Fatback Band

The Fatback Band or Fatback was a 1970-1980 popular Funk band.

The Fatback Band members at the start was Bill Curtis (drums), Gerry Thomas on keyboard, George Williams (trumpet), Johnny King (guitar), Johnny Flippin (bass), Earl Shelton (saxophone) and George Adam (flute).

They released their first album in 1971 entitled Let's Do It Again, followed in 1973 by 4Street Dance and Fatbackin' (Perception Records), and then they issued some singles on Event Records, a subsidiary of Spring/Polydor. But initial sales were slim until (Do The) Spanish Hustle (1976), was a moderate hit.

Not only was their King Tim III (Personality Jock), 1979 widely known as the first hip hop single, pre-dating by a few weeks the issue of Sugarhill Gang's big seller, "Rapper's Delight", but (Are You Ready) Do The Bus Stop predated the pre-21st Century line dance craze created by Marcia Griffith with The Electric Boogie and its sequels.

In the 1980s, Fatback had several more hits, including "Take It Any Way You Can't It", "I Found Lovin'" and "Spread Love".

Being that keyboardist Gerry Thomas was simultaneously a member of The Jimmy Castor Bunch, the band elected to remain close to the New York area instead of touring around the country, which kept them from reaching the heights they should have attained. However, they had substantial success in South America, especially in Brazil (with "Money", and "Backstrokin'"). The band is still currently touring and actively recording new material.

In October 2004 Yum Yum appeared in popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on Funk radio station Bounce FM.