Only the Wild Survive is the fourth and final studio album by Wild Cherry, released in 1979. 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'."
Track listing "Try a Piece of My Love" (James Robert Barrett, Mark Cunningham) - 4:28 "Look at Her Dance" (Russ Ballard) - 4:40 "Don't Wait Too Long" (Robert Parissi) - 5:50 "Starlight" (Parissi) - 4:25 "Hold On to Your Hiney" (Tony Joe White) - 4:15 "All Night's All Right" (Dean Parks) - 3:50 "Raindance" (Billy Burnette, Larry Henley) - 3:26 "Take Me Back" (Mark Avsec, Parissi) - 4:10 "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
References