Talk a walk down memory lane - the memory lane of funk - over at Cobb's blog. He's got a survey of the 100 Greatest Funk Songs of All Time underway. While the survey itself looks too time-consuming for me to actually do, it's great fun just to review the tunes. My faves:
Your Love is Like the Holy Ghost - The Bar-Kays
Get Up for the Down Stroke - Parliament
Funky Stuff/Hollywood Swinging - Kool and the Gang
Dazz - Brick
Tell Me Something Good - Rufus/Chaka Khan
More Bounce To The Ounce - Zapp & Roger
Fire - Ohio Players
Do You Wanna Get Funky with Me - Peter Brown
Ahhh, the good old days....
What, no Tower of Power? I saw them live, and didn't think I could ever sit still again.
Also, you need to include Larry Graham, who basically invented funk bass. No funky bass, no funking point.
The survey didn't include "Lickin' Stick" by James Brown. How could that be?
Also missing are most of the fusion crew (although George Duke is there in the survey). More Herbie Hancock, please. "Cucumber Slumber" is most funky indeed. A little Weather Report would be fine, too, with Jaco Pastorius on the fretless bass guitar.
Posted by: Mitch | June 09, 2007 at 11:54 PM
How could I have missed this? No one even mentioned "Fight the Power" by the Isleys. We can't even start talking about funk without that.
Posted by: Mitch | June 10, 2007 at 12:09 AM
Hey, take it up with Cobb, not me! I liked Weather Report a lot too, but funk? I think not. There was discussion in the comments about funk/jazz as it own category.
Posted by: miss kelly | June 10, 2007 at 12:19 AM