Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)

"Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)"
UK picture sleeve for the single "Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)"
Single by Parliament
from the album Mothership Connection
B-side	"P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)"
Released	April 1976
Format	7" 45 rpm vinyl single
Recorded	1975
Genre	Funk
Length	3:39 (Single version) 5:45 (Album version)
Label	Casablanca 856
Writer(s)	Jerome Brailey George Clinton Bootsy Collins
Producer(s)	George Clinton

"Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" is a funk song by Parliament. It was released as a single under the name "Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)". It was the second single to be released from Parliament's 1975 album Mothership Connection (following "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)"), and was the highest-charting single from the album, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. With its anthemic sing-along chorus, it is one of the most famous P-Funk songs. It also became Parliament's first certified million-selling single, going Gold in 1976.

The bass vocal at the beginning of the song is performed by Ray Davis.

The single version begins without the "tear the roof off the sucker" intro.

The song is constructed using a jazz-influenced form. Three themes are stated at the beginning of the track:

A - "You've got a real type of thing" (usually using a syncopated bass line)
B - "We want the funk" (a chorus of sorts; the bass is usually a near-double of the vocals)
C - "La la la" (bass as in B-Theme)

The three themes are stated briefly twice (8 bars each section), followed by a short (4-bar) break ("D"). With this exposition complete, Parliament explores each theme with greater interpretive freedom (beginning at 2:18). The A-Theme elaboration takes only 16 bars, after which the B-Theme is elaborated upon for 56 bars. During this elaboration, two new ideas are combined with the B-Theme (subthemes D and E):

D - "We're gonna turn this mother out"
E - "Let us in we'll turn this mother out"

The three main themes are rarely layered on top of each other. The C-Theme elaboration lasts only 8 bars, and is interpolated with the A-Theme (for 2 bars). With this development section complete, the three main themes are recapitulated (beginning at 5:18). A fadeout during this recapitulation ends the song with the B-Theme.

Aside from the song's form, another jazz-like element is the degree of interactivity among the musicians. The bass frequently responds to vocal gestures, and the bass and synthesizer frequently interact. Likewise, the drums interact with the pitched lines.