Friday Funk: Why Did You Do It? – by Stretch

I’m in the midst of The 31 Days of Rocktober but that doesn’t mean I forgot about my normal Friday Funk installments. So tonight’s Rocktober/Friday Funk combo is Why Did You Do It?, a 1975 song by British rock band Stretch.

And if a rock band with a horn section isn’t funky, I don’t know what is. Plus this song/band has a truly legit rock ‘n’ roll back story, because they where the touring band for Fleetwood Mac … until they got f*#ked. Which is what this song is about. It went like this:

The band was put together in 1974 with help from Fleetwood Mac manager Clifford Davis and drummer Mick Fleetwood, to perform as Fleetwood Mac on a US tour because the existing Fleetwood Mac were not in a position to fulfill outstanding contractual obligations. However, Fleetwood did not join the tour as planned, and later denied any knowledge or involvement, and part way through the tour it became obvious to audiences that there was no original member of Fleetwood Mac in the band, and the tour collapsed. Bass player Paul Martinez claimed, “Mick Fleetwood pulled out at the last minute claiming not to know who we were!” Stretch rose from the ashes of this debacle, and soon had a No. 16 hit single in November 1975 with “Why Did You Do It?“, the lyric of which was a direct attack on Mick Fleetwood for his failure to join the band on the ill-fated Fleetwood Mac tour.

So get your cool back for the weekend with this Phoenix of funky rock…

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Sources:
– Why Did You Do It? – Stretch (youtube)

– About Stretch and the Fleetwood Mac controversy

– Note: extended play mix posted here. Other versions (including live) on Youtube.