Funky 4+1 rock Saturday Night Live with "That's The Joint"

Funky 4 + 1: That's The Joint

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Named the best song of the 1980's by Village Voice critic Robert Christgau, "That's the Joint" is the second single by the Bronx, NY rap group Funky 4 +1. The band, made up of Jazzy Jeff, D.J. Breakout, Guy Williams, Keith Keith, The Voice of K.K. and Rodney Stone broke barriers with the inclusion of the first female MC Sharon "Sha-Rock" Green. 

In his 1981 review of the single, which samples "Rescue Me" by A Taste of Honey, Christgau gave it an A rating and wrote of its musical significance: 

 "The instrumental track, carried by Sugarhill bassist Doug Wimbish, is so compelling that for a while I listened to it alone on its B-side version. And the rapping is the peak of the form, not verbally—the debut has funnier words—but rhythmically. Quick tradeoffs and clamorous breaks vary the steady-flow rhyming of the individual MCs, and when it comes to Sha-Rock, Miss Plus One herself, who needs variation?"

On Valentines Day Funky 4 +1 appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live hosted by Debbie Harry. She was allowed to pick any band she wanted. You can see them at the 11-minute mark in this clip. 

Chris Stein remembers :

“The people on the show were so nervous about them doing it,” he recalled. “I remember trying to explain to them how scratching worked. Trying to verbalize what that is for someone who has no idea, it’s really difficult.”

The groundbreaking appearance had little effect on the charts. My search in Billboard Magazine for Funky 4 +1 in 1981 only brought up this ad for a Bronx record distributor promising " the latest of any type of sound"

The Taste of Honey version of "Rescue Me"