Binky Griptite: 13 Albums That Changed My Life

Feature Photo: Binky Griptite Courtesy of Binky-Getty Images

As a former member of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and having recorded with Janet Jackson and Amy Winehouse, few carry the low-key swagger and emanate the levels of other-side-of-the-pillow cool like Binky Griptite.

He’s lived something like a thousand musical lives, can outright shred, but chooses to focus on tone-perfect rhythms, which are just a few reasons why Griptite is one of his era’s premier—and genre-crossing—players. But it had to start somewhere, so Griptite dug in with ClassicRockHistory.com to reveal the 13 albums that changed his life.

“What an honor it is to talk about the albums that have affected and stayed with me over the years,” Griptite says. “Those that know me as the bona fide funky soul man from Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings might be surprised at the low representation of funk and soul records on this list.”

He adds: “But being that this list is about albums, I chose albums that I view as a single work and have also spent many hours with. Most of these are from my formative years and even though the funk, soul, and blues have always been in me, the younger pre-Binky me just wanted to rock.”

Binky And Amy

Cosmic Slop – P-Funk (1973)

Funkadelic Cosmic Slop, Westbound Records Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, Gatefold Rock, Funk / Soul, P.Funk, Psychedelic.

In 1973, I was seven years old. My then-17-year-old brother David was and still is a Funkadelic fan. He knew I loved music and happily turned me on to all the good stuff that was happening at the time. The first four albums on this list can be traced to his influence, and there are many other records left off this list.

I can easily say Funkadelic changed my life; this record was my earliest memory of them and my earliest memory of a favorite album by anyone. I’m sure I’d heard some of their previous songs, but this was the brand-new LP, and the amazingly dark and psychedelic title track immediately went to the top of my favorite list, and it remains there 50 years later.

I remember dancing around our living room, singing along to the song with my sisters. I knew every word and knew I wasn’t supposed to understand them, but I did. Everything about it was just so good, though. The drummer, the bassline, the guitars, and the emotive voice of Gary Shider telling a story about his own mother, it’s very powerful. The song “Cosmic Slop” became their show opener, and it still is over 50 years later, now sung by Garrett Shider.

Machine Head – Deep Purple (1972)

Can’t say I knew the whole album then as well as I do now, but I do know it had a huge influence on me. The main guitar riff of “Smoke on The Water” is both stupid and smart at the same time, and that’s what I really love. My brother David showed me how to play it, and he was not a musician at all. Anybody could play it; everybody could play it. It was a big, huge hit song on the top of the charts, and anybody could play that opening riff. Genius.

The band had such a great groove, and the organ sounds so good I dare say Jon Lord is the true star of the band, but Richie Blackmore is obviously deserving of his rock god status—another perfectly recorded and mixed album despite the extreme circumstances surrounding the making of it. If you’re not familiar, check the song lyrics.

The photos on the inside of the album depicting the band in the studio, making the record I was holding in my hands, made the rock band life look enticing, and I wanted in. The back cover pic of the backside of a Fender bass headstock clearly showing the tuners, or machine heads as they were formerly called, was p*rn to me. How could you not want a Fender bass after that?

Dark Side of The Moon – Pink Floyd (1973)

The Dark Side Of The Moon (Experience Edition) (2CD)

The concept album that spawned a run of concept albums by lesser bands that had weaker concepts. For me, it started a long and important love for Pink Floyd and for David Gilmour’s playing. This one was probably a couple of years old before I really got into it, but it was well before I began playing guitar.

I was taken by the sound of it—not only the songs but also the sounds between the songs. It was a very groundbreaking album, and I’m happy to have been alive and aware while all these things were happening. By 1980, I was 14, and I’d been struggling with teaching myself to play guitar for a couple of years.

My first major learning breakthrough came when I suddenly decided I could learn the intro for “Wish You Were Here” and play it perfectly note for note. It wasn’t easy but I kept at it and did it within a few days. It felt great, so I learned the solo for “Another Brick in The Wall Pt 3,” also note for note, and matching every bend and inflection. From then on, I knew I could learn anything I wanted. Thanks, Mr. Gilmour!

Fresh – Sly and the Family Stone (1973)

1973 was a big year for me and my tastes. “If You Want Me to Stay” is another tune that has been at the top of my list since the day it was released. Many times, I’d just play that one song five times in a row and then just take the record off feeling satisfied. I eventually got to where I could play side one in its entirety, but I’m not sure if I ever played side two when I was a kid.

