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Funk Musicians
This is a list of notable funk music bands and artists. This includes artists who have either been very important to the funk genre or have had a considerable amount of exposure (such as in the case of one who has been on a major label). Bands are listed by the first letter in their name (not including the words "a", "an", or "the"), and individuals are listed by last name. A *African Music Machine *Los Amigos Invisibles *Steve Arrington *Atlantic Starr *Average White Band B *B. T. Express *Mike Banks (musician), Mike Banks *Bar-Kays *Big Pig *Black Heat *Eddie Bo *Bootsy Collins, Bootsy's Rubber Band *Brainstorm (American band), Brainstorm *The Brand New Heavies *Brass Construction *Michael Brecker *Brick (band), Brick *The Brothers Johnson *James Brown *The Budos Band C *Cameo (band), Cameo *Jimmy Castor *Central Line (band), Central Line *A Certain Ratio *Chakk *Chapter 8 (band), Chapter 8 *Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band *Chic (band), Chic *Chicks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Funk
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 be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Brecker
Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as a performer and composer, received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 2004, and was inducted into the ''DownBeat'' Jazz Hall of Fame in 2007. Early life and education Brecker was born in Philadelphia and raised in the local suburb of Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania. He was raised in a Jewish, and artistic, family: his father, Bob (Bobby), was a lawyer who played jazz piano and his mother, Sylvia, was a portrait artist. Michael was exposed to jazz at an early age by his father. He began studying clarinet at age 6, then moved to the alto saxophone in the eighth grade, settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument in his sophomore year of high school. He graduated from Cheltenham High School in 1967 and spent that summer at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In Fall 1967, he followed his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicks Incorporated
Chicks Incorporated were an Australian dance rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. Their sound was largely derived from American soul, funk, pop, rock and disco. Starting out as an almost all-female band with guitarist Chris Mitchell being the only male member, they were led by the late drummer Miriam Curtis, who produced their sole album, ''Security'', in 1980. They attracted a lot of local attention due to their sexy appearance and wild dancing. The band's first single was "Jive To Stay Alive"{{Citation , title=Chicks Incorporated - Jive To Stay Alive / Do It , date=1978 , url=https://www.discogs.com/release/10477997-Chicks-Incorporated-Jive-To-Stay-Alive-Do-It , access-date=2025-06-04 , language=en released on RCA Records, and was also featured on a few disco compilation albums such as ''Dats Disco'' on RCA. Most of the band's material was written by well-respected Brisbane songwriters Laurie Stone and Peter Moscos, as well as keyboard player David Bentley, f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chic (band)
Chic (stylized CHIC; ), later called Nile Rodgers & Chic, is an American disco band founded in 1972 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. Between 1972 and 1979, Chic released several of the biggest hits of the disco era, including " Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" (1977), " Everybody Dance" (1977), " Le Freak" (1978), " I Want Your Love" (1978), and " Good Times" (1979). The group regarded themselves as a rock band for the disco movement "that made good on hippie peace, love and freedom". In 2017, Chic was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the eleventh time. History 1970–1978: Origins and early singers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards met in 1970 as session musicians working in the New York City area. They formed a rock band initially named The Boys, but soon changed it to The Big Apple Band, and played numerous gigs around New York City. Despite interest in their demos, they never garnered a record con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band is an American soul and funk band. Formed in the early 1960s, they had the most visibility from 1967 to 1973 when the band had 9 singles reach Billboard's pop and/or rhythm and blues charts, such as " Do Your Thing", " Till You Get Enough", and " Love Land". They are best known for their biggest hit on Warner Bros. Records, 1970's " Express Yourself", a song that has been sampled by rap group N.W.A and others. History Charles Wright and the Wright Sounds Charles Wright was born on April 6, 1940, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1950s, playing guitar and singing in several doo-wop groups including the Turks, the Twilighters, the Shields and the Gallahads. He also briefly worked in A&R for Del-Fi Records and was responsible for the 1961 hit record " Those Oldies but Goodies (Remind Me of You)" by Little Caesar & the Romans. In 1962, he formed his own band, Charles Wright & the Wright Sounds, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chapter 8 (band)
Chapter 8 was a Detroit soul group of the 1970s and 1980s formed by Derek Dirckson, Michael J. Powell and David Washington. Anita Baker was featured as lead vocalist on their first, self-titled album on Ariola in 1979, produced by Michael and Derek. History The group was started in Detroit in the late 1970s. Derek Dirckson became the band leader after James Mitchell asked Derek to play drums with Chapter 8, who were at the time the backup Band for the Detroit Emeralds. In 1979, Dirckson and Michael J. Powell produced the first album expanding the groups roster to include Anita Baker, Gerald Lyles, David Washington, Van Cephus, Courtlen Hale, Scott Guthre, and Allen Nance. In 1985, Valerie Pinkston replaced Baker as the lead vocalist and was featured on "This Love's For Real" As Chapter 8 was the launching pad for Baker, so was it for Michael J. Powell who went on to produce Baker's ''Rapture'', '' Giving You The Best That I Got'', and '' Compositions'' albums. Many of the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chakk
Chakk were an industrial funk band from Sheffield, who existed from 1981 until 1987.Chakk (AllMusic) Members were Alan Cross, , Dee Boyle, Sim Lister, Jake Harries and Jon Stuart.Chakk (discogs.com) The band never achieved commercial success, but have been noted for their wide influence on later British dance music, particularly via Fon Studios.Simpson, Dave (2011) [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio (abbreviated as ACR) are an English post-punk band formed in Greater Manchester in 1977 by Peter Terrell (guitar), Simon Topping (vocals, trumpet), Jez Kerr (bass guitar, vocals), Martin Moscrop (trumpet, guitar) and Donald Johnson (drums), with Martha Tilson (vocals) joining soon after. One of the first indie groups to draw heavy influence from funk as well as disco and Latin percussion, the band were among the first to debut on Tony Wilson's Factory Records in 1979 with "All Night Party", produced by Martin Hannett. During ACR's early years with Factory, they scored seven Top Ten UK independent releases, highlighted by "Flight" and "Waterline", and released five studio albums beginning with '' The Graveyard and the Ballroom'' (1980). Following late 1980s and early 1990s phases with A&M Records and Rob Gretton's independent Robs Records, ACR were intermittently active. They returned to the studio for their ninth studio album '' Mind Made Up'' (2008) and since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Line (band)
Central Line is an R&B and soul band from London, England. They recorded two albums with Mercury in the 1980s and had two hit singles in the United States, as well as one top 40 hit in their native country. Career 1970s The band was formed in March 1978, and were signed to Mercury Records early in 1979 by John Stainze. The original founding members were Steve Salvari, Camelle Hinds, Lipson Francis and Henry Defoe. Hinds, Francis and Defoe were previously in a band called TFB (Typical Funk Band), which had contained members that would go on to form Light of the World. TFB also contained the drummer Errol Kennedy, who later joined Imagination. Salvari joined TFB after the departure of trumpeter Kenny Wellington in late 1976 who joined Light of the World, as their second keyboard player and the band members then stood at Salvari, Hinds, Francis, Defoe and Kennedy. The band gigged for about a year then broke up. Francis and Defoe went to work with a bass player who was in Bone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Castor
James Walter Castor (January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012) was an American funk, R&B and soul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", " The Bertha Butt Boogie", and his biggest hit single, the million-seller " Troglodyte (Cave Man)." Castor has been described as "one of the most sampled artists in music history" by the BBC. Musical career He was born in Manhattan, New York, United States. He started a group called Jimmy and the Juniors, who in 1956 recorded the original version of "I Promise to Remember", which according to Castor Mercury Records did not want to promote. George Goldner had the famous doo-wop group The Teenagers record it and it became their third hit single. Later, Castor was asked to join the Teenagers. In late 1966, he released "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You". As a solo artist and leader of The Jimmy Castor Bunch (TJCB) in the 1970s, Castor released several successful albums ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cameo (band)
Cameo is an American funk band that formed in 1974. Cameo was initially a 14-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo. As of the first half of 2009, some of the original members continued to perform together. Two other original members were hired by the hip hop group Outkast. In 2015, Cameo announced a new residency show at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, opening in March 2016. On February 20, 2019, Larry Blackmon of Cameo announced "El Passo", the first new single from the band in 19 years. Career 1974–1979: Formation and early years Formed by Larry Blackmon in 1974 as the New York City Players the band was signed by Casablanca Records to its Chocolate City imprint in 1975 as the Players. However, according to original band member Nathan Leftenant, the group soon changed its name after the threat of legal action by Mercury Records due to the name "the Players" being too similar to Ohio Players, who recorded for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Budos Band
The Budos Band is an American instrumental band from Staten Island, New York, formed in 2005. AllMusic describes the group as a "doom rock Afro-soul big band with a '70s touch" that joins "musical universes from trippy psychedelia and Afro-funk to '70s hard rock and late-'60s soul." They have described themselves as "70's Psychedelic Instrumental Music," and "Afro-soul inspired by Ethiopian music with a soul undercurrent" and "sprinkled a little bit of sweet 60's stuff on top." One press release described the band as “sounding as if Quentin Tarantino was the music supervisor for a Bond film". Their more recent albums have incorporated sounds from 1970s jazz, funk, Afro-Beat, underground rock, and proto-metal. They have been signed to Daptone Records throughout their career. History The Budos Band originated at a jam session at The Five Spot in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, hosted by Martín Perna of the New York band Antibalas. Some of the participants decided to form the new b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
