2K Beats

If there were ever a feel-good funk song, it's "Dap Walk" by New Orleans stalwarts Ernie and The Top Notes. A happily rumbling bass line, cyclic, syncopated drumming and the catchiest melody this side of "Tighten Up" have made this song legendary in deep funk circles. Born in Thibodeaux, Louisiana, Ernie Williams moved to New Orleans at a young age. At age 19, Williams began to take the guitar seriously, enrolling in classes at Houston's School of Music before joining zydeco drummer Herlen Delpy's traveling band. In 1971, Williams struck out on his own with the Top Notes Inc. He would lead this band into the recording studio a mere six months later.

Surprisingly enough, the dynamite drummer Peter "Rooster," whose second-line strut fuels the track's unstoppable rhythm, wasn't scheduled to record with Williams -- in fact, he wasn't even part of The Top Notes.

Credit:
"Dap Walk"
Performed by Ernie & The Topnotes
Produced by Albion Ford and Ernie Vincent Williams
Courtesy of Stones Throw Records
© 2001 Stones Throw Records
© 1972 Kolab Int'l Music BMI
Licensed by Ernie Vincent Williams Reissued version appears on Stones Throw Records CD/LP "The Funky 16 Corners."
http://stonesthrow.com/funky16