Funky Kings -

The Funky Kings were an American rustic-folk/pop band from California that released a 1976 album on Arista. The band included four singing guitarists, including Jules Shear and Jack Tempchin, who both launched prolific solo careers. Tempchin’s “Slow Dancing” became a hit the following year for Johnny Rivers.

Members: Jules Shear (vocals, guitar), Jack Tempchin (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Richard Stekol (vocals, guitar, piano), Bill Bodine (bass, vocals), Frank Cotinola (drums), Greg Leisz (steel guitar, vocals)

Background

The Funky Kings formed in Los Angeles in 1976 when singer-songwriters Jack Tempchin, Jules Shear, and Richard Stekol expanded an informal song meeting into a six-piece band. The group comprised singer–guitarists Tempchin, Shear, and Stekol, bassist Bill Bodine, drummer Frank Cotinola, and steel guitarist Greg Leisz.

Tempchin came from San Diego and attended San Diego State University, where he managed the Backdoor coffeehouse. By 1976, the Eagles had recorded Tempchin’s “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and the Tempchin–Robb Strandlund song “Already Gone.” Shear was born in Pittsburgh and began writing songs as a teenager. He moved to Los Angeles in the mid-seventies and made his first album appearance with the Funky Kings.

Stekol came from rustic-rockers Honk, the Laguna Beach band that issued The Original Sound Track from Five Summer Stories in 1972 on Granite, followed by a self-titled 1973 album on 20th Century and another self-titled album in 1974 on Epic.

Leisz grew up in the mid-sixties Southern California garage-band circuit and frequented Ash Grove, the Troubadour, and Sunset Strip clubs. He played guitar before he added dobro, lap steel, and pedal steel. In 1975, Leisz toured with former Kingston Trio member John Stewart.

Tempchin, Shear, and Stekol first played together at the home of Doug Haywood, who played bass with Jackson Browne. The meeting centered on three songs: Tempchin’s “Slow Dancing,” Stekol’s “My Old Pals,” and Shear’s “So Easy to Begin.” The trio played an early set at Quackingham’s and soon adopted the Funky Kings name.

Glenn Frey introduced Tempchin to Clive Davis at the Beverly Hills Hotel before the Funky Kings completed their lineup. After Tempchin told Davis about the new band, Davis attended the first rehearsal with Bodine, Cotinola, and Leisz. The six musicians played three songs, and Davis offered the group an Arista contract.

Funky Kings

The Funky Kings released their singular self-titled album in 1976 on Arista.

Funky Kings contains eleven originals split among Tempchin, Shear, and Stekol. The album places three lead writers inside a six-piece lineup, with Leisz on pedal steel, lap steel, dobro, acoustic guitar, and one electric-guitar feature. Barry Beckett adds piano to “Let Me Go,” Geoff Muldaur arranges strings on “Slow Dancing,” Katy Moffatt adds backing voice to “Let Me Go,” and Mike Finnigan appears on organ and voice on “Anywhere but Jimmie’s.”

“Highway Song (Drive, Drive, Drive)” kicks through harmonica jabs and a fast road-song line. “Singing In the Streets” pushes Tempchin’s broad street text through an uptempo group setting. “My Old Pals” softens into an acoustic ballad shape with a bittersweet Stekol text. “So Long” brightens into uptempo motion and a soul-tinged Stekol lead. “Nothing Was Exchanged” layers thick harmonies over a pronounced bass line and multiple rhythm guitars.

“Let Me Go” snaps through Shear’s uptempo lead turn. “So Easy to Begin” narrows Shear’s love-lament text into a slow ballad line. “Mattress On the Roof” turns Tempchin’s comic domestic image into a lighter narrative piece. “Anywhere but Jimmie’s” closes on riff-heavy motion and rave-up pressure.

