K SPECIAL Funktastic Funk: The 200 Greatest Funk Songs of All Time (Updated Improved Remastered Expanded Super Deluxe Edition) (15CD) (2024)

K SPECIAL

Funktastic Funk: The 200 Greatest Funk Songs of All Time (Updated Improved Remastered Expanded Super Deluxe Edition) (15CD) (2024)

Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mid-20th century. It deemphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex percussive groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. It uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, and dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths.

Funk originated in the mid-1960s, with James Brown's development of a signature groove that emphasized the downbeat - with a heavy emphasis on the first beat of every measure ("The One"), and the application of swung 16th notes and syncopation on all basslines, drum patterns, and guitar riffs. Rock- and psychedelia-influenced musicians Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament-Funkadelic fostered more eclectic examples of the genre beginning in the late 1960s. Other musical groups developed Brown's innovations during the 1970s and the 1980s, including Kool and the Gang, Ohio Players, Jimmy Castor Bunch, Earth, Wind & Fire, B.T. Express, One Way, Lakeside, Dazz Band, The Gap Band, Slave, Rick James, Prince, Roger Troutman & Zapp, Con Funk Shun, Cameo, Bar-Kays and Chic.

Funk derivatives include avant-funk, an avant-garde strain of funk; boogie, a hybrid of electronic music and funk; funk metal; G-funk, a mix of gangsta rap and psychedelic funk; Timba, a form of funky Cuban dance music; and funk jam. It is also the main influence of Washington go-go, a funk subgenre. Funk samples and breakbeats have been used extensively in hip hop and electronic dance music.

JAMES BROWN

Cultural impact aside, funk is best described as having a focus on rhythm, where nearly every aspect of sound is played like percussion throughout the track (aside from solos). James Brown did this first and best, full-on incorporating the African beats R&B had originally been known for. You can feel the most extraordinary examples when you go back and watch his shows. His music flows between the borders of soul, blues, and funk.

BOOKER T. & THE M.G.'s

Booker T. & the M.G.'s got their start as the house band at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee. They played for a long line up of jazz, soul, and blues legends. Pushed by the Stax president, Booker T. and the MG’s released their first album, which had “Behave Yourself”

on one side and “Green Onions” on the other. With “Green Onions”, the group rocketed to fame, and their organ style would be the most copied across the musical spectrum, with the style of grooving blues with a solid bass backup becoming a staple for anything needing an injection of cool, including funk.

Booker T. & the MGs were also well-known for their racial integration, something music had seen before but was kind of fading from the scene. This would set the tone for later funk music, with musicians coming together from all backgrounds and races, and leading to later movements that would be for people across the spectrum.

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE

Another mainstay of the funk movement – which was also noted for its racial integration and also their male and female lineup – was San Francisco-based Sly and the Family Stone, one of the first fully funk bands to emerge on the scene. They fully embraced James Brown’s African influences and rhythmic grunts and took it a step further with even more Gospel-contrived call-and-responses, and brought in bluesy organs, along with a completely psychedelic experience.

The history of Sly and the Family Stone could in itself make a great funk movie, from early groovy happy time to later drug-infused brawls, rows of cocaine, and hit men hired to take out fellow members. Though their background truly gets crazy, their music served as a true inspiration to the scene.

GEORGE CLINTON

George Clinton has been around for nearly every iteration of the genre, leading his funky crew through thick and thin. Fully embracing the psychedelic atmosphere set a few years earlier by Stone, he led two massive bands that often played together called Parliament and Funkadelic, who fused the stylings of all the earlier progenitors of funk listed above, with some dashes of various other musicians here and there. It’s through his and his fellows’ dedication to the style, that it survived all these years and isn’t just a style of nostalgia. They made it relevant for even today, inspiring a whole other generation of funk musicians, like Thundercat, Erykah Badu, and Snarky Puppy.

After James Brown, George Clinton’s music is the second most-sampled of all time in rap music. That alone should reveal the importance of his contribution.

