KLASSIC KUTS: Who Was the Fat Rat?
As a kid, I never fully understood who was getting “over like a fat rat.”
I just knew somebody had done Fonda Rae wrong.
And whoever he was, I didn’t like him.
That was enough for me.
Released in 1982 on Vanguard Records, “Over Like a Fat Rat” had one of those grooves that made you stop what you were doing. The bassline rolled. The keys had that slick New York boogie feel. The handclaps kept everything moving. The keyboard chords had the accents in the right spot. Then Fonda Rae came in sounding cool, hurt, and completely in control at the same time.
That combination made the record special.
The song was written by Leroy Burgess, James Calloway, and Sonny Davenport, with Burgess helping shape the arrangement. That matters, because Leroy Burgess was one of the key people behind that polished early-’80s boogie sound. Bob Blank was also part of the production team, and DJ Ray “Pinky” Velazquez handled the mix.
That is a serious lineup.
The record reached No. 22 on Billboard’s Dance chart and No. 75 on the R&B chart. Respectable numbers, but honestly, the charts don’t explain the love this record still gets. I’m not from New York but I know this joint snapped in clubs in the city and when I heard the song, I know I was missing out on one helluva scene!
DJs kept it alive.
Collectors kept it alive.
Hip-hop producers heard that groove and kept finding new ways to use pieces of it years later.
Fonda Rae had already made noise with Don Armando’s Second Avenue Rhumba Band on “Deputy of Love,” and she later gave us “Touch Me (All Night Long),” another club favorite that Cathy Dennis turned into a huge pop hit years later.
But “Over Like a Fat Rat” has its own place.
It sounds grown, funky, a little bitter, and still fun enough to dance to.
That is not easy to pull off.
And all these years later, I still laugh at the title.
I still don’t know exactly how that man was getting over like a fat rat.
But I know Fonda Rae was tired of it.
And I was on her side.
I introduce to you a Klassic Kut – Fonda Rae – Over Like A Fat Rat. Check it out below. You’re Welcome.
Klassic Love,
Madd Hatta