Seeing the title “Que Sera Sera” kinda scared me because that was a corny ass tune by Dinah Shore, and I couldn’t even conceive of Sly doing that song. It wasn’t until watching the film “Heathers” in 1989 that I heard Sly’s version of “Que Sera Sera” playing over the end credits, and I felt like an idiot for not knowing it sooner than it had been right there the whole time.

It’s really hard to talk about some of these records without mentioning the cover art. It was a huge part of the experience back then. Nowadays, we have too many things competing for our attention, but back then, we had record covers and plenty of time. For this one, Sly was beautifully photographed by Herb Ritts, who apparently was only 20 at the time but went on to become a legendary fashion photographer and music video director.

Chuck Berry’s Golden Decade – Chuck Berry (Three Volumes: 1964, 1973, 1974)

Chuck Berry's Golden Decade (The Original Two Albums)

It’s a compilation of singles, so it’s not an album in the truest sense, but some people just don’t buy 45s. These people still need to hear Chuck Berry, and this record is a great place to start.

This record should be required study for anyone who wants to play rock guitar. It’s all the Chuck Berry everybody needs. It’s not that you shouldn’t go deep and listen to his whole catalog; true devotees can do that.

But I believe that literally every single electric guitarist should know these songs. Chuck Berry is the perfect gateway to electric guitar; he’ll help you understand the players who followed him, as well as the players who preceded him and whom he emulated and learned from. Chuck Berry’s sound is the sound of Sister Rosetta, Louis Jordan, Muddy Waters, and more. Chuck made it rock, though.

Frampton Comes Alive! – Peter Frampton (1976)

I can’t even lie; this one is on the list because of the cover pic. Of course, I love the big three tunes, “Show Me the Way,” “Baby I Love Your Way,” and “Do You Feel Like We Do,” and I still listen to them. But the cover, though. That three-pickup [Gibson] Les Paul Custom burned a hole in my soul. I wanted one so bad. My dad bought himself a Japanese Black Beauty with a bolt on neck that I would pose with in the mirror, dreaming of the day I’d have a real one of my own. I have a couple now, and I have a talk box, too, by the way. Why not?

The Yes Album – Yes (1971)

The Yes Album (180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl 45rpm 2x LP Box Set/Limited Anniversary Edition)

I learned about Yes by listening to rock radio in my hometown of Milwaukee, WI, in the ’70s. The first thing that attracted me was the bass and drums, as with any band I like. Sure, I love a good guitar player, and Steve Howe is one of the best, but if the bass and drums aren’t right, then the guitarist has nothing to build on. At this point in my life, I think I leaned more toward being a bass player.

I was really taken with Chris Squire, his lines, his sound, and the Rick 4091; it looked so cool, everything. They had several tunes in regular rotation on the radio, but one day, I decided to buy one of their LPs, and I think The Yes Album was the first one I got. Close To the Edge and Fragile soon followed. Bruford and Squire were an unstoppable duo for me, too bad they didn’t agree.

Discipline – King Crimson (1981)

One day, in 1981, I was flipping channels on a Friday night and landed on a TV program showing a performance by a band with the weirdest sounds I’d ever heard. I didn’t hate it, kinda liked it, so I kept watching. Then I saw the drummer. It was Bill Bruford, and I knew this was the new lineup of King Crimson because I’d read about them. A couple of weeks later, I received the LP Discipline from the Columbia Record and Tape Club, which became an instant favorite.

Hearing Adrian Belew made me want to make crazy noises in public. I had not yet gotten my first Strat but seeing him cemented my desire. This record is full of lessons. I’d seen Robert Fripp demonstrating his “Frippertronics” tape loops on TV, but this was much more engaging thanks to Bill Bruford and this Tony Levin guy I’d never heard of ’til then. It is such a solid unit; it’s a shame I never got to see them.

Exodus – Bob Marley and The Wailers (1977)

In the mid-1970s, reggae was still relatively new to people outside of Jamaica. It had been bubbling up, and a few artists were thought to be the ones who might crossover to the mainstream. There had been a few tunes here and there, but no real break had yet. The hippest of the hip knew about Bob Marley, but he was far from being a household name.

So, when Exodus came out in 1977, it got a really big push to black radio and worked; that record got him noticed once and for all. My brother David bought that one and then a few others, Catch A Fire, Burnin’, and the live set Babylon by Bus, which contains one of my favorite guitar solos on this version of “Lively Up Yourself” played by Al Anderson. As with all the other records on my list, these are amazing recordings of an amazing band playing amazing songs; it’s that simple, y’all.

