Instant Funk

The 1970s disco landscape welcomed Instant Funk through the million-selling single "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)" along with the gold album Instant Funk. Emerging from Trenton, NJ, the group began with the foundational lineup of bassist Raymond Earl, drummer Scotty Miller, and guitarist Kim Miller before expanding to incorporate keyboardist Dennis Richardson, lead singer James Carmichael, horn players Larry Davis, Eric Huff, and Johnny Onderlinde, plus percussionist Charles Williams. Their contributions appear on recordings by Evelyn "Champagne" King (including her gold single "Shame"), Archie Bell & the Drells ("Let's Groove," "The Soul City Walk," and "Strategy"), South Shore Commission ("Free Man," "A Train Called Freedom"), the O'Jays ("Let Me Make Love to You," "I Swear I Love No One but You"), Lou Rawls ("From Now On," "When You Get Home"), Gabor Szabo ("Keep Smilin'"), and Jean Carn, as well as on sessions for their mentor Bunny Sigler covering his renditions of "Love Train," "Keep Smilin'," "Let Me Party With You," "Sweeter Than the Berry," and the duet "Only You" with Loleatta Holloway.

Bassist Raymond Earl first connected with drummer Scotty Miller during grade school in the mid-1960s, forming the duo the Music Machine, which guitarist Kim Miller—Scotty’s younger brother—joined in 1973. After extensive rehearsal sessions the trio developed an instinctive rapport, allowing each member to anticipate and complement the others’ performances seamlessly. Beginning in 1968 they supported the local vocal group the TNJs at dances and venues, steadily building local recognition, until around 1971 their manager Jackie Ellis named the ensemble Instant Funk for its ability to generate funky grooves on the spot.

Philly soul artist, producer, and songwriter Bunny Sigler received an invitation from Ellis to witness a performance by Instant Funk and the TNJs. During the show Sigler took the stage and was struck by the band’s familiarity with "Sunshine," the song he co-wrote with Phil Hurtt that gained popularity through the O’Jays. This led to further work backing Sigler, the Manhattans, and additional R&B acts. Serving as a staff songwriter and producer at Gamble & Huff’s Philadelphia International Records, Sigler enlisted Instant Funk and the TNJs for his sessions, frequently capturing basic tracks with Earl and the Miller brothers while pausing mid-performance to incorporate spontaneous ideas. The band supported Sigler on three PIR albums—That’s How Long I’ll Be Loving You, Keep Smilin’, and My Music—tracks from which later appeared on Sony/Legacy’s The Best of Bunny Sigler: Sweeter Than the Berry and the 1998 Sony CD Bunny Sigler. Instant Funk issued the single "Float Like a Butterfly" on PIR’s TSOP imprint and the album Get Down With the Philly Jump in November 1976, whose title track and "It Aint Reggae (But It Sho Is Funky)" found favor in disco clubs.

Further credits include appearances with the O’Jays ("Let Me Make Love to You," "You’ve Got Your Hooks in Me," "Once Is Not Enough," and "I Swear I Love No One but You" from Message in Our Music; "Strokety Stroke" from So Full of Love), Archie Bell & the Drells ("Let’s Groove," "Strategy," "The Soul City Walk," and "I Could Dance All Night" on Tightening It Up: The Best of Archie Bell & the Drells), the Three Degrees ("Take Good Care of Yourself"), Jean Carn ("I’m in Love Once Again" and "You Are All I Need" from Jean Carn), Dexter Wansel ("Life on Mars"—widely regarded as the recording that best captures the band’s live sound—and "You Can Be What You Wanna Be" from The Very Best of Dexter Wansel), and M.F.S.B. ("Let’s Go Disco" from Universal Love). They also contributed to studio bandmate T. Life’s album That’s Life and to LPs by his protégée Evelyn "Champagne" King (Smooth Talk and Music Box).

In 1977 M.F.S.B. guitarist Norman Harris established Gold Mind Records, distributed through New York-based Salsoul Records, and Sigler joined as an artist. During continuous studio work with the band, one track, "Let Me Party With You," prompted excited suggestions from passengers while Sigler played it in his car, leading to its release. Co-written by the Miller brothers, Earl, and Sigler, the single reached number eight R&B in January 1978 and recalled Marvin Gaye’s "Got to Give It Up." The accompanying album Let Me Party With You achieved major disco success and featured the follow-up single, the funky Sam Peake’s sax-drenched ballad "I Got What You Need," along with "Don’t Even Try" and the club hit "Your Love Is So Good."

While developing ideas in the studio, Sigler and Instant Funk created "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)." Sigler completed overdubs at Philadelphia-area studios Alpha International and Sigma Sound Studios before bringing the track to Bob Blank’s Blank Tapes in New York. After finishing the recording he pitched it to labels, only to encounter rejections citing an insufficient hook and an incomplete sound. Instant Funk signed with Gold Mind, yet by the time "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)" appeared the label had folded, transferring its roster to Salsoul.

The million-selling "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)," remixed by Larry Levan, held the number-one R&B position for three weeks and reached number 20 on the pop charts in March 1979. Their second album, Instant Funk, released in January 1979, attained gold status and topped the R&B chart in spring 1979. Subsequent Salsoul releases included Witch Doctor (November 1979), The Funk Is On (October 1980), Looks So Fine (March 1982), Instant Funk, Vol. 5 (January 1983), and Kinky (September 1983). The band continued supporting Sigler on his Salsoul albums I’ve Always Wanted to Sing…Not Just Write Songs (March 1979) and Let It Snow (June 1980). Additional Salsoul projects featuring Instant Funk encompass Loleatta Holloway’s Queen of the Night, Loleatta, and Greatest Hits; Double Exposure’s Locker Room; and the Salsoul Orchestra’s How High. For Neil Bogart’s Casablanca Records they appear on two Sigler-produced albums: Party Girl by Patti Brooks and Callin’ by the Pips. On Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom Records, Sigler and the band contributed to Barbara Mason & Bunny Sigler’s Locked in This Position, the self-titled debut of Mystique featuring Ralph Johnson, and Mayfield’s own Heartbeat. With the John Brothers, who appeared on Witch Doctor, they recorded the Sigler-produced RCA single "Try to Walk a Mile" b/w "I Just Want to Be Free," both tracks written by Bunny’s brother Jimmy Sigler. Further credits include Gabor Szabo’s Mercury LP Nightflight and Carl Carlton’s I Wanna Be With You.

When Salsoul owners the Cayre brothers shuttered the label in 1984 to focus on the emerging home-video market, Instant Funk lost its recording contract. The group toured briefly before disbanding. By the start of the 21st century several members remained active in music: Raymond Earl operated his own studio and production company, Ray Ray Productions, while Kim Miller, Dennis Richardson, and James Carmichael pursued gospel work; Bunny Sigler toured internationally as a member of the Trammps.

"I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)" appears on the CD reissue of the 1979 gold album Instant Funk, on Greatest Hits from EMI/Capitol/The Right Stuff, in the Disney/Miramax film 54 and its soundtrack, on Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage, and across various Salsoul and Salsoul-licensed compilations.