Only the Wild Survive explained

Only the Wild Survive
Type:	Album
Artist:	Wild Cherry
Cover:	Wild Cherry only the wild.jpg
Released:	May 1979
Genre:	Funk, funk rock
Length:	38:57
Label:	Epic
Producer:	Rick Hall
Prev Title:	I Love My Music
Prev Year:	1978
Next Title:	Play the Funk
Next Year:	2000

Only the Wild Survive is the fourth and final studio album by Wild Cherry, released in 1979.^[1] It contains the single "Keep On Playin' That Funky Music" a sequel to their 1976 hit "Play That Funky Music". It was also the first and only Wild Cherry album to feature Donnie Iris (formerly of the Jaggerz) as a performer. After Wild Cherry's breakup, Iris and bandmate Mark Avsec would launch Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.

Critical reception

The Ottawa Journal noted that "the band has become firmly established as a funk band prone to writing songs that regularly sound the same as 'Play That Funky Music'."^[2]

Track listing

1. "Try a Piece of My Love" (James Robert Barrett, Mark Cunningham) - 4:28
2. "Look at Her Dance" (Russ Ballard) - 4:40
3. "Don't Wait Too Long" (Robert Parissi) - 5:50
4. "Starlight" (Parissi) - 4:25
5. "Hold On to Your Hiney" (Tony Joe White) - 4:15
6. "All Night's All Right" (Dean Parks) - 3:50
7. "Raindance" (Billy Burnette, Larry Henley) - 3:26
8. "Take Me Back" (Mark Avsec, Parissi) - 4:10
9. "Keep On Playin' That Funky Music" (Harrison Calloway, Clarence Jones, Parissi) - 3:55

Personnel

• Robert Parissi - lead guitar, lead vocals
• Donnie Iris - guitar, vocals
• Mark Avsec - keyboards, vocals
• Cooke Michalchick - bass
• Ron Beitle - drums, vocals

Notes and References

1. Web site: Wild Cherry Biography by Greg Prato . AllMusic . 18 January 2024.
2. News: Cobb . Chris . Albums . Ottawa Journal . 17 May 1979 . Relax . 5.