A LEGACY OF FUNK

Though it’s been carried on by the likes of George Clinton, and brought back to the front by modern performers, funk influence has always been strong in music. As James Brown progressed and followed his nose for soul, he slid and dove into the emerging disco movement, which took electronic drums and blended funk and soul with big strings and massive brass sounds. Though disco faded in the 80s, it picked up full-steam in the night club world with French House (pioneered by Daft Punk) in the late 90s and early 2000s, which carried on all the funk-disco influences of the earlier styles, helping set the mode for modern genres like Lo-Fi and Synthwave.

At the same time, funk was a large influence in Drum n Bass and other 90s electronic dance music like Breakbeat. 90s DJs would discover the drum break from “Amen, Brother” by The Winstons, a funk band based out of Washington, DC. It became the most sampled track in music history and is still used in dance music today.

Then there’s hip-hop music, which has consistently sampled and borrowed from James Brown and George Clinton. In the 90s, groups like A Tribe Called Quest would openly embrace all the psychedelic and free-love motifs of the era.

All these styles have left a lasting impression on Hollywood movies and serials as well. Whenever anything is needed to look classier and cooler, they incorporate funk elements in the soundtracks.

10 kings of funk, including The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, George Clinton, Sly and the Family Stone, Rick James, Bootsy Collins, and Prince:

https://www.liveabout.com/greatest-funk-stars-in-music-history-2851607

Big Gigantic shares their 30 favorite funk songs of all time - see the biggest funk hits according to the duo:

https://www.billboard.com/lists/top-funk-songs-all-time/

As a very SPECIAL BONUS I have included the excellent BBC4 documentary: The Story of Funk - One Nation Under a Groove - BBC4 (2014) as a 720p mkv video file to tie in with this compilation, along with The Genius of Funk - BBC4 (2014) also at 720p and features an hour-long presentation of great funk performances taken from the BBC archives from the 1960s to the present day.

So, after exhaustive and extensive online research, plus my own recollections, memories and records bought over the years, here is my personal compilation of what I consider to be the 200 greatest funk songs of all time.

Compiled as always using the very latest and highest quality digital remasters, with a considerable number of tracks sourced from the original master tapes for superior sound quality and enjoyment.

This newly updated and expanded 15CD set contains many rare and extremely hard to find tracks, with a number featured in their original album and single mixes. All tracks are the 100% CD quality original recordings ripped @320. No poor-quality YouTube rips here!

Over 18 hours of funktastic funk to enjoy!

K

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Pt.1     Pt.2 

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Movies

The Story of Funk - One Nation Under a Groove - BBC4 (2014) 

1 

The Genius of Funk - BBC4 (2014)

2 

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Track lists

CD01

01 James Brown - Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine, Pts. 1 & 2 (Original 1970 7" Single Version) 5:17

