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.
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, dancer and musician. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by various nicknames, among them "the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business", "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres. Brown was one of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 23, 1986.
The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of the American brothers George and Louis E. Johnson. They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, with three singles topping the R&B charts.
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American bass guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer.
Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band formed in Flint, Michigan, in 1969 by Mark Farner, Don Brewer, and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and success during the 1970s with hit songs such as "We're an American Band", "I'm Your Captain ", "Some Kind of Wonderful", "Walk Like a Man", "The Loco-Motion", "Bad Time" and "Inside Looking Out". Grand Funk released six platinum and seven gold-certified albums between their recording debut in 1969 and their first disbandment in 1976.
Melvin Parker was an American drummer. He and his brother, saxophonist Maceo Parker, were key members of James Brown's band.
Jerry Reed Hubbard, known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included "Guitar Man", "U.S. Male", "A Thing Called Love", "Alabama Wild Man", "Amos Moses", "When You're Hot, You're Hot", "Ko-Ko Joe", "Lord, Mr. Ford", "East Bound and Down", "The Bird", and "She Got the Goldmine ".
Mark Raymond King is an English musician. He is the lead singer and bassist of the jazz-funk band Level 42. King is known for his slap style of playing the bass guitar, with MusicRadar describing him as "the guy who put the slap in pop during the 80s". King received a BASCA Gold Badge Award in October 2015 in recognition of his contribution to British music. He won the "Outer Limits" award at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards.
Black and Blue is a studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records.
Bobby Rush is an American blues musician, composer, and singer. His style incorporates elements of blues, rap, and funk.
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a song by American singer James Brown. First recorded for the album Out of Sight and then released in an alternate take as a single in 1965, it was his highest-charting song and is arguably his best-known recording. In 2013, the 1965 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is a song written and recorded by James Brown. Released as a two-part single in 1965, it was Brown's first song to reach the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten, peaking at number eight, and was a number-one R&B hit, topping the charts for eight weeks. It won Brown his first Grammy Award, for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording.
Encouraging Words is the fifth studio album by American soul musician Billy Preston, released in September 1970 on Apple Records. It was the last of Preston's two albums for the Beatles' Apple label, after which he moved to A&M Records. The album was co-produced by George Harrison and Preston. Harrison's songs "All Things Must Pass" and "My Sweet Lord" were issued here for the first time, two months before his own recordings appeared on his triple album All Things Must Pass.
Preston Reed is an American fingerstyle guitarist. He is noted for a two-handed playing style and compositional approach that uses the guitar's body as a percussion instrument.
Metal is guitarist Preston Reed's first recording for Dusty Closet Records. It was re-released in 2002 on his own label, Outer Bridge Records (OB1002). The re-release includes a different version of the title track.
Jimmy Nolen was an American guitarist, known for his distinctive "chicken scratch" lead guitar playing in James Brown's bands. In its survey of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," the English magazine Mojo ranks Nolen number twelve. Rolling Stone named Nolen the 12th greatest guitarist of all time in 2023.
"Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written with his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a No. 1 R&B hit, and reached number seven on the Pop Singles chart. The complete recording, more than seven minutes long, was included on an album of the same name.
"Get Up Sex Machine" is a song recorded by James Brown with Bobby Byrd on backing vocals. Released as a two-part single in 1970, it was a no. 2 R&B hit and reached no. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Hey Negrita" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones that appeared on their 1976 album Black and Blue.
Live at the Apollo, Volume II is a 1968 live double album by James Brown and The Famous Flames, recorded in 1967 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. It is a follow-up to Brown's 1963 recording, Live at the Apollo. It is best known for the long medley of "Let Yourself Go", "There Was a Time", and "I Feel All Right", followed by "Cold Sweat", which document the emergence of Brown's funk style. It peaked at #32 on the Billboard albums chart. Robert Christgau included the album in his "basic record library" for the 1950s and 1960s.