Led Zeppelin IV – Led Zeppelin (1971)

I learned a lot from this record. It was easy to buy because I knew every song already from the radio. “Stairway to Heaven” was a huge hit when it came out when I was eight, and it has stayed on rock radio ever since. Over the years, I’d get to know the other songs by hearing them on the car radio while riding with my mom because they all got played. By the time I started playing guitar and learning songs, I knew I had to have the record to play over and over. I learned every song on this record.

Some Girls – The Rolling Stones (1978)

My first memory of The Stones was when Sticky Fingers came out. I was five, and my brother or maybe my sister Marcia had the LP. We just thought the cover was so cool, with a real zipper matching the photo on the cover. The Stones were just around, on the radio, old and new. I didn’t hate them, but I didn’t love them. There were songs I liked, and I was generally warming to them, I guess.

I paid a little more attention to them when Ronnie Wood joined. I was already a Ronnie Wood fan because of the Rod Stewart and Faces stuff, and then more when I bought Truth by Jeff Beck and saw he played bass on it. By the time Some Girls came out, I was 12; that finally brought me in. It’s the first Stones record I was present for; all the others seemed like they’d been premade and were waiting for me to catch up.

Some Girls was made for me, and I got it when it was hot and fresh. Many fans got upset at the time, saying, “The Stones went disco” and “The Stones went punk.” Well, yeah, they did, and it’s one of their best recordings, in my opinion. Seeing them on SNL really sealed it; the Stones were the definition of rock cool. It’s a very solid record; it has a vibe. I thought it sounded like black leather clothes and late nights out in New York, which made me want to move there. I’d later learn that it was recorded in Paris, but the two towns ain’t that different.

Appetite For Destruction – Guns N’ Roses (1987)

The rock guitar landscape at the time was dominated by low-grade post-Van Halen, LA hair metal, and virtuoso shredders doing instrumentals. There were too many bands with more flash than talent. I loved Eddie Van Halen, but I didn’t love the shredders who tried to follow him and took the wrong turn. I was trying to keep up as a player, though, because I thought I had to.

My playing style was more in the Chuck Berry, Jimmy Page, and Joe Perry vein. I could relate to Eddie Van Halen because he’s not that far from Chuck Berry. Most Van Halen tunes from the Dave Lee Roth years had a swinging rhythm. The new breed of neo-classical shredders tended towards straight up-and-down rhythms, much more European and less bluesy, and I just couldn’t play like that and didn’t really want to. Then, along comes Slash, and everything got better.

At first, I didn’t get why people were getting so excited about his playing. I thought, “He’s not that good, he plays like me,” and I didn’t think very highly of my playing at that time. Then, I ultimately realized that everyone was right, that Slash is a great guitar player, and the similarity I heard in our styles meant that I was a good guitar player too and that there was still a place for my type of playing. It makes sense that our playing is similar; we’re the same age and love a lot of the same stuff.

Band of Gypsys – Jimi Hendrix (1970)

I avoided Jimi Hendrix for as long as I could. It was just too much pressure as a black guitar player to have to automatically be compared to Hendrix. Even Prince avoided talking about Hendrix and was never photographed with a Strat until over 20 years into his career; imagine why. I was already switched over to Strats by this time, and I loved other players that were Hendrix influenced, like Eddie Hazel, Michael Hampton, Adrian Belew, and Stevie Ray Vaughn, but Jimi was against the rules for me.

One day, when I was well into my 20s and had been playing for over ten years, someone made me sit down and really listen to Band of Gypsys. Of course, I knew the Hendrix tunes that got played on the radio, but I never took the time to really listen and appreciate the tunes or the albums. Band of Gypsys got me to accept Jimi Hendrix into my life for so many reasons.

I love live albums, and this is one of the best-sounding live-rock LPs ever. Buddy Miles sounds amazing, and Jimi plays very focused on this, the second show after famously being scolded by the concert’s promoter Bill Graham for his antics on the previous night’s show. The album was recorded at two shows and now both sets of both shows are available on the collection “Songs for Groovy Children.” If you’re not already familiar with the original LP, Band of Gypsys, I suggest you start there before you tackle “Songs for Groovy Children,” it’s a more entertaining listen.

Binky with the Dap Kings

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