02 James Brown & The Famous Flames - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, Pts. 1 & 2 4:18

03 Sly and the Family Stone - Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) 4:48

04 Parliament - Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker) 5:44

05 Isaac Hayes - Theme from "Shaft" 4:39

06 Curtis Mayfield - Superfly 3:56

07 Stevie Wonder - Superstition 4:09

08 The Temptations - Papa Was a Rollin' Stone (Original 1972 Full-Length Album Version) 11:48

09 Prince & The Revolution - When Doves Cry 5:53

10 Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove 7:29

11 James Brown & His Orchestra - Cold Sweat 7:32

12 Dyke and the Blazers - Funky Broadway, Pts. 1 & 2 5:29

CD02

13 The Meters - Cissy Strut 3:04

14 Herbie Hancock - Chameleon 15:44

15 The Isley Brothers - It's Your Thing 2:46

16 Parliament - Flash Light 5:39

17 Edwin Starr - War 3:23

18 Rick James - Super Freak (Original 1981 12" Disco Mix) 7:05

19 Prince & The Revolution - Little Red Corvette 4:56

20 Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough 6:03

21 Sly and the Family Stone - Family Affair 3:05

22 Stevie Wonder - Living for the City 7:24

23 The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There 3:15

24 The Isley Brothers - That Lady, Pts. 1 & 2 5:33

25 Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff 2:43

CD03

26 Rufus and Chaka Khan - Tell Me Something Good 4:39

27 Prince & The Revolution - Kiss 3:46

28 Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground 3:44

29 Wild Cherry - Play That Funky Music (Original 1976 Full-Length Album Version) 4:58

30 Rose Royce - Car Wash (Original 1976 Full-Length Album Version) 5:08

31 Commodores - Brick House (Original 1977 12" Special Length Disco Version) 6:11

32 Ohio Players - Fire 4:33

33 War - Low Rider 3:10

34 Average White Band - Pick Up the Pieces (Original 1974 Full-Length Album Version) 3:58

35 Marvin Gaye - Got to Give It Up, Pts. 1 & 2 (Original 1977 12" Full-Length Promo Single Version) 11:55

36 Zapp - More Bounce to the Ounce 9:30

37 Kool & the Gang - Jungle Boogie 3:04

38 James Brown & His Orchestra - Funky Drummer, Pts. 1 & 2 7:01

CD04

39 The Winstons - Amen, Brother 2:32

40 Incredible Bongo Band - Apache 4:52

41 James Brown - The Payback 7:40

42 Lyn Collins - Think (About It) 3:20

43 Cameo - Word Up! (Original 1986 12" Extended Single Version) 5:58

44 Charles Wright Band & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band - Express Yourself 3:51

45 George Clinton - Atomic Dog 4:45

46 Hot Chocolate - You Sexy Thing (Original 1975 7" Single Version) 4:02

47 Kool & the Gang - Funky Stuff / More Funky Stuff 5:08

48 Brick - Dazz 5:37

49 Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star 2:51

50 Kool & the Gang - Hollywood Swinging 4:38

51 B.T. Express - Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) 5:52

52 The O'Jays - For the Love of Money 7:18

53 Gwen Guthrie - Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But the Rent 5:59

CD05

54 Betty Wright - Clean Up Woman 2:49

55 King Floyd - Groove Me 2:57

56 Rufus and Chaka Khan - Ain't Nobody 4:42

57 Aretha Franklin - Rock Steady 3:12

