can anyone give me any kind of details on the history of funk music? You know, george clinton et all.
thanx.
Well, millions and millions of years ago, when the funkasaurus roamed the Earth…
Wikipedia: funk
Or you can just get Sly & the Family Stone’s Greatest Hits and listen to the music all night long; everyday people singing a simple song.
Long before I was seduced by porch pickin’ and bluegrass music, I was obsessed with da funk. Listened to it, played it, lived it, breathed it. Wanted to be Bootsy, or maybe Rocco.
I can wholeheartedly recommend these two books as the definitive (and highly readable) guide to the history, the lifestyle and the groove:
If you can only get one book, get this one/
If you want more info, get this one too.
I see that you can buy them both together new for $29.00 or so, but there are used copies of both available for around $4.
Get them, you won’t regret it.
George Clinton.
The end all and be all of funk.
Accept no substitutes.
Listen to this man! Everything is on the one, baby doll, an don’ forget it.
Bootsy is great, but the real masters of Funk were earlier. You want to rent or buy Standing In The Shadows of Motown.
Oh, I definitely agree. James Jamerson is the godfather of the genre - what he did in Motown as member of the Funk Brothers (the Motown ‘house rhythm section’, that played on damn near every song Motown released) laid the groundwork for every bass player with an ounce of soul after.
But despite the name, they were not Funk. Funky? Absolutely - they had grooves so deep you could only go there once, in 1960, for 20 minutes.
Ahem… Sorry, couldn’t resist.
The Funk Brothers were were soul, pure and simple - and that deep pocket of funk from the bass & drums was their expression of it.
And despite the power of the funk brothers, let’s not forgot Clyde Stubblefield, either.
There’s a reason he’s known as The Original.
Ask Bernard Purdie. He’ll tell you he invented it, along with every other musical innovation of the 20th century!
Seriously, the other posters here are right on. I did just want to say the name of James Brown here, just in case you forgot about him.