Now That’s Music: 60 Funk Essentials
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Now That’s Music: 60 Funk Essentials is a great blog for anyone who loves funk music. This blog features a wide variety of funk songs that are sure to get you grooving.
The Funk Sound
Funk is a style of music that emerged in the 1970s. It is a blend of African-American music styles such as soul, rhythm and blues, and jazz. Funk music is often characterized by a funky groove, often created by a horn section or electric guitar. The lyrics are often about dancing or parties.
The Funkadelics
The Funkadelics were an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The group was a collective of singers, musicians, and producers assembled by George Clinton, and their recordings blended elements of soul, pop, R&B, and rock with funk. Though the band never enjoyed much commercial success, they were influential on several future generations of music.
James Brown
There would be no Funk without the Godfather of Soul himself, Mr. James Brown. With a career that spanned over six decades, Brown was responsible for some of the biggest hits in R&B and Funk history. He was a true pioneer in the development of the Funk sound, with his use of syncopated rhythms, call and response vocals, and deep groove basslines. His seminal hits such as “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” “I Got You (I Feel Good),” and “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine” are essential listening for any fan of Funk music.
The Funk Bands
Funk is a style of music that was popular in the 1970s. It is a style of music that is based on soul music and has a strong groove. The beginning of funk can be traced back to the early 1970s when James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic began to experiment with new sounds.
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a band that was originally formed in the 1960s by George Clinton. The band has undergone many lineup changes over the years, but Clinton has always remained at the helm.
The band is best known for their innovative and influential fusion of funk, rock, and soul. Their music has been sampled by many hip hop artists and they are considered to be one of the most important bands in the history of funk.
Bootsy’s Rubber Band
Founding members George Clinton and Bootsy Collins lead this Ohio-based band, which was extremely popular in the 1970s. Their song “Bootzilla” was a Top 10 hit in 1978.
The Funk Artists
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-1960s when African-American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a combination of soul music, jazz, and rhythm and blues (R&B). Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground.
George Clinton
The mastermind behind Parliament-Funkadelic, George Clinton is one of the most influential figures in funk music. His work with Parliament-Funkadelic helped to pioneer the genre and create a unique sound that would go on to shape the sound of popular music for decades. Clinton’s passion for music and his boundless creativity have inspired generations of musicians and continue to influence popular culture today.
Bootsy Collins
Bootsy Collins (born William Earl Collins on October 26, 1951) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. While his habit of wearing large, star-shaped glasses has led to his being nicknamed “The Thin White Duke of Funk”, he is better known for his work with James Brown in the early 1970s, as well as with Parliament-Funkadelic throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
The Funk Songs
Funk is a style of popular music that originated in the mid-1960s. It is characterized by a strong rhythmic groove and a profusion of complex polyrhythms and syncopated rhythms. Funk songs are often based on a vamp, a repeated rhythmic figure that serves as the harmonic and melodic foundation of the tune.
“Atomic Dog”
“Atomic Dog” is a song by American musician George Clinton from his 1982 album, Computer Games. The track was released as a single in December 1982 and became one of Clinton’s most popular songs. It peaked at number one on the US Billboard R&B chart and number 101 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song features a minimalistic funk arrangement with simple synthesizer riffs and drum machine beats. Its lyrics are based on a child’s perspective of a nuclear war, with Clinton manning the air raid sirens and barking like a dog.
The song has been sampled numerous times, most notably by hip hop artists Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on their 1993 single “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang”.
“Flash Light”
“Flash Light” by Parliament was released in 1977 and was one of the most successful singles from the album Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome. The song features a simple bass line and drumbeat with a single repeated word, “flashlight.” The song was later sampled by hip hop artists including De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and Cypress Hill.
The Funk Albums
Ah, the Funk- a style of music that is often sampled, but rarely duplicated. Many try, but few succeed in mastering the perfect mix of syncopated basslines, intricate drum patterns, and James Brown-esque vocals. When it comes to Funk, there are a handful of albums that truly exemplify the genre. Here are 60 Funk Essentials that are sure to get you grooving.
Mothership Connection (1975)
Parliament’s third album was their first for Casablanca Records and their first with the legendary Bootsy Collins on bass. The Mothership Connection was also the first P-Funk album to really blow up on a commercial level, thanks in part to lead single “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker),” which became their biggest hit to date, reaching number 15 on the pop charts. The rest of the album is just as strong, if not stronger, with future classics like “Unfunky UFO,” “Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication” and “Handcuffs” highlighting a record that cemented Parliament’s position as one of the most innovative and exciting bands of the ’70s.
One Nation Under a Groove (1978)
One Nation Under a Groove by Funkadelic is the band’s best-selling album, released on September 16, 1978 on Warner Bros. Records. It peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200 and number four on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album features three singles: the title track, “Groovallegiance”, and “(Not Just) Knee Deep”. In 2003, the album was ranked number 213 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
In 1998, Q magazine readers voted One Nation Under a Groove the 51st greatest album of all time, while in 2000 it was voted the 27th greatest album of all time by the same publication. In 2003, the TV network VH1 named it the 90th greatest album of all time. In 2012, Slant Magazine ranked it at #45 on its list of “Best Albums of the 1970s”. In 2015, Paste ranked it at #39 on its list of “The 50 Best Funk Albums of All Time”.