58 Tower of Power - What Is Hip? 5:06

59 The Gap Band - You Dropped a Bomb on Me 5:13

60 Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand the Rain 2:29

61 Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love 5:35

62 James Brown & The J.B.'s - Get On the Good Foot 5:17

63 Funkadelic - (Not Just) Knee Deep 10:15

64 Kool & the Gang - Get Down on It 6:08

65 Ohio Players - Love Rollercoaster 4:47

66 Jimmy Castor Bunch - It's Just Begun 3:43

67 Slave - Slide 6:51

CD06

68 Parliament - P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up) 7:39

69 The Gap Band - I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops, Up Side Your Head) 8:43

70 Eddie Kendricks - Keep on Truckin' 7:58

71 The Isley Brothers - Fight the Power, Pts. 1 & 2 5:21

72 James Brown & His Orchestra - Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud 4:47

73 Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting 3:16

74 Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers - Bustin' Loose 7:43

75 Prince - Sign o' the Times 4:56

76 The Temptations - Cloud Nine (Original 1968 7" Mono Single Version) 3:36

77 Tom Browne - Funkin' for Jamaica 4:40

78 Taana Gardner - Heartbeat 9:44

79 Bill Withers - Use Me 3:44

CD07

80 The Temptations - Shakey Ground 4:03

81 Curtis Mayfield - Future Shock 5:19

82 The Meters - Just Kissed My Baby 4:42

83 The Gap Band - Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) 5:31

84 The Brothers Johnson - Get the Funk Out Ma Face 5:58

85 Curtis Mayfield - Freddie's Dead (Theme from "Superfly") 5:28

86 Diana Ross - Upside Down 4:06

87 Bill Withers - Lovely Day 4:14

88 Graham Central Station - The Jam 8:12

89 Dr. John - Right Place, Wrong Time 2:53

90 Zapp & Roger - Computer Love 4:43

91 Lakeside - Fantastic Voyage 6:08

92 Dazz Band - Let It Whip 6:11

CD08

93 Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl) 9:48

94 Midnight Star - No Parking (On the Dancefloor) 7:59

95 One Way - Cutie Pie 5:24

96 Otis Redding & Carla Thomas - Tramp (Original 1967 Atlantic Records 7" Mono Single Version) 3:00

97 Parliament - Mothership Connection (Star Child) 6:12

98 Bar-Kays - Soul Finger 2:19

99 Cliff Nobles - The Horse 2:25

100 Joe Tex - I Gotcha 2:13

101 The Undisputed Truth - Smiling Faces Sometimes (Original 1971 7" Mono Single Version) 3:19

102 Billy Preston - Outa-Space (Original 1971 7" Single Version) 4:10

103 William DeVaughn - Be Thankful for What You Got (Original 1974 Full-Length Album Version) 7:05

104 Bootsy's Rubber Band - Bootzilla 5:40

105 L.T.D. - (Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again 4:47

106 Indeep - Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life (Original 1982 12" Single Version) 5:40

CD09

107 Carl Carlton - She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked) 5:50

108 Parliament - Up for the Down Stroke 5:07

109 War - Slippin' Into Darkness 7:00

110 Bobby Womack & Peace - Across 110th Street 3:50

111 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - The Bottle 5:11

112 Stevie Wonder - You Haven't Done Nothin' 3:22

113 Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up (Original 1970 Full-Length Album Version) 8:53

114 Bar-Kays - Holy Ghost 8:32

115 The J.B.'s - Pass the Peas 3:29

116 Con Funk Shun - Ffun 6:06

117 Mtume - Juicy Fruit (Album Version) 5:54

118 The Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23 4:59

119 Mandrill - Fencewalk 5:32

CD10

120 The Crusaders - Street Life (Original 1979 Full-Length Album Version) 11:16

121 The Blackbyrds - Rock Creek Park (1978 Discomix) 6:16

122 Roy Ayers feat. Ubiquity - Running Away (Original 1977 12" Long Version) 6:56

123 Cymande - The Message 4:17

124 James Brown - Hot Pants (She Got to Use What She Got to Get What She Wants) 8:44

125 The Pointer Sisters - Yes We Can Can 6:05

126 The New Birth - I Can Understand It 6:24

127 Commodores - Machine Gun (Special Disco Mix) 6:06

128 Brass Construction - Movin' (Original 1975 Full-Length Album Version) 8:41

129 Miles Davis - Right Off (Take 10) 11:08

CD11

130 George Duke - Dukey Stick (Original 1978 12" Single Version) 8:06

131 Maceo and the Macks - Soul Power '74, Pts. 1 & 2 7:13

132 The Temptations - Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) (Original 1970 7" Mono Single Version) 4:03

133 Brick - Ain't Gonna Hurt Nobody 3:57

134 Herbie Hancock - Rockit 5:25

135 Wild Sugar - Bring It Here 6:03

136 David Bowie - Fame 4:16

137 Earth, Wind & Fire - September 3:37

138 Ohio Players - Skin Tight 7:56

139 The Brothers Johnson - Stomp! 5:59

140 Cheryl Lynn - Got to Be Real (Original 1978 12" Single Version) 5:08

141 Leon Haywood - I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You 5:52

142 James Brown - Give It Up or Turnit a Loose (Remix) 6:12

CD12

143 Ripple - I Don't Know What It Is But It Sure Is Funky 3:19

144 Funkadelic - I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing 3:53

145 Joe Tex - Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman) (Original 1977 12" Single Version) 6:42

146 KC and the Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight (Original 1975 Full-Length Album Version) 5:20

147 Willie Hutch - Brother's Gonna Work It Out (Long Version) 7:05

148 Betty Davis - If I'm in Luck I Might Get Picked Up 5:00

149 Prince - Controversy 7:14

150 The Whispers - Rock Steady 4:41

151 Sly and the Family Stone - I Want to Take You Higher 5:25

152 The O'Jays - Back Stabbers ("A Tom Moulton Mix") 9:36

153 James Brown & His Orchestra - Out of Sight 2:21

154 Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions - Can I Change My Mind 2:50

155 Marvin Gaye - Trouble Man 3:58

156 Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Nots (Original 1982 12" Special Dance Mix) 7:14

CD13

157 Cameo - Just Be Yourself 4:09

158 The Blackbyrds - Do It, Fluid 5:26

159 Laid Back - White Horse (Original 1983 12" Single Version) 5:45

160 People's Choice - Do It Anyway You Wanna ("A Tom Moulton Mix") 5:37

161 Betty Davis - They Say I'm Different 4:13

162 Fred Wesley and the J.B.'s - Doin' It to Death 5:09

163 Chic - Good Times (Original 1979 12" Single Version) 8:10

164 Brass Construction - Get Up to Get Down 6:27

165 Pleasure - Glide 6:29

166 Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions - Is It Something You've Got 2:50

167 Booker T. & the M.G.'s - Green Onions (Original 1962 7" Mono Single Version) 2:53

168 James Young & The House Wreckers - Barkin' Up the Wrong Tree 2:09

169 Narada Michael Walden - I Shoulda Loved Ya (Original 1979 Full-Length Album Version) 6:38

170 Stacy Lattisaw - Jump to the Beat (Original 1980 12" Single Version) 5:17

CD14

171 The Mohawks (Alan Hawkshaw) - The Champ (Original 1968 7" Single Version) 2:37

172 Maceo and the Macks - Cross the Track (We Better Go Back) (12" Mix) 6:12

173 Rick James - Give It to Me Baby (Original 1981 12" Extended Mix) 5:42

174 Grace Jones - Pull Up to the Bumper (Original 1981 12" Long Version) 5:46

175 Lipps Inc. - Funkytown (Original 1980 12" Single Version) 7:49

176 Cameo - She's Strange 7:10

177 D Train - You're the One for Me (Original 1981 Vocal Version 12" Mix) 6:57

178 Chic - Le Freak (Original 1978 12" Single Version) 5:29

179 Archie Bell and The Drells - Tighten Up 3:11

180 Brass Construction - Changin' 8:15

181 Marva Whitney - I Made a Mistake Because It's Only You, Pts. 1 & 2 4:52

182 Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul - (I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind 3:11

183 Stevie Wonder - I Wish 4:13

CD15

184 Betty Davis - Nasty Gal 4:44

185 Graham Central Station - Hair 4:55

186 Marva Whitney - What Do I Have to Do to Prove My Love to You 2:26

187 Willie Hutch - If You Ain't Got No Money (You Can't Get No Honey) 4:18

188 James Brown & The J.B.'s - Super Bad, Pts. 1 & 2 5:02

189 George Duke - Reach for It 4:54

190 Marva Whitney - It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who to Sock It To), Pts. 1 & 2 3:57

191 Banbarra - Shack Up, Pts. 1 & 2 (Original 1975 7" Single Version) 6:40

192 Con Funk Shun - Confunkshunizeya 4:28

193 Graham Central Station - Water 4:27

194 Laura Lee - Crumbs Off the Table 3:36

195 Ohio Players - Funky Worm 2:40

196 Cymande - Brothers on the Slide 4:08

197 Betty Davis - F.U.N.K. 4:26

198 James Brown & The J.B.'s - Get Up Offa That Thing 6:16

199 Sly and the Family Stone - Dance to the Music 2:58

200 Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk 4:29

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