| Funky Serenity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Ramsey Lewis | ||||
| Released | January 30, 1973 | |||
| Recorded | October 1972 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 48:07 | |||
| Label | Columbia KC 32030 | |||
| Producer | Ramsey Lewis | |||
| Ramsey Lewis chronology | ||||
| ||||
Funky Serenity is an album by the pianist Ramsey Lewis, released in 1973 on Columbia Records. The album got to No. 6 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.
Samples
"Dreams" was sampled by A Tribe Called Quest on the song "Electric Relaxation", from their 1993 LP Midnight Marauders. Beck also sampled "My Love For You" on the song "Debra."
"My Love For You" was also sampled by Musiq Soulchild on the track "Girl Next Door." What's more, Lewis' rendition of Luther Ingram's "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" was sampled by The Fugees on "Fu-Gee-La."
Producer Kanye West also sampled Lewis' cover of The Stylistics' "Betcha by Golly, Wow" for the Mariah Carey song "Stay the Night" on her 2005 LP The Emancipation of Mimi.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | |
Andrew Hamilton of AllMusic called the album "enjoyable and essential".
Track listing
All compositions by Cleveland Eaton, Morris Jennings and Ramsey Lewis except as indicated
- "Kufanya Mapenzi (Making Love)" (Eddie Green) - 5:17
- "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" (Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson) - 5:24
- "What It Is!" - 2:41
- "My Love for You" (Green) - 5:14
- "Nights in White Satin" (Justin Hayward) - 5:36
- "Serene Funk" - 4:11
- "Dreams" - 9:39
- "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) - 5:09
- "Where Is the Love" (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter) - 4:56
Personnel
- Ramsey Lewis - piano, electric piano, harpsichord
- Cleveland Eaton - bass, electric bass, percussion
- Morris Jennings - drums, congas, percussion
- Ed Green - percussion, violin
References
- Billboard Best Selling Jazz LPs. Vol. 85. Billboard Magazine. June 2, 1973. p. 13.
- "Ramsey Lewis – Dreams", genius.com, retrieved 2023-12-12
- ^ "Ramsey Lewis – My Love For You", genius.com, retrieved 2023-12-12
- "Ramsey Lewis – If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don't Want to Be Right", genius.com, retrieved 2023-12-12
- "Ramsey Lewis – Betcha By Golly Wow!", genius.com, retrieved 2023-12-12
- ^ Hamilton, Andrew. "Ramsey Lewis: Funky Serenity". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
- Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 888. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.