junie

funk legend Walter "Junie" Morrison, RIP

Walter “Junie” Morrisson, who was a founding member of The Ohio Players and was also in Parliament Funkadelic, has died. Among his contributions, he cowrote Funkadelic’s classic “(Not Just) Knee Deep” (which was then sampled by De La Soul on “Me Myself and I”). He was 62. The sad news was shared by his daughter, Akasha, via Morrison’s Facebook today (2/16). From Okayplayer:

His impact as one of the structural fathers of funk is uncontested and undisputed. Morrison joined George Clinton‘s Parliament Funkadelic and played a key role in making the group bubble from 1978 through 1980. His contributions to One Nation Under a Groove (“Not Just Knee Deep”), Motor Booty Affair and Gloryhallastoopid made his legend grow even deeper.

Most millennial music fans may also recall his name as Solange paid tribute to the funk pioneer on her Grammy Award winning project, A Seat at the Table. The youngest of the Knowles clan had been raised on Morrison’s music by her parents, Mathew and Tina Knowles. Channeling his brand of musical liberation, Morrison shared his reaction, saying, “I believe that Solange has a great talent for representing and

Rest in peace, Junie. The groove lives on.

Solange wrote an ode to Morrisson, “Junie,” which is on her acclaimed album A Seat at the Table. (Listen below). She talked about it’s creation and Junie over at Saint Heron:

I had just finished my album and started mixing when one day I walked into the studio and heard Raphael playing this drum and bass loop. He was playing it for a friend, but I begged to take it home and write to it. I started sketching out “Junie” with Junie Morrison heavy on my mind that very night. I asked John Kirby to come and play some piano and synth on it and stayed up all night sampling it and creating the vocal harmony that’s now the hook.

I went down to Dallas and asked the great Andre 3000 to join me on the song. I remember him showing me this video and the first verse coming shortly after. When I got back to LA, I asked Kelly and Nia to sing the intro with me. It was really a kind of cosmic, collaborative experience with incredible people who I feel are connected to the song with a purpose. It’s the last song that made it onto A Seat at the Table and the one I feel the closest to today.

Read Solange’s whole tribute over at Saint Heron and you can read more tributes, including ones from from Bootsy Collins and Questlove, and listen to some of Junie’s most famous tracks, below.

The Ohio Players, which features original members James “Diamond” Williams (Drums), Clarence Willis (Lead Guitar) and Robert Kuumba,(Percussion) play NYC’s B.B. King Blues Club on Friday, February 17 (tickets). Expect tributes.

https://youtu.be/v9UmhhZFl-I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnWiZa0BwEg