The Blackbyrds

Founded at Howard University in 1973 by the late jazz musician Donald Byrd and some of his students, this funk band was revived in 2012 by original drummer Keith Killgo. We happen to be big fans of their DC-themed hit “Rock Creek Park,” an ode “doing it in the park, doing it after dark, oh, yeah.” So we asked Killgo (second from left above) for the inside scoop.
What exactly does one do in the park after dark?

Plenty of things. It’s where you take your girlfriend with a bottle of wine. After dark, the whole scene changes: the bugs, the sounds, the creatures that crawl around. For me it, was more fun. You could be kind of spooky. Yeah, lots of wonderful things happen after dark.

Have you taken someone special there?

Absolutely. In high school, that was one of the best spots to go. Also, it was sometimes just a place to get away from everything and think, meditate, look at the stars.

The whole song is basically “doing it in the park / doing it after dark / oh, yeah / Rock Creek Park.” Did you ever think about writing more lyrics?

No. I mean, music to me—if you can’t think of anything else, then you’re done. Some statements say everything. It doesn’t take a soliloquy to get the point across.