Funk

Here’s a confession. I only really knew Kool & The Gang for their party tunes and schmaltzy ballads in the Eighties.

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The exuberant brass motif that drives this swinging soul number sounds instantly familiar, perhaps because of the many lives this song has had since it was written by The Chi-Lites’ lead singer Eugene Record and Sonny Sanders.

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Ohio Players – Pain

8th October 2021 · 1970s, 1971, Funk, Music, Soul
This was the first of seven straight hit singles by The Ohio Players to burn up the US charts with their brand of slinky horn-powered funk and soul in 1971.
 

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The Kay-Gees – Get Down

7th October 2021 · 1970s, 1974, Funk, Music

Here’s another infectious party in your ears. There’s not much to it but there doesn’t need to be, beyond that fat beat, the funky bass, the jagged guitars and the constant exhortations to Get Down. Apart from that soaring soprano sax that keeps on taking it higher. (more…)

Here’s another funky slice of disco from the vaults by the splendidly named Juggy Murray Jones. It sneaked into the Top 40 and was a dancefloor staple across Britain in 1976. (more…)

Now this is a CHOON! I’d say it’s a banger but that word was limited to small noisy fireworks back in 1976. And this is bigger and noisier than that. (more…)

Another lost classic from the funk vaults, The Watts Breakaway is just one of many musical achievements of Johnny Otis. The singer is Delmar ‘Mighty Mouth’ Evans and the guitarist may well by Johnny’s equally well-known son Shuggie Otis. (more…)

General Crook – Gimme Some

3rd September 2021 · 1970, 1970s, Funk, Music
I don’t know why General Crook never became a star. Perhaps it was his unfortunate resemblance to creepy porn baron Ron Jeremy – a man who might well have shared his encouragement to “Gimme Some.”
 

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There’s not much to Tighten Up beyond a funk groove, some handclaps, and Archie introducing himself before urging the listener to dance. But it’s a classic. (more…)

I Feel Love is so obviously the greatest disco song of all time that no others need apply for the title. But spare a moment for the song that gave Donna Summer her first international hit a couple of years earlier. (more…)