A1. “Singing in the Streets” (3:31) – Tempchin
A2. “My Old Pals” (3:21) – Stekol
A3. “So Long” (2:41) – Stekol
A4. “Highway Song (Drive, Drive, Drive)” (4:09) – Tempchin
A5. “Nothing Was Exchanged” (3:08) – Shear
A6. “Slow Dancing” (3:46) – Tempchin

B1. “Let Me Go” (3:44) – Shear
B2. “So Easy to Begin” (3:41) – Shear
B3. “Help to Guide Me” (4:03) – Stekol
B4. “Mattress on the Roof” (4:09) – Stekol
B5. “Anywhere but Jimmie’s” (2:50) – Stekol

The Funky Kings recorded the album at Elektra Studios, Los Angeles, with producer Paul A. Rothchild and engineer Fritz Richmond. Val Garay mixed the album at The Sound Factory, Los Angeles. Bernie Grundman mastered the album at A&M Studios.

Funky Kings appeared in a sleeve that extends the band name into a mock-royal tableau. The cover places the musicians in crowns and ornate dress inside a palace-room setting, with thrones, scepters, red-and-gold décor, and a lion in the foreground. The back cover uses a red field with a band photograph and member credits.

Arista issued “Slow Dancing” in October 1976, backed with “Nothing Was Exchanged.” “Slow Dancing” reached No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 13 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.

“Slow Dancing”

Just as Funky Kings ran aground, “Slow Dancing” gained an afterlife via Johnny Rivers, who recut the song as “Swayin’ to the Music (Slow Dancin’).” Rivers first issued the recording on Soul City, then moved it to Big Tree for national release in June 1977. The single reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 8 on Billboard Adult Contemporary, No. 3 on Canada’s Top Singles chart, and No. 7 on Canada’s Adult Contemporary chart.

Olivia Newton-John recorded “Slow Dancing” for her 1977 album Making a Good Thing Better, with the lyric adjusted from “my girl” to “my guy.” Unicorn recorded the song for the 1977 album One More Tomorrow, and Lorna Wright issued a 1977 single version.

Johnny Duncan returned the song to its original title on his 1979 album See You When the Sun Goes Down. His single reached No. 6 on the U.S. country chart. Ian Gomm recorded “Slow Dancing” for his 1980 album What a Blow. Gloria Loring later revived the song on her 2008 album A Playlist.

Postlude

Funky Kings disbanded after Arista passed on a second album.

Tempchin released the 1978 album Jack Tempchin and continued his association with Glenn Frey. During the Eagles hiatus, their writing partnership produced “The One You Love,” “Smuggler’s Blues,” “You Belong to the City,” “Sexy Girl,” and “True Love.” Tempchin later released solo albums across the 1994–2025 titles After the Rain, Lonely Midnight, One More Song, Peaceful Easy Feeling – The Songs of Jack Tempchin, More of Less, All Kinds of Love, and The Magic Mirror.

Shear formed Jules and the Polar Bears, which released the 1978 album Got No Breeding and the 1979 album fənĕtĭks on Columbia. The band recorded a third album that Columbia rejected, later issued as Bad for Business. Shear moved into a solo career with the 1983 album Watch Dog and the 1985 album The Eternal Return. His songs later reached the charts through Cyndi Lauper (“All Through the Night”), The Bangles (“If She Knew What She Wants”), Alison Moyet (“Whispering Your Name”), and ’Til Tuesday (“[Believed You Were] Lucky”). He also conceived and hosted the first run of MTV Unplugged.

Stekol resumed work as a songwriter and guitarist after the Funky Kings. Honk reformed during the mid-eighties and continued as an occasional Laguna Beach-area band with Stekol in the lineup.

Leisz became a Los Angeles session and touring guitarist with a broad pedal-steel, lap-steel, dobro, mandolin, and guitar profile. He began a long Dave Alvin association in 1987, worked with k.d. lang from Absolute Torch and Twang onward, and entered Matthew Sweet’s recorded circle during the Girlfriend period. Later credits placed him with Bill Frisell, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Eric Clapton, and Ray LaMontagne’s Pariah Dogs.

Bodine continued as a bassist, producer, arranger, and television composer. His later work included touring and recording credits with Van Morrison, Leo Sayer, Olivia Newton-John, Melissa Manchester, Joan Armatrading, and Cher. He also worked in the Star Search house band and composed music for television, film, and advertising.

Cotinola remained active in Southern California music after the Funky Kings. During the early eighties, he toured with José Feliciano and then worked with the Walter Trout Band. In the early nineties, he joined the Orange County roots-rock group Missiles of October.

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