm (Devoted to the Art of Moving Butts)", from their 1990 debut album, ''

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm ''People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on April 10, 1990, by Jive Records. After forming the Native Tongues collective and collaborating on s ...

'', and in "The Pressure", from their 1996 album ''

Beats, Rhymes and Life ''Beats, Rhymes and Life'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Released on July 30, 1996, by Jive Records, it followed three years after the highly regarded and successful '' Midnight Marauders''. Produce ...

''. * Ultramagnetic MC's, in "Make It Happen" from their 1992 album '' Funk Your Head Up''. *

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

, in " Holla If Ya Hear Me", from the 1993 album '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.''. *

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

, in "99 Problems", from his 1993 album ''

Home Invasion A home invasion, also called a hot prowl burglary, is a sub-type of burglary (or in some jurisdictions, a separately defined crime) in which an offender unlawfully enters into a building residence while the occupants are inside. The overarching i ...

''. *

Kokane Jerry Buddy Long Jr. (born March 10, 1969), better known by his stage name Kokane, is an American rapper and singer best known for his distinctive vocal style and numerous guest appearances, such as on Snoop Dogg's ''Tha Last Meal''. Early life ...

, in "Shit, Goddamm", from his 1994 album '' Funk upon a Rhyme'' *

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...

, in "

Kowalski Kowalski (; feminine: Kowalska, plural: Kowalscy) is the second most common surname in Poland (140,471 people in 2009). ''Kowalski'' surname is derived from the word ''kowal'', meaning " lackmith". " Jan Kowalski" is used as a placeholder name ...

", from the 1997 album ''

Vanishing Point A vanishing point is a point (geometry), point on the projection plane, image plane of a graphical perspective, perspective rendering where the two-dimensional perspective projections of parallel (geometry), parallel lines in three-dimensional ...

Cover versions and other references

The song later appeared on Funkadelic's '' Motor City Madness'', released in the United States in 2006. In 1988,

Miami Bass Miami bass (also known as booty music or booty bass) is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexual ...

rapper Anquette recorded a cover of the song, with the addition of her own rap lyrics, on her second album, ''Respect''.

Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, politician, social critic, and public intellectual. West was an independent candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election and is an ou ...

referenced the song in prose, quoting the lyrics in describing a "disco party" in a 1982 essay, "Epilogue: Sing a song". Music historian Arthur Kempton similarly notes that the band was "known to make some parents and alumni draw back and exclaim, 'Oh my God,' when from the stage they would incite a rapt crowd of young degree candidates to chant in full-throated unison, "Shit! Goddamn! Get off your ass and jam!"Arthur Kempton, ''Boogaloo: The Quintessence of American Popular Music'' (2005), p. 372. This song is also referenced in the

Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent film, independent Musical film, musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White (producer), Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Stu ...

Audience Participation script, right after the time warp ends, "Shit! Goddamn it! Sit on my face and slam it, Janet!"

References

{{authority control Funkadelic songs 1975 songs Songs written by George Clinton (funk musician)