Larry Graham was the man who invented the “slap bass” technique. Or, as he preferred to call it: “thumpin’ and pluckin’.”

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Alphonso Johnson is the man whose funky basslines keep this slice of jazz fusion by Weather Report on what I can only call a pleasingly uneven keel.

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Here’s a hit single from back in the early Seventies that I had completely forgotten about – an a cappella cover of Neil Young’s After The Gold Rush.

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Lou Reed’s song Ennui is the standout song of one his less acclaimed albums, Sally Can’t Dance, with music and lyrics that embody the title.

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Patti Smith made her debut with this 1974 single pairing an improvised version of Hey Joe with her autobiographical poem Piss Factory.

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This was always one of my favourite Stones songs, and this is the moment it was kicked into life – at Ronnie Wood’s house.

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Rick Davis, co-founder, co-vocalist, co-songwriter and keyboard player in prog giants Supertramp, died in September 2025.

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The Three Degrees teamed up with Philly’s house band MFSB for the joyous soul anthem T.S.O.P. aka The Sound Of Philadephia.

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B.T. Express were pioneers of the funky early-1970s Brooklyn Sound with their proto-disco classic Express.

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Betty Davis is so hot you might need to stand back. And so is the funky groove of Your Mama Wants Ya Back